All this bloviating and the most telling statistics in the article are completely ignored...we are by and large a fairly large  community of poor people who can't get out of their own way and have absolutely no prospects what-so-ever of upward prosperity.  Portland, by comparison, is a burgeoning economic engine that just keeps on taking care of a high percentage of it's citizenry with well paying jobs and a great quality of life directly related to that increased income...ask any Portland area resident if they would be interested in moving down here after they get done laughing maybe they'll buy you a cup of coffee and direct you back to an I-5 southbound on ramp...