Adam Lashinsky of Fortune magazine put a somewhat uncomfortable question to Concordia University's recent CEO Roundtable. In a discussion of the challenges facing the U.S. economy, he asked for a show of hands: Who would be in favor of some kind of government action to restrict the outsourcing of U.S. jobs overseas?

No one raised a hand. Not any of the panelists — Peggy Fowler of PGE, Ray Davis of Umpqua Bank, Robert Parry of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco — and not a single one of the 250-plus business leaders in the crowd.

There must have been a few closet protectionists in the audience who were itching to signal their support for offshore-busting, but could not find the courage. But I'm guessing the straw poll was on target. I didn't raise my hand, though I have several friends whose programming work has been sent to Asia by cost-conscious high-tech employers.

After all, business people are not supposed to want government meddling in markets, especially labor markets that are highly mobile and upon which some of Oregon's most important employers (Intel, H-P, InFocus, to name a few) desperately depend.

But while there may be overwhelming unanimity among business leaders on free trade and other issues, these policy priorities don't track very well with public opinion in Oregon.

Polling firm Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall recently conducted a survey of 500 Oregonians for Oregon Business (see results at www.mediamerica.net/obm_online_input.php). Respondents ranked a series of priorities for achieving a healthy economy in Oregon over the next five years. At the head of the pack: keeping Oregon manufacturing and high-tech jobs from being sent overseas. Next in line: maintaining the funding and quality of K-12 education; promoting job growth in rural Oregon; ensuring that public universities are top-notch and affordable.

On the flip side, Oregonians overall are pretty lukewarm to several top priorities for the business community. Respondents put these items at the bottom of the economic agenda: boosting global trade and recruiting more foreign companies to Oregon; marketing Oregon products and tourism to outsiders; pumping up the high-tech sector.

Business leaders need to pay attention to this disconnect. As John Grund reports in his piece on Washington County voters (p. 16), free trade in high-tech labor has become a near-religious creed among pro-business candidates, even as retaining local jobs gains popularity among the public. Businesses and lobby groups that opposed Measure 30 might find it hard to convince other Oregonians that their anti-tax stance, popular with voters, doesn't make them anti-education as well.

There are hopeful signs that some members of the business community are bridging political divides. One example: The Chalkboard Project brings together the JELD-WEN, Collins, Ford Family and Oregon Community foundations and the Meyer Memorial Trust in a nonpartisan effort to promote accountability and stable funding for Oregon schools.

Only if business leaders pay attention to the economic concerns of most Oregonians will they be able to build support for their own economic agenda — lower capital gains taxes, more tax benefits for R&D, free trade, more funding for engineering education and tech transfer. By raising their hands on the issues of the greatest public concern, businesses can smooth the way for policies that help them grow in Oregon.

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Copyright 2004 Oregon Business magazine