The Recession Session

Well the Oregon Legislature just finished its biennial session, now dubbed the “recession session” as the Democrat majority struggled to deal with Oregon’s declining economy, personified by our state having the second highest unemployment rate in the nation at 12.4%.

A couple of days ago I witnessed something I never would have seen during my time in the Legislature. The passage of a bill that is clearly unconstitutional from a committee (which acknowledged it’s unconstitutionality) that is tasked with doing whatever the Speaker of the House says will be done, Constitution be dammed! All of it, to pay off the unions to make it easier for them organize private employers.

Not only can Oregon taxpayers expect tax and fee increases from the Federal government, but the stage is set for unnecessary and massive tax/fee increases by the Legislature and the Governor. A job killing gross receipts tax, a small business tax disguised as an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, stealth carbon taxes, a health provider tax and on and on are soon to become law.

The stunning comment today by Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler leaves one’s head spinning with wonderment on how an elected official could be so clueless to managing the largest county government in Oregon. It also illustrates why government employment (as a whole) continues to grow while private sector employment is contracting dramatically.

You gotta love the extreme political correctness of Oregon’s struggling newspaper of record, the Oregonian, with their puff piece about the visit of the nutty Canadian zoologist and environmental activist David Suzuki. He spoke at the World Affairs Council yesterday in Portland to declare that it is “un American” to say that radical global warming policies (taxes) will “destroy our economy”.

So what that the Portland police have a list of repeat offenders who are often arrested? Where there is smoke there is fire and people who repeatedly get arrested for property crimes, drug dealing, prostitution ect... obviously have a problem. The ACLU says this practice is unconstitutional because it pegs people unfairly because it is based on arrests and not convictions and that there is no way to appeal being on the list.