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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2002)
Page 2 The INDEPENDENT, September 19,2002 Legislators driven by fear of losing seats Most people go into politics because they believe that government can do a better job, and they really want to work toward that goal. Seeking public office is an acknowledgement that government has an impor tant role to play in our lives and that the legislature is an important part of the process. That is why the cur rent state legislature is such an overwhelming failure. First, get over the idea that government should be run like a business; it isn’t a business. The role of gov ernment, at any level, is to provide services deemed necessary. What is “necessary” will vary from person to person, but there are a few generally agreed-upon ba sics. Most people will say public safety, education and transportation (roads and bridges) are necessary; therefore it is the role of government to provide these services and it is the job of elected officials to be sure there is enough money to provide them. That is done with taxes, assessments, fees, or whatever you want to call them. In other words, when it costs $1.5-2 million to build one mile of highway, someone has to pay for it. It isn’t free; borrowing money (bonding) costs us a lot more because we also pay interest; pretending that this year’s debt doesn’t matter because it is next year’s ob ligation is, at best, stupid, at worst, dishonest. So how should government provide necessary serv ices with insufficient funds? There are really only two ways, alone or together: 1. Raise taxes. 2: Cut servic es. A few Democrats publicly opted to raise taxes and a few Republicans publicly opted to cut services. Though they disagreed on the approach, these few legislators had the courage to make their positions public. They, at least, were trying to do their jobs. The majority in both parties apparently forgot why they ran for office in the first place — to help govern ment do a better job of providing necessary services. So, because they lack either the courage or the con viction necessary to do their jobs, the majority opted to borrow against tomorrow’s income for today’s short term gain. In doing so, they have placed their fiscal ir responsibility on someone else’s shoulders. In addi tion, they have not begun to deal with the problem: The budget gap is growing, not shrinking. t Because the majority in the state leg islature lacks the courage to vote on ei ther an interim tax increase or severe re ductions in services, they’ve taken the coward’s way out: They will refer a tem porary tax increase to the voters—who will also have to pay for another special election. In an interesting twist on Democracy in Action, the legislative leadership, par ticularly in the House, has refused to let the legislature vote on a number of strategies that would ease the situation. One of the most egregious is the refusal to even consider temporarily disconnect ing from the Federal tax code in order to delay the negative effects of accelerated depreciation approved by Congress and the Bush administration. (In simple terms, being “connected” to the federal code means the state automatically gives the same tax breaks as the feder al government so, if the U.S. increases the deduction for depreciation of busi ness equipment, so does Oregon.) As uncomfortable as tax increases may make legislators feel, the results of major cuts in state services would be much more than uncomfortable. Is there waste in state government? Undoubted ly, but “cutting out the fat” is far more complicated than it may seem. Try some of these questions on for size: Should in-home services for frail eld erly or disabled citizens be eliminated when it results in their being placed in a care center that costs more per person? Should “welfare” be reduced when Oregon already has the nation’s highest unemployment and the highest percent age of people who lack food? Should group homes for developmen- tally disabled adults be closed when they will end up on the street, homeless and without resources? There is now talk of a sixth special session in November, after the election, to deal with the continuing fiscal crisis. Some Republican legislators are floating an economic “stimulus” proposal that would reduce capital gains taxes. Whoopee! What a fantastic benefit to people who are out of work, losing their homes to foreclosure and trying to stretch their food stamps! After we finish paying for five (or more) special sessions, maybe some recognition would be appropriate...in the form of a return to private life for select ed legislators.
