Oregon
State Capitol
900
Court Street NE, S-323
Salem,
Oregon 97301
Stalling
is the worst way to deal with budget deficit
Ted Ferrioli
Statesman Journal
July 9, 2010
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, House Speaker Dave
Hunt and Senate President Peter Courtney are playing out the definition of
madness in Salem by doing the same old things and telling Oregonians to
expect a different outcome. This time, they're doing it in high style and
with plenty of melodrama.
As in any melodrama, each player has a
role.
The governor's role is to rally the
state's public employee unions and help whip up public sentiment against
spending cuts by targeting programs that Democrats know Oregonians value
and Republicans will fight to protect. Programs like public safety that
keep convicted inmates behind prison walls and social programs like Oregon
Project Independence that keeps senior citizens living longer and more
comfortably in their own homes.
In this melodrama, Courtney plays the
Wizard, counseling caution and study while stalling for time. Hunt mimes
the Warrior-poet battling Washington for a "fair share" of the
next round of stimulus dollars to allow Oregon's super-majority to continue
its pattern of unsustainable spending.
Like any good melodrama, there are plot
twists and complications. For instance, Oregonians are learning the bitter
truth that you don't have to be "rich" to be hit by higher taxes;
that small businesses are continuing to fail because of bad policies and
poor business climate; and yes, Virginia, that more business owners, fed up
with higher fees, higher taxes and being politically hounded by the
Progressives are voting with their feet.
But the audience in this cliff-hanger
knows that stalling for time is the worst possible option for dealing with
a $500 million-plus shortfall.
They know that by taking immediate action
to engage citizens and legislators in setting priorities, creating targeted
spending cuts to programs and personnel and by refusing to wait for
stimulus dollars which have to run out sooner or later, Oregonians will
have more choices and better alternatives than just waiting and hoping.
Calling for an immediate special session
engages all of the best mechanisms for dealing with Oregon's fiscal crisis
and allows for full public participation. It might even provide a public
forum for dealing with Oregon's real problem: our spending addiction.
Legislators have one constitutional
mandate: to balance the budget. No party, particularly one that owes its
political success to public employee unions, should try to prevent
legislators from doing their duty, and the sooner the better.
Oregon Senate Republican Leader Ted
Ferrioli, R-John Day, can be reached at (503) 986-1950 or sen.tedferrioli@state.or.us.
Source: www.statesmanjournal.com