Willamette Week Covers Eric Fruits’ Views on Oregon Prosperity Council Recommendations
Willamette Week covered Eric Fruits, ICLE Director of Economic Research, in a piece contrasting two economists’ views on the recommendations of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s Prosperity Council. The article drew on Fruits’ Substack writing, where he argues that Oregon’s fiscal condition is more dire than the Prosperity Council acknowledges and that its recommendations fall short of what the situation requires.
Read the full piece here.
OJP wanted to get perspectives on the recommendations from two economists who frequently disagree. One is Joe Cortright, a liberal, and Eric Fruits, a conservative. Both men, in their prolific writings and public commentary, have sketched out different views of the state’s economy and its future.
Cortright takes issue with the gloomy view of Oregon and proposes an alternative to the Prosperity Council’s plan, captured in a white paper “The High Road to Growth for All Oregonians,” which pushes for greater investment in public services. On his Substack, The Oregon Ledger, Fruits says the state’s condition is far more dire but that the Prosperity Council is nearly as misguided as tax-and-spend enthusiasts.