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Ted Tries To Defend The Indefensible

No, Oregon's governor isn't hoping to help the poor downtrodden.  He's trying to defend himself against the report printed in The Oregonian.  A politician never expects his pets to turn on him.  And generally, they don't.  That's what makes the report so surprising, as the state's largest newspaper has a consistent history of looking the other way while politicians from Portland to Salem to Washington, D.C. engage in conduct that'd get you fired in a heartbeat.

State Censorship, Round Two

A while back, Oregon tried to prevent people from publishing state laws, claiming that the state held copyright to the material.  This claim was bogus from the start, as any laws enacted by any public agency clearly fall into public domain.  After a brief battle, the state gave it up as a lost cause.

Intelligent creatures have a common feature in their repertoire, which we refer to as "single-trial learning".  In general, when an intelligent animal screws up big-time, it will not repeat the mistake.  It learns from that single bad episode.

This, however, is Oregon: Things Look Different Here.  And while there may be many things that can be credited toward our officials, intelligence isn't among them.  Attorney General John Kroger is now attempting to claim copyright over the Attorney General's Public Record and Public Meeting Manual.

Amazing.  The manual is intended to provide assistance to state agencies, local governments and to the public generally.  But it's copyrighted, so you can't have it unless you purchase it from the state.  Wrong again!  It's a public agency publication.  It is no more subject to copyright protection that are Kroger's e-mails.

Why is it that Democrats always promise openness, transparency, and honesty?

Breaking News: The Oregonian Claims To Have Investigated Something

While The Oregonian has a long and storied history of presenting opinion under the guise of journalism, and an equally long history of being scooped on every bit of investigative journalism, it appears as though they have finally come up with something interesting.

State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows.

Records also show that the program, a favorite of Kulongoski's known as the Business Energy Tax Credit, has given millions of dollars to failed companies while voters are being asked to raise income taxes because the state budget doesn't have enough to pay for schools and other programs.

This seems to be a piece of actual journalism, which is astounding when considering the fact that it comes from The Oregonian.  Heck, if they keep this sort of thing up, you may want to re-subscribe. 

Oh, Wu Gotta Be Kidding

This came into the mailbox (produced and mailed by your tax dollars, of course).

 
Making Oregon a model for the nation?  

"Congressman David Wu:  Making Oregon a National Model for Green Homes, Offices, and Jobs"

Has this guy noticed the unemployment rate in the state?  Oregon is currently number 2 in the world for taxation, but the state's still broke.  This is a model for the nation?

Moral Morons

Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski shared his sense of spirituality with a reporterette from NPR during the course of a fly-fishing trip.  The article's just a brief puff-piece; the real meat comes in the third comment, posted by Fred Leonhardt.

And according to the kids over at Willamette Week, the going just got a lot tougher for Portland's pervy "mayor", Sam Adams:  the new recall effort is gaining momentum.  Not only is former state Senator Avel Gordly heading it up, not only have prominent business owners Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportswear) and Ron Tonkin (All for the love of cars) signed up as contributors and then some, but a couple more prominent folks have stepped up: Andrew Miller, the CEO of Portland-based Stimson Lumber and Peter Stott, the former CEO of Crown Pacific Partners and now the CEO of the Portland real estate firm SKB.

So, will Sam resign before the fecal material hits the turbine?  Unlikely.  Judgement has never been his strong suit.

Better yet: once Sam's removed from office, Tonkin has suggested that he'll run to replace him.  Of course, he'd never win.  Portlanders have shown time and again that they prefer incompetence in city management.

PERS

Oregon's Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) is once again being given a bit of scrutiny in the Big Zero.  As always, the Zero's way late to the party; most folks who've been paying any attention have seen the issue looming for half a dozen years.  Vallejo, CA has been in bankruptcy proceedings for well over a year, and other cities are waiting in the wings as the drama plays out.

The problems associated with PERS and similar programs don't lie so much with the employees themselves as with the politicians, judges, and other overseers who inserted themselves into the system.  In a proper pension program, the employers would not have any personal financial stake in the program.  Historically, that's been the case in most private-sector programs.  But we're talking about politicians, here.

And they want their cut.

So in Oregon, just about every politician and bureaucrat in every level of government has been enrolled in PERS.  And the benefits paid by PERS are calculated upon the basis of the highest rate of pay received during the course of a career.  Legislators tend to have fairly short careers, but bureaucrats don't.  So when "governor" Kulongoski bumped up the pay of 100 or so of his favorites, he locked them into the higher rates of PERS "compensation".  Hey, it's only money.  It's only Democratic.

One of the interesting features of PERS is that it's a no-lose proposition.  If the people making the bets and running the show happen to lose, it's not a big deal - positive results are guaranteed.  Any shortfalls must be covered by the various governmental agencies.  Sweet!

Ah, but who pays for all of these agencies?  Who ultimately covers the shortfalls of inept administrators?

Who allowed legislators, judges, and others to become part of a pension program in which they have not only a clear interest - but the power to write the rules by which the program operates?

So Far To Go

Oregon's clear back at the number 11 spot in foreclosures; with Democratics at the helm, we should be able to do better than that.  If only they can improve liveability by driving more businesses out of the state, we should be able to hit number 1 easily.

As has so often proven to be the case, Oregon can lead the way by following the progressive standards embraced by other western states. 

On November 4, California regulators may vote to ban big-screen televisions. The large sets use more energy than they would prefer.

Now, see?  This is the kind of thing we need to get behind.  Legislation like that should finally force Pixelworks and other industries to leave the state, which could finally push us into our rightful place at number 1 in unemployment.  The California ban would be pretty silly, as anybody who happens to have some cash would simply skip over to Nevada, Oregon, or other states that haven't as yet banned big-screen televisions, pick one up (no sales tax in Oregon!) and drive it back home.  Politicians just never seem to think things through.

Keepin' It Weird

Oregon enacted a smoking ban this past January, and state officials seem surprised to find that revenues are falling - not only from tobacco taxes, but from the video poker games they run, as well.  Gawlee Gee, who'd have thunk it?  The state, of course, has come to rely on gambling revenues, and while some of the drop can be traced to the effects of the recession, most sane people understand where the main part of the plunge actually came from: the nanny-state legislators.  The vast majority of video-game lottery players tend to park in front of a machine, smoke, and feed money in.  Ban smoking, and you've banned "playing".  Clearly, Oregon's foray into social engineering has come back to bite the state.

And then there's that especially weird little place known as Portland.  They've "planned" all the high-density housing, with streetcars and light rail and aerial trams.  Portland, with its emphasis on bicycles and walking and public transit, is supposedly really "liveable" - whatever that means.  Most folks define "liveability" as being able to secure a decent job, so that you can pay for things like food, housing, clothing, toilet paper, and so on.  In Portland, however, it means being able to walk or ride a bicycle from your condo to the local sushi shop.  The idea of actually earning enough money to pay for the condo or the sushi has been completely dismissed.

Sham Adams, the so-called "mayor", lays the results of his grand plans to poor marketing strategy.  He's wrong.  All the marketing he can pay for with the whopping five cents he may have in his pocket isn't going to alter the fundamental fact: everything the little liar has been peddling for the past 15 years is antithical to the creation of good jobs.  He has yet to realize that government never creates jobs - government creates stagnation and poverty.

It's nice to see somebody like Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, stepping up to put money and clout into the new effort to recall Sham Adams from office.  This recall looks deadly serious, and poor ol' Sham must be wetting his carseat every night.

Then, of course, there's the latest scam that Sham and his friend-with-benefits, Portland City Council member Randy tried to slip in:  Yep.  "Major-League Soccer".

    Randy's been the frontman on this idiocy, and now he's getting all blustery again.  Portlanders still owe around $21 million on the last "renovation" of Civic Stadium (now PGE Park) eight years ago, but Randy figures we should be willing to pony up another $35 million for yet another renovation to convert the place into a soccer-only venue - per the demands of one Merritt Paulson (look up daddy Hank as one of the authors of the national economic meltdown, part owner of Portland Timbers, etc.).

Merritt hasn't been too happy with the presents he's received thus far.  He owns the Portland Beavers baseball team, and he wants somebody to build a new stadium for them so that he can move them out of PGE Park.  Nobody's been willing to put up, so he's upped the ante: somebody better build the Beavs a new park, or Portland won't get "Major League Soccer".  That really makes Randy mad.  On the other hand, what doesn't?
 

Take Me To The River

That seems to be the refrain going through the minds of many of the top-drawer businessmen in the Portland area: they're moving to Vancouver prior to retiring, cashing in bonuses or stock options, or selling the companies they built.  Many cite Washington’s lack of income and capital gains taxes, while Oregon has long levied a 9 percent tax on income and capital gains – the nation’s second-highest rate. Now that the 2009 Oregon Legislature has bumped that tax rate up to 11 percent for high rollers, tops in the nation, the corporate exodus to Vancouver figures to get more attention.

Oregon's business-unfriendly climate has long been the subject of sometimes heated discussion, with business leaders on one side noting that the punitive tax situation here precipitates a drain of both brains and money.  Supporters of higher taxes naturally argue that the losses are overrated and are far overshadowed by the benefits derived from soaking businesses and "the wealthy".

Regardless of the persuasiveness (or lack thereof) of the ideological perspectives, it is inarguable that people are voting with their feet - and in increasing numbers.  Yet Oregon politicians keep pushing higher taxes and fees, and they continue to push for streetcars, trams, light rail, a convention center hotel, couplets, bike paths, and any number of other impediments to business.

New Walker Line Of Fragrances?

Hard to say, but something smells funny.

Former State Sen. Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) resigned her legislative seat earlier this year when Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed her to chair the state Parole Board, a full-time position.

That was weird, in and of itself, as Walker has no qualifications for the job (other than that a close relative is in lockup, having been convicted of murder).  Nonetheless, off she went - but there was a problem: the job is unfunded.  She was supposed to be sliding into a $97,000 per year job (with great benefits), but with the state looking at spending $180 million more than it has, something had to give.

One of the things that went away was the chair job.

Oh, but all is hardly lost:  Walker will stay on at the Parole Board temporarily to do the administrative work but at a reduced salary of $82,000.

Dang.  Would you accept a miserly $82,000 a year (plus benefits) to do administrative work?  Didn't think so (unless they provide free hand cleanser).