On Kitzhaber and the Oregon legislature

Government has taken an oath of loyalty to the state. Citizen voters should consider the politicians responsible for these giveaways recallable or impeachable.

Oregon capital photo by Tim King Salem-News.com

(PORTLAND, OR) - Oregon’s Democratic governor Kitzhaber and the Dem state legislature grovel before Nike, Intel and the corporate 1% and shower them with our taxpayer's money. This NYT reports on how Washington’s political leaders (also Dems) grovel before Boeing and the possible consequences of workers refusal (so far) to accept it. Read it at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/washington-state-not-ready-to-ponder-future-without-boeing.html

John Kitzhaber

"Corporate shopping for the best deal, the lowest taxes and the sweetest incentives is a multibillion-dollar enterprise in America — often with outcomes that do not fully materialize or cannot be accurately measured even for the winning contenders. An investigation by The New York Times last year found that more than $80 billion a year in incentives are given by states, cities and counties to companies that often pit local officials against one another to get the most lucrative packages."

A "Vancouver senior" comments: "It was recently reported that over the last decade Boeing actually paid less than nothing to states in taxes, in spite of $35.5 billion in profits...Boeing has gotten such big tax breaks and gets so many expensive trained aerospace engineers minted at Washington's state universities and colleges that it is ...a clear liability to the state that constantly has used ...extortion to get more deals and ...even bribery of the Governor and legislators, [Especially] after the recent $9.7 billion gift from the state government. I say good riddance to Boeing. It does not pay its fair share of state taxes, and I do not intend to vote for any lawmaker that voted in favor of the latest tax break deal... The state only needs businesses that pay their fair share of taxes."

Another comment: "It is disgusting to watch governments parading before Boeing like whores offering their wares at the expense of workers and taxpayers. As Washington is finding out -- as Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, found out before -- large corporations are not loyal citizens, not loyal to the state or to the city, and not loyal to the working men and women who make the company's huge profits."

Government, on the other hand, has taken an oath of loyalty to the state. Citizen voters should consider the politicians responsible for these giveaways recallable or impeachable.

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Portland Tribune photo by L.E. Baskow

Order from Powell's

Michael Munk tries to glean important but overlooked items from the world media on the issues of the day and posts them on an irregular schedule. Although items can overlap, he also maintains separate lists for activists in Portland, Oregon and the Northwest, and special lists for: Labor, Latin America, Israel, Torture Taxis, Korea, and the Czech Republic.

Michael is a highly praised writer from an important generation whose book, the Portland Red Guide, has received high praise.

"City Commissioner Nick Fish gave me a copy. Sat down on my sofa and couldn't put it down until I finished. Fascinating!"
-- Tom Potter, Mayor of Portland 2005-2009

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-- Bud Clark, Saloon keeper, Goose Hollow Inn, and Mayor of Portland, 1985–1992

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