Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has just released a proposed two-year state budget Monday that attacks Oregon residents with close to $2 billion in tax and fee hikes. These include taxes on corporations, sure to drive business interstate; taxes on hospitals and health insurance companies, without doubt hurting families, driving up the cost of businesses and making health care less affordable; cigarettes - after voters REJECTED such a proposal last year and finally $1 billion of extra car fees and a 2-cent gas tax increase, which will also drive up employment costs, force small businesses to shut down and hurt working families.
The reason for Oregon's financial mess would be clear to anyone with a 3rd grade math education: in 1991-3 Oregon spending was at $5.6 billion. Now it is $16 billion. Triple. OVERSPENDING AND OVERSPENDING ALONE IS THE PROBLEM: if you spend like a drunken sailor for years, you should expect to get a hangover. Unfortunately it would seem such basic reasoning skills are missing in the Governor's office.
The proposed Oregon budget is a disgrace. It doesn't even begin to address the structural problems of overspending and financial mismanagement. It will severely hurt Oregon's working families. It will squeeze people out of health care. It will force businesses to close and go interstate. Everyone will be worse off under this budget. If this disgraceful excuse for a budget is passed, it shall spell financial ruin for Oregon.
Oh... wait... it seems at least one group of people will benefit from this budget - included are $10 million in raises for the governor, legislators and other elected officials. Maybe Governor Kulongoski knows what he's doing after all...
0 comments:
Post a Comment