In this week of Thanksgiving, I’m proud, and thankful, to be an Oregonian.

“The long-run advantages that Oregon offers in terms of lots of job opportunities, scenic beauty, high quality of life – some of those things are still with us,” senior economist Josh Lehner told Oregon legislators last week.

But there is no denying the many challenges facing our state: Homelessness – the No. 1 issue, according to polling – and a vast shortage housing. Substance abuse and lack of treatment options. Mental health concerns and lack of treatment options. Struggling students. Opportunity gaps between urban and rural Oregon. Crime. Civic dysfunction. The economy.

An August survey by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center indicated that 46% of Oregonians believe our state is on the wrong track. Still, that number is a slight improvement from 51% a year ago.

A look inside the numbers shows the political, social and geographic gaps that underlie our civic discourse:

• By small majorities, people aged 75 and older, college graduates and urban residents were more likely to say Oregon is going in the right direction.

• Republicans and those who consider themselves economically or socially conservative were more worried than their counterparts about the future of their area of Oregon.

• Slightly more than half of Oregonians felt left behind economically. 

Yet, the survey reported, two-thirds of Oregonians “believe there are things that we all value that cut across political divides, representing the common ground we can stand on together to make our state a better place.”

That gives hope that rank-and-file Oregonians, not just elected leaders, can work together to turn things around.

A place to start: Cut the trash talk. Stifle the snide remarks. Don’t sugarcoat Oregon’s shortcomings but aggressively attack the state’s problems, not its policymakers. Develop workable solutions, regardless of whose idea they are, by finding common ground.

In short, reclaim “The Oregon Way:” Collaborate, and compromise, for the common good instead of seeking personal or partisan advantage.

Much has been written about that seemingly lost philosophy. Having covered the Oregon scene since 1976, I think some such ruminations have been more nostalgia than reality. Greater conflict occurred at the time than people recall.

Collaboration and compromise do not rule out discussion and debate. As Kevin Frazier wrote in a 2021 essay for The Other Oregon magazine, that approach often yielded the roadmap for getting things done: “leaders from both sides of the Cascades and all parts of the political spectrum came together to forge the policies that still make Oregon a special place to call home.” 

The economy is one place where such collaboration and creative thinking can have an impact.

In their quarterly economic and revenue forecast released Nov. 15 and updated on Tuesday, Lehner and State Economist Mark McMullen stressed that Oregon’s growing population, fueled by folks migrating here from other states, typically allowed us to outperform much of the U.S. 

But as I recounted in Capital Chatter last week, that population growth has stalled. Deaths now outnumber births – and apparently will forever. Meanwhile, more people are now leaving the state than are moving here, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. At the same time, our populace is aging, taking more people out of the labor force.

An inadequate labor force hurts individual employers, as well as the overall economy. However, the economists wrote that the existing labor force could grow substantially, “if Oregon were to address and close some of the historical disparities based on age, educational attainment, race and ethnicity, and sex or gender.”

That will require rethinking by employers, community leaders and other policymakers, plus a willingness by individual Oregonians to give folks the opportunity to develop needed skills and experience.

During the forecast presentation last week, Rep. Jules Walters, D-West Linn, told the economists: “I think what I’m hearing from you is that we have a need for affordable childcare, and we need to be paying our childcare workers a livable wage. And also, we have a long-term care deficit, so we need to be building that workforce.”

Meantime, Oregonians can do our part to recruit and welcome new residents, particularly younger workers looking to put down long-term roots. When we believe in Oregon – all of Oregon, rural and urban, East and West – others will, too.