June 25, 2026
OBI appreciates the time and effort members of the Governor’s Prosperity Council devoted to developing the recommendations released today (click link below to read report). OBI also appreciates the growing recognition among policymakers that Oregon’s declining competitiveness, which discourages business investment and job creation, threatens the state’s future.
Having said that, this report means little without a commitment from the governor and legislators to act on it.
Frankly, none of the recommendations offered by the Governor’s Prosperity Council are new. Thus, they shouldn’t surprise Oregon’s elected leaders. Nor should they require more time to ponder.
The recommendations in this report echo what OBI and businesses throughout the state have been saying for years in response to Oregon’s soaring tax burden, regulatory excesses, failed execution and frequently disjointed decision-making — all of which have culminated in sluggish growth and outright job losses.
The Prosperity Council’s recommendations will require hard conversations with various constituencies, a commitment to working through detailed policy and a shift in the culture of how we do business as a state. Ultimately, they’ll also take some admittedly difficult votes, particularly for those who have failed to advance these ideas before.
Oregon needs economic growth to provide good jobs, to support philanthropic activity and to generate tax revenue for government services.
Real solutions require more than lip service or hope. They require action.
To that end, policymakers must get to work on implementation. And they must do so urgently, before Oregon slides even further. As OBI wrote in its recommendations to the Governor’s Prosperity Council in April, “Every month, session, year or biennium wasted without taking steps to economic recovery sets the state further back, especially in a competitive landscape where other states are aggressively figuring out how to win.”
There is no reason Oregon cannot once again be a beacon of opportunity and an attractive place to do business. But that won’t happen until the state’s elected leaders address the policies that for years have driven business investment and opportunity to other states.
We stand ready to help.