Where Do You Plan To Spend The Money

When you become elected to office, one of the many things that will need to be done is creating a budget.  Take a good look at the Federal proposed budget for 2012, found at the link below:

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy12/index.html

Now ask your self this little question:

From where is the money coming from, and how does your community going to pay the bill?

Follow The Money!

Here is what the State of Oregon is doing with the stimulas money, that pile of cash the Fed's are geiving away.

http://www.oregon.gov/recovery/StimulusReporting/index.shtml

Good reading!

Sherman

The Non Stimulus Effect

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the effect that the Federal Stimulus package, Obama Just signed it, will have on the economy of Oregon. The total impact for Oregon businesses will be minimal and the impact on individuals even less.

The Oregon legislature, a few days prior to the signing of the bill by Obama, cut the Oregon tax code loose from the Federal tax code. This was done because the Federal package contains tax cuts to businesses and to individuals. Tax cuts are said to cost the government of Oregon money.

However, Oregon has a two-year budget processes in which they project the amount of tax dollars that the state will receive. The legislature, and the governor, then makes spending plans based on the projection. They do not make plans on spending the based on how much actually comes in. The result is that there is a “shortfall” which is the amount of money they are projected to not receive. At no point in the budget process do they actually spend real money.

At no point in the process do they make any real cuts or spending adjustments either. It is all based on projections of what they think will wind up in the state coffers or not wind up there. Therefore the only way for them to keep the budget balanced is to cut services, or raise taxes and fees. A federal tax cut for business is good for the business. They get to stay open, pay employees, pay state, federal, local taxes and fees.

But the budget “projection” shows a shortfall in state collections, can’t have that, resulting in the raising in fees at the local and state level. Explaining why the state took the action that they did. An action that both the governor said was to balance the budget and keep schools solvent, schools that gobble up piles of money and fail to educate the children in their care.

So Average taxpayer, making forty grand or less at a job that will not give you a raise this year. No tax relief for you because the state is unwilling to run heir budget process based on real money.

Sherman

The Effects of Going Green.

Five years ago the Governor of Oregon touted green industries and environmental ideas as the wave of the future. Since this Blog is about the effects that laws, and the political ideas that spawn them, have on us all . I decided to point our a little known fact.

The more that the state of Oregon chases “Green” companies, “Green” building and the sacred cow of “Sustainability”. The higher the state’s unemployment gets, the less is manufactured, and the less money that government makes.

In five years of going “Green”, the average wage in Oregon has fell from forty eight thousand a year to forty thousand a year. In the same period the unemployment rate has risen to 9.1 percent.

Proof that going “green” has cost people their jobs or forced people to take lesser paying jobs. This in turn costs the state government, and retailers money. Never fear governor has a plan.

Raise taxes, raise fees, and invent new fees to rise. This will have the effect of the few “green” manufactures removing to a state that is more business friendly. This is how Oregon lost bio-fuel companies, and manufacturing to other states and countries.

Sherman

Drill For Oil Now!

This is how H.R.6001 would effect us all in both the near and the far term. The house is set to visit this sometime in 2009 and it is a good bill.

About This Legislation:
To rebalance the United States energy portfolio, to increase and utilize the Nation's domestic energy resources and supply, to strengthen energy security and independence, and for other purposes.

Provisions of the bill include:

· Opening the Outer Continental Shelf to responsible energy production, and bringing more oil and natural gas to the American people.

This is all about supply and if we are going to not import oil, propping up less than good governments. We need our own domestic supply.

· Allowing energy development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which may hold up to 21 billion barrels of oil.

Again this is a supply thing, which we sorely need.

· Allowing new refineries to be built within the United States for the first time in 30 years.

More refineries mean more jobs. Not just to run the refinery but to build them as well supplying the materials needed to build them.

· Supporting the development of Coal-to-Liquids plants.

Also, a good way to supply high-end jobs and making the most out of a resource at the same time.

· Supporting building more nuclear plants, increasing the manufacturing and education base of the industry, and bringing more inexpensive, clean nuclear power onto the electricity grid while reprocessing used fuel for further use.

More jobs, more energy and a good way to return to a viable national economy.

· Providing a three-year production tax credit extension for wind and other renewable energy generation, including solar, efficiency improvements, plug-in hybrid vehicles and befouls.

This makes the purchase affordable to the common person who is really going to pay for all of the above via purchase.

. Investing in Research and Development for the energy needs of tomorrow, including cellulosic ethanol research and further Coal-to-Liquids development.

I think that this iss an excellent long-term idea, which will add jobs for future generations of Americans.

All in all this is a good bill because if creates more jobs that are long term, high wage, and sustainable. Making oil and electric purchase within reach of everyone. Not just a privileged few, not to mention the reemployment of thousands of people.

Your congressman needs to know that they should pass this bill, today!

Main Street U.S.A. Energy Security ActBill # H.R.6001
Original Sponsor:Steve Buyer (R-IN 4th)
Cosponsor Total: 21(last sponsor added 06/11/2008)
21 Republicans

Government Figures To Take Your Next Raise.

The Governor of Oregon is a lot of things, has been called a lot of things, will be called a lot of other things, but apparent intelligence does not seem to be one of the things he is called lately.

Having taking Oregon down the mythic “humans cause global warming” road, he now takes a “government confiscates your raise" detour. He has sent to the mambe pambe Oregon legislature a method to raise money for “road projects. Proclaiming himself to be the Oregon answer to FDR, something he is never going to be, our “great” governor has decided to hurt as many people as possible.

The method he is using is two fold, first he ignores the fact that Oregon already gets money to repair and build road with. The FEDS pay Oregon money to maintain and upgrade National highways, including Interstate 5, and every time you purchase fuel for your truck or car the state of Oregon gets money. Second he ignores that fully half of the road money Oregon spends on road repair goes for anything but roads. Parks, bike paths, public light rail, public bus systems, but not roads because bike paths state wide move .5 percent of the population. That is one half of one percent state wide and only for nine months of the year.

At no point is the money spent on “roads” ever qualified before the public, so the public does not know that Oregon wastes money like there is no tomorrow.

His proposal is to raise the taxes, or fees, on automotive and heavy truck licenses plates, driver’s licenses, registrations and a new fee. We remind you all that Department of Ecological Quality (DEQ) inspections are a scam designed to make the State of Oregon money.

The fee proposal, in money is as follows, notice the new fee:

• Increasing the motor vehicle registration fee from $27 to $81 year to raise an additional $308 million
• Increase the motor vehicle title fee from $55 to $110 a year to raise an additional $100 million.
• Creating a $100 first-time title fee to raise $33 million.
• Increasing the state gas tax from 24 cents to 26 cents per gallon to raised an additional $58 million.
  
  Our governor’s reasoning is that the best thing to do, to help the economy, is to spend money. Spend money building and repairing roads that should have been maintained already. Since the maintenance money has been already spent on non-road things, the governor has decided that the State needs more money. Notice he is not advocating for more thrift in spending or even accountability in spending.
  
  What the effect of all this will be is that the people, the ones the governor wants to put to work, will not be able to get to work because they cannot afford the transportation. Busses and trains you see do not go to road projects. Did we mention that the “unforeseen consequences” is Oregon will have a plethora of unregistered, un-inspected, unlicensed autos and trucks, driven by an equal number of unlicensed drivers?
  
  Heaven forbid that once the “common man” gets a raise they can stick the money in savings, pay down debt, buy a newer car, purchase better health insurance, take the wife and kiddies out to a “real” restaurant. Oh no we need more “transportation” repair and projects. When is the last time the governor actually road the Portland light rail during rush hour? No, better spend money building and repairing roads while denying workers the ability to get to work.
  
  And the people in politics say we never see it coming, indeed!
  
  Egor

Cost Of Living As Relates To Government.

Every elected official I know of is worried about the cost of living. The middle class is said to be the hardest hit, yet the middle class has more available income than the lower class does.

Part of the high cost of living, in any area of the United States, is directly related to the fees government charges for nearly every thing. Run up the price of water, sewer, garbage collection, and business licenses. The price of everything goes up and, according to some; elected persons are caught by surprise.

How can this be? Three counties in Oregon have just voted to increase property taxes by twelve dollars a month. This means that every business will raise the price of everything accordingly. Landlords will raise rent prices, forcing business owners to raise prices of everything that they sell. It drives up the cost of food, cars, insurance, transportation, utilities everything does mean everything.

The much storied, harried, middle class is not going to grumble much about the increase in their property taxes. They will grumble some about the price of a candy bar, or sofa, increasing by two percent. The lower class has no recourse but to cut their spending. They cannot pay the additional cost of goods, like food or healthcare, so they drop their health insurance and then purchase less.

The result, since there are more lower income people than middle, or higher income people, is business go out of business. Unemployment increases; commerce halts, and elected persons increase the cost of services to counter a loss of income.

A viscous cycle that feeds the cost of living and directly forces the lower income families do go without. The new administration has given no indication that they care about the working poor. On the contrary, they are worried about the middleclass. After January twentieth becomes history the working poor will be forgotten.

Government accounts for ten percent of the cost of living and I cannot find a single elected person that really cares. Raising the price of goods and services makes sense in good economic times but make no sense at the present time.

What would happen if government froze their payroll or put a cap on income when money becomes tight? The cost of living would become static or drop. How would that be bad?
Egor

What Are We Doing?

As the topic of this blog indicates, this blog is about how the decisions that elected officials make effect us all. While they may mean well, and most have genuine motives, mostly they hurt us all. Sometimes it is the non actions they they have and at other times it is the actions that they take.

So we will explain how the "pending doom" of the actions of elected officials will hinder, or further, Independence and freedom.

Later.

Egor