The Republican Rainy Day Meltdown
Russell Sadler
The Oregon Republican meltdown over House passage of a measure converting this year’s corporate kicker into a permanent rainy day fund and increasing the minimum corporate tax is reminiscent of the penultimate scene in the Wizard of Oz.
Toto rips down a canvas curtain to reveal a wizened old man hollering into a microphone, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” as he frantically pulls at levers that no longer respond and the mighty machine emits screeching noises and clouds of smoke as it implodes.
No sooner had the rainy day fund measure passed with the necessary Republicans voting with House Democrats, than the Republican Noise Machine went into high gear attacking House Democrats for “raising taxes.”
Preprinted post cards went out to voters in districts where Democrats are supposed to be vulnerable. The legend, “You would be smiling to if you didn’t have to pay the bills,” accompanied pictures of smiling Democratic legislators.
Robocalls began descending on unwary voters in Rep. Chris Edwards’ district in Eugene. “I’m your neighbor Sheri and I thought you ought to know that Chris Edwards has just voted to raise taxes,” came the breathless voice on my cell phone.
When these tactics failed to generate a hysterical wave of anti-tax sentiment, Jason Williams of the Taxpayers Association of Oregon decided to manufacture one. His fake “grassroots” group started drumming up the “news” that businesses all over Oregon were upset that the new minimum corporate tax which has been fixed at $10 since the 1930s was about to be increased.
House Minority Leader Wayne Scott -- a fellow who understands political bullying from extensive practice -- so far has refused to go back on the agreement he had made with the House Democratic leadership. Williams has decided to work the Senate in the hope he can persuade Senate Republicans to deny the Democrats the votes they need to pass the House-approved measure. Senate Republicans have supposedly told House Republicans there isn’t a single Republican vote in the Senate for the rainy day fund and the increased corporate minimum tax.
Williams’ group should not to be confused with Bill Sizemore’s defunct Oregon Taxpayers Association. Williams is associated with the lobbyist Grover Norquist’s conglomerate of Washington, D.C. - based anti-tax organizations that have been tainted by their association with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The calls and postcards attacking Democrats -- but not the Republicans -- who voted for the rainy day fund measure are financed by a Washington D.C.- based group named Freedom Works. It’s a leftover from Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America marketing gimmick. Freedom Works’ shill in Oregon, Russell Walker, has managed to become an officer in the Oregon Republican Party.
Walker and Williams are not members of Associated Oregon Industries, the Oregon Business Association and the Portland Business Alliance, all of which are willing to turn their record corporate kicker into a rainy day fund just this one tim, primarily to stabilize school finances during economic downturns and to avoid a measure on the ballot repealing the corporate kicker permanently.
Williams insists voters do not want the kicker tampered with. Voters, he insists, approved the kicker by more than 60 percent.
That was, of course, before Oregonians realized the refunds were phony -- the result of cooked books that justified “surplus” refunds. When they were in the majority, Oregon Republicans gleefully mailed out refund checks just before Christmas, then quietly arranged to borrow the money to pay the state’s bills -- about $1.2 billion over a little more than a decade. The payment on that borrowed money is around $150 million in this budget period alone. It’s the Republican’s hidden tax increase from their reckless policy of borrow-and-spend.
The national Republican Party’s attack machine is suddenly wheezing, coughing and blowing dark smoke. It’s effort to deny Oregonians their traditionally maverick solutions to their own problems and replace them with national conservative ideological prescriptions has failed. It was recognized and rejected by the voters last November. Some Oregon House Republicans finally seem to get it despite signs of wavering late in the week. Now it’s time for Senate Republicans to demonstrate they are Oregonians before they are Republicans.
Legislators in both parties in the Oregon House voting for the rainy day fund measure are simply doing what voters expected when they swept house last November. They are cleaning up the fiscal mess left over from the period the Republicans were in the majority. Some House Republicans are doing their penance and doing their part. Now it’s time to see if Senate Republicans have the same steel in their spines.
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Mar 11, '07
Great Post. For a more detailed account from the Republican perspective travel on over to NWRepublican.blogspot.com
You won't be disappointed. Nate
Mar 11, '07
I just want to know when is this insanity going to stop? We already have more government workers per capita than anywhere else and they are still whining that they need MORE MONEY? These idiots are greedy and won't stop at anything until they are getting 80% of our income in taxes.
Mar 11, '07
GT-you say "We already have more government workers per capita than anywhere else". Please cite your source
Mar 11, '07
US Census for Multnomah County. Not only do we have more government per capita but government is the largest industry in this county. They really need to rename this "Blue Oregon" into "Blue Portland" because this state is NOT Blue - only the liberaltopias of Portland and Eugene.
Mar 11, '07
Oregon has FEWER not more government workers per capita than the US average. Oregon lean on government workers Posted by Oregonian politics team March 05, 2007 13:18PM Categories: Breaking News, Money watch, Oregon state government
Oregon is a bit leaner than most states when it comes to hiring government employees, with just 491 state and local government employees per 10,000 residents compared to 539 per 10,000 residents nationwide, according to new figures released by the Census Bureau Monday.
One area where Oregon stands out is in police officers. Oregon's 6,100 public employees who fill a police officer role each cover about one-third more residents than the typical state and local police officer nationwide. Only five other states -- including Washington -- have fewer police officers per capita, according to figured compiled by the bureau.
1:20 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
Russell: "No sooner had the rainy day fund measure passed with the necessary Republicans voting with House Democrats, than the Republican Noise Machine went into high gear attacking House Democrats for “raising taxes.”
Preprinted post cards went out to voters in districts where Democrats are supposed to be vulnerable. The legend, “You would be smiling to if you didn’t have to pay the bills,” accompanied pictures of smiling Democratic legislators."
I understand how easy it is to get the chronology confused, but I think this isn't quite right. The first thing that happened was that the majority report went down 31-26. At that time the mailers were already going out, and in the intervening 24 hours the robocalls and radio ads were running. And Wayne Scott knew full well they were running, while he was participating in the big deal on RDF, corporate taxation and the estate tax exemption. At that time there had been no votes on the deal. The agreement the House eventually passed was at the end of the week, some days later.
Otherwise, spot on. This has been an embarrassing time for the ORGOP, they're not even pleasing their base, and they're choosing the course--referral for permanent repeal of the corporate kicker--that will do them more damage down the road.
Mar 11, '07
Whatever. If you read everything you read in the Oregonian, then you're in for real trouble. Why is it that pro-government people always bring up schools and police in their scare tactics? How many paper pushers do we need to subsidize, anyway? How about we do something truly progressive and stand apart from the rest of the country and make our government more efficient than anyone else's? These "progressives" are just out to protect themselves and their buddies because they happen to be government money grubbing PERS workers.
1:57 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
GT,
This will get you nowhere on Blue Oregon.
You made an initial assertion.
You were challenged to provide a source/link to that info so that reasonable people could asses both your info and the source.
You refused to provide a reference beyond citing the census and Multnomah county. No specific link to specific info.
Bluenote provided sourced information opposing your argument, and then we saw your true depth as a debater:
Whatever. All gummint is bad and we got too much.
As I said, That won't get you far on this list.
Mar 11, '07
How about we do something truly progressive and stand apart from the rest of the country and make our government more efficient than anyone else's?
Oh, cut the bullcrap, GT. We're barely keeping our schools open in many cases. Curriculums are being dumbed down, and the music, art, and sports activities anyone over 40 took for granted in high school barely exist anymore. And Katrina has forever proved that when poor Americans need serious help, Republicans don't give a damn.
Your whiny corporatist Republican spin is soooo 20th Century ...
The "fiscally responsible" Republicans (what a sick joke that is) have screwed our children and grand-children by slashing public investment and saddling them with massive debt for nothing but tax cuts - total abdications of social responsibility - for their super-rich colleagues (George Bush's "base"), and a murderous, sinful, unjust war which has destroyed America's credibility in the world for the next 50 years, and only that if we're lucky.
I am sick and tired of Rich Republican child abuse. Thank God the Democrats are willing to invest in our children's future.
Class war? You bet, and we're sick of losing.
2:13 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
Apparently some Republicans have finally figured out that Oregon's fiscal mess has been caused by no one else but them. Grover Norquist's no tax crowd in Oregon, has supported the sham of 'borrow and spend' for 10 years according to Mr. Sadler. $1.2 billion dollars of borrowed money to pay the state's bills while sending out kicker checks to corporations and individuals is revealed at last. Voters will force Republican candidates to account for themselves. Many of us can hardly wait to receive our ballots to get rid of the absurd corporate kicker.
Mar 11, '07
Any conjecture as to whether the rainy day fund bill will pass the Senate?
From an electoral standpoint it might be useful for Dems if it's blocked by R's in the Senate, however from the public policy perspective it would be unfortunate if it failed.
3:50 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
Let's all just ignore GT, shall we? His trollishness is tiresome. Perhaps a donation to a Democratic presidential candidate every time he comments would help encourage him to go away.
Mar 11, '07
"then quietly arranged to borrow the money to pay the state’s bills -- about $1.2 billion over a little more than a decade."
Can you give us the source for this?
Mar 11, '07
They have tried to shut me down so many times but I am more wily than that. I am tired of paying into this pathetic money grubbing system that does absolutely NOTHING for me in return. I paid over $12,000 in taxes last year alone and you have the audacity to tell me that my thinking is "SO 20th century". Well I am finished. I am no longer paying taxes and if you imbeciles want to pay for my housing while I am in prison, I'd be obliged. No more taxation without representation.
Mar 11, '07
"I am sick and tired of Rich Republican child abuse. Thank God the Democrats are willing to invest in our children's future.
Class war? You bet, and we're sick of losing."
I am so glad that I was not a product of the pathetic Oregon school system. I didn't spend a day in my life in it. I actually went to private schools and learned the concepts of morals and hard work. My parents barely scraped by when sending my brother and I to private school but they were appaled at the pathetic public school system. And then you say "waste even more money on the schools". Give me a break, they can't even do anything productive with the money they get today, what solution is it to throw more money into social ills? If I had gone to school in the public system, I'd no doubt be like the rest of you, without any morals, always enabling the lowlives of the world and crying about everything all the time and being extremely lazy. Progressive? Sounds like idiotic thinking to me.
Mar 11, '07
"then quietly arranged to borrow the money to pay the state’s bills -- about $1.2 billion over a little more than a decade."
Can you give us the source for this?
If you look at the Oregon Treasurer reports, the amount of indebtness is amazing. I am not sure how much of that debt is from the past decade, but $1.2 billion sounds low. For example, we have spent more than we could afford on transportation (hard to believe given the congestion and poor maintenance on our roads), and the gas taxes at the current level only pay for servicing the bond debt, with no money for new projects.
See http://www.ost.state.or.us/about/annual_reports/index.htm
5:05 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
i just want GT to know the no place in Oregon is bluer than Corvallis and Benton County. check our voting record. if were the size of MultCo or Lane, we'd really have people like you terrified.
Mar 11, '07
I have a Republican State Senator - Whitsett. You can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to be watching his vote.
If he votes against our local schools by voting against the rainy day fund and letting the corporate kicker be yet another windfall bonus to corporations - you can bet this Senate District will hear about it in time for his election campaign in 2008.
Whitsett started his office with an attempt to over turn the Oregon minimum wage law, two weeks after saying he had no intention of cutting minimum wages. He then went on to attempt to give a tax break to the wealthy Oregonians (but not your average tax payer) via a cut in the capital gains tax. If he gives that corporate kicker (call that unearned income) back to the corporations at the expense of a rainy day fund for our schools, I and others like me will be telling every school child and every parent in this district what he is doing.
And I hope every other Republican Senate District has people like me who will be watching these votes too.
Mar 11, '07
The reason they need so much for transportation projects is so they can do endless environmental impact and feasibility studies then have 20 years of endless public debates on proposed projects. If they would just turn a lot of this stuff over to private entities then real progress would happen. But they would rally against that because it would mean a headcount reduction in government and that would be unacceptable to them.
Mar 11, '07
"He then went on to attempt to give a tax break to the wealthy Oregonians"
What is wrong with that? The "wealthy" are the ones who pay into this asinine sytstem yet you want to punish them for their hard work and redistribute the wealth to the "poor"? I think everyone should pay the exact same % no matter if they make $1 or $1 billion. I am especially incensed that when I have had "rough times" this system won't do a damn thing for me except chastise me for making "too much" and say that I'm not needy. I guess those guys I saw on the MAX talking about how they were going to use their Oregon Trail Cards to buy drugs qualify as "needy". Enough of this system that enables people to be lazy and demand free handouts.
Mar 11, '07
gt-take a deep breath, count to 10, and breathe out...
Mar 11, '07
I can't breath right now. I have a bad cold as a result from riding the mobile germ factory. I have never been sick as many times in a month span since I started riding the MAX more frequently. I guess this is their idea of "livablity".
Mar 11, '07
One correction: House Republican "Leader" Wayne Scott DID go back on the original deal he made with House Democrats. After waffling for several days, he refused to deliver the House R votes for the Corporate Minimum/Estate tax part of the deal.
The good news is that the revised deal was almost identical to the House Democrats' original proposal: Corporate Kicker monies into a Rainy Day Fund.
Wayne Scott lied, but in this rare instance, Democrats and Oregonians were the big winners.
Mar 11, '07
How about getting back to the truth
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9005566792811497638&hl=en
Mar 11, '07
Thanks for providing the link to this video. I think it's time for a revolt against these simpletons who want us to all live in the overpriced ghetto projects and ride on the MAX to go everywhere we need to. If a volcano blows up it puts out 1,000s times more than we put out in CO2 in an entire year! When Pinatubo blew up, it actually cooled the air the next two years - if it's really "inconvenient truth" that CO2 causes warming, why don't the volcano eruptions cause a sudden warming each time they blow?
Mar 11, '07
I actually went to private schools and learned the concepts of morals and hard work.
So did I.
The difference is that, unlike you, the "concepts of morals" I learned include altruism, civic responsibility, and the decency not to screw my children and grand-children with ungodly debt, paying for rich man's tax breaks and senseless wars.
As for learning the need for and benefit of "hard work", no one has to work harder to learn than students in the under-funded, under-staffed, and over-regulated public schools you Filthy Rich Republicans have foisted on the majority of America's children (as opposed to your own children, safely ensconced in private schools so expensive even you can only afford them because of the tax breaks showered upon you by your Republican co-conspirators).
I just wish that you and your fellow Republicans would occasionally walk your talk - even once in a while - rather than spout toxic streams of grossly immoral, self-serving lies and hypocrisy ("fiscal responsibility" my ass, Republicans live their lives, and run their governments, on Visa(tm) cards!). It's obvious why the evangelical christians are walking away from the Republican Party. As screwy as their views can be, many at least try to hold them with integrity, and try to do right by their children and society.
Am I angry at the Republican Party? HELL YES I am angry at that cabal of corporatist war-mongering Visa(tm)-swinging child-abusers! The Republican Party has destroyed America's reputation in the world, and stolen our children's economic future, borrowing trillions to pay for rich man's tax breaks, and senseless war.
Child-abusers should pay for their crimes. So should thieves.
Mar 11, '07
Why are you categorizing me as a "filty rich Republican"? A. you don't even know me to make the assertion B. I am not republican.
Maybe I am angry at the whole pitiful system that has to arrogantly stolen money from me over the years and has given me little to nothing in return?
As it stands we spend very little on "war mongering" as a percentage of our GDP compared with most other countries. So your argument is moot, as are most "progressive" chicken little sky is falling arguments. You won't be happy until we're just like European weak and lazy countries paying 80% of our taxes to the bloated government and getting fat welfare checks.
Mar 11, '07
When Pinatubo blew up, it actually cooled the air the next two years - if it's really "inconvenient truth" that CO2 causes warming, why don't the volcano eruptions cause a sudden warming each time they blow?
The aerosols (particulates) injected into the stratosphere by a volcanic eruption scatter sunlight. Less solar energy reaches the Earth's surface until those aerosols settle out. Here's an item from NASA explaining the physics. The mechanism by which CO2 traps heat is completely different.
Mar 11, '07
The Al Gores of the world just want us to all live in squalor while they jet around the world in their private jets and drive their SUVs. They are disingenuous liars.
7:34 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
People, please. Don't engage the troll. Especially when he goes off-topic. This is a post about the Rainy Day Fund, not MAX, or global warming, or private schools.
Mar 11, '07
So it's completely acceptable for your "trolls" to sidetrack conversations? You guys are hypocrites.
I just love how you guys try to shut me down just because I have a difference of opinion! All I have to do is sign on via a different service and voila – posting resumes. You’ll have to try harder!
An error occurred... You are not allowed to post comments. Please correct the error in the form below, then press Post to post your comment.
9:18 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
Kari, please don't pretend you're helpless in this situation. Another word for trolls is "attention whores". Start deleting this guy's random ravings - and making sure there isn't even a note that the thing even existed - and he'll quickly give up and go away.
I appreciate that you want to make this a place for diverse opinions - I'd even welcome a fact-based debate or two with a Republican - but I really think you have to come down harder on the fact-free name calling.
Mar 11, '07
The amusing thing about this troll is that he claims that he had to give up his job because he couldn't look at a computer screen all day. Given the volume of his posts across the blogosphere, I'd say his eyes are fine. Other parts, maybe no so much.
Mar 11, '07
Oh so you're a doctor? Maybe you could figure out what's wrong with my eyes. So far $490 hasn't gotten me a fix for the problem. What is your number?
Mar 11, '07
"Kari, please don't pretend you're helpless in this situation. Another word for trolls is "attention whores". Start deleting this guy's random ravings - and making sure there isn't even a note that the thing even existed - and he'll quickly give up and go away."
Typical liberals - they don't like any difference of opinion. If something runs contrary to their limited view, they try to shut people down. The only way you'll be able to shut me down is make this a private logon based club and have everybody verify their identities.
10:04 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
Great post as usual, Russell.
I'd prefer to see our legislators refer a repeal of the corporate kicker to the Oregon voters rather than trade a permanent cut on the estate tax and capital gains for a one time hold on the corporate kicker.
If House and Senate Republicans want to trade a tax cut for a temporary repeal of the corporate kicker, the only deal Democrats should offer them is a cut in payroll taxes for working families.
If that idea is a non-starter among the GOP caucuses, then so be it. Let them go back to their constituents and explain why they are pushing so hard for tax breaks that will benefit no more than a few thousand of the wealthiest people in this state, and why they won't support tax relief for working families.
Mar 11, '07
I want the whole goddamned-kicker - both corporate and standard - revoked. Just complete BS.
11:24 p.m.
Mar 11, '07
The kicker (corporate as well as individual) is one of the WORST. IDEAS. EVER.
Especially in a state with no sales tax, a state that relies on income taxes for the vast bulk of its revenue. It's basically impossible for the state to achieve any kind of real fiscal stability under these circumstances. Of course the people who hate the kicker want to reduce income taxes and institute a sales tax, because the sales tax will affect them much less, but that doesn't make it good public policy.
Maybe I just wasn't paying attention in Civics class the day they taught us that the only way to decide how to vote or hold political opinions was based on pure greed and self-interest.
Mar 12, '07
Hey, the nice thing about Income Taxes is that you don't have to pay them if you don't want to. That's the route I am taking from now on since our wonderful government doesn't ever help me out when I need it. I am just going to help myself from now on rather than give it to the greedy pigs. Civil Disobedience Ghandi Style!!
Mar 12, '07
GT wrote, ""He then went on to attempt to give a tax break to the wealthy Oregonians"
What is wrong with that? The "wealthy" are the ones who pay into this asinine sytstem yet you want to punish them for their hard work and redistribute the wealth to the "poor"?"
Well, GT, what you don't appear to understand is that a lot of our tax dollars go to provide all sorts of infrastructure that support the production of wealth in this country. It is only fair that the wealthy pay a little more than the average tax payer, as they get a larger reward from our tax dollars. Instead, an unbalanced tax system that places a high burden upon workers exists. The wealthy and corporations now pay - as I understand it but I don't have a handy source here - about half of what they paid in taxes 40 years ago. While the rich are getting richer, the rest of us are losing ground with our income not keeping up with inflation. We need to re-balance the tax system to collect a fair share from the wealthy - a share equal to the benefits of government that they receive.
In other words, why should the rest of us subsidize the wealthy?
Mar 12, '07
"In other words, why should the rest of us subsidize the wealthy? "
I'm sure there are a million Indian and Chinese workers who could benefit and the companies could pay them less, too. Is that what you want? Punish "the wealthy" and the "evil" corporations and make them relocate elsewhere where it's more business friendly? Imagine what such a move by Intel would do to the Oregon economy! In other words, don't bite the hand that feeds you.
--TG--
8:59 p.m.
Mar 12, '07
Imagine what such a move by Intel would do to the Oregon economy! In other words, don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Small businesses create the overwhelming majority of jobs in this state, and yet they only get a pittance of corporate kicker money compared to the multi-state and multi-national corporations that do business in Oregon.
The share of state income taxes for corporations operating in Oregon has dropped from 16-24 percent in the early 1970's to less than 5 percent today. It's to the point now that multi-national and multi-state corporations operating in Oregon have among the lowest state income taxes in America while working people pay the highest payroll taxes in America.
And you're coming here to defend the corporate kicker? Even though 2/3rds of money from that kicker leaves the state?
Get real.
You want to cut the estate tax in Oregon? Fine. But remember that you'll only be benefitting a few thousand of this state's wealthiest families.
You want to cut capital gains in Oregon? Fine. But remember that less than 1 percent of the population will reap 90 percent or more of the benefit.
If you want to fight for tax cuts, then fight for cuts to payroll taxes. Fight for an expansion of the earned income tax credit -- a program that Ronald Reagan called “the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.”
If you want to fight for those kinds of cuts I'll be standing right next to you, but I'll be damned if I'm going to join the ranks of working people fighting for more tax policy benefits for millionaires and billionaires while the rest of us -- the small business owners, the hourly wage earners, small family farmers, and other working people keep getting screwed.
I'll repeat what I said earlier in the thread:
If House and Senate Republicans want to trade a tax cut for a temporary repeal of the corporate kicker, the only deal Democrats should offer them is a cut in payroll taxes for working families.
If that idea is a non-starter among the GOP caucuses, then so be it. Let them go back to their constituents and explain why they are pushing so hard for tax breaks that will benefit no more than a few thousand of the wealthiest people in this state, and why they won't support tax relief for working families.
Mar 12, '07
Why should corporations have to pay any tax at all? Corporations are DOUBALLY TAXED - first the profits of the corporations THEN the shareholders via their dividends and capital gains, too. And yet you have the audacity to blather on that coporations don't pay their fair share even though they employ most of the people and bring great economic benefit to the state? Sure, the mom and pop botique stores in the Pearl are nice but large corporations are the real drivers of our economy.
Mar 13, '07
"The national Republican Party’s attack machine is suddenly wheezing, coughing and blowing dark smoke."
I dunno, Hillary is saying the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is back: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070313/D8NRBNV80.html
I don't think the smartest woman in the world could be wrong about this.
10:53 a.m.
Mar 13, '07
At the risk of feeding the troll, let me point out that GT/TG's latest post contains a classic right wing myth, that people would to well to combat.
The vast majority of corporations are not "doubly taxed", because the vast majority of wealth they create, held by their original owners, is never taxed. Bill Gates, for example, possesses 40 Billion dollars (give or take 5 - it fluctuates), but hasn't been taxed on nearly any of it, because he's owned it from the beginning. When he dies, his children will inheret all 40 Billion (or however much is left after he's done with his philanthropy) only paying a one-time inheritence tax. If the law isn't changed and he and his wife die in a plane in 2009, his kids will inheret those Billions completely tax free.
Most Americans, on the other hand, pay anywhere from 10% to 40% of their income in taxes - EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Corporate taxes don't even come close to making up for the disparity, yet you'll hear time and time again from Republicans about "double-taxation", as if the number of taxes (rather than the total amount) was what was important.
2:34 p.m.
Mar 13, '07
Beyond that, Steven, it's a steaming pile of an argument even if you focus on the investors rather than the owners. If corporations are 'people' as conservatives want them to be treated, then there's no way it could be double taxation--since the corporate "person" gets taxed once, and then when they transfer money to shareholders, those (actual) people pay their share as well. And as you say, if the money is never taken as profits in the first place by the corporation, they don't pay a dime on it.
Mar 14, '07
GT what are you doing? I think this website might be too hard for you.
Mar 14, '07
"If you look at the Oregon Treasurer reports, the amount of indebtness is amazing. I am not sure how much of that debt is from the past decade, but $1.2 billion sounds low. For example, we have spent more than we could afford on transportation (hard to believe given the congestion and poor maintenance on our roads), and the gas taxes at the current level only pay for servicing the bond debt, with no money for new projects."
Uh, fellas, borrowing money to build bridges is not running a deficit. Unless you think the state is like a guy who pays cash for his house.
Anyone give me over/under before the state plunders the rainy day fund to staff up Tad's office or for economic devleopment?