Your Help Needed on Oregon State Budget

I need rational ideas from knowledgeable, clear-thinking Oregonians on how to reform state government.

(SALEM) - I am State Representative Dennis Richardson and I need your help in resolving Oregon's State Budget crisis.

The graph with this article shows the drastic decline in income taxes and other revenues over the past three years. Just in the last six months of 2011, since the Legislature’s 2011 Session ended, the State Revenue Forecast decreased by another $306 million.

As one of three Co-Chairs of Oregon’s Joint Senate-House Ways & Means Committee, I am struggling to develop recommendations on how best to solve Oregon’s revenue short-fall and rebalance the State Budget in the upcoming February 2012 Legislative Session. “Thinning the soup” by squeezing agency budgets can only go so far. In addition to cutting budgets, it is time to seriously consider how we can make Oregon’s departments and programs more efficient and economical. Doing so will help fill the current budget’s “hole,” and it will product compounding savings in future State Budgets.

I had planned to contact you with a survey regarding jobs, regulations, and government oversight, but that survey will have to wait. Today, I need your suggestions, if any, on what changes could be made by July 1, 2012 on how the State does business that will save money while keeping our citizens safe, our students in school and our most vulnerable senior and disabled citizens cared for.

I need rational ideas from knowledgeable, clear-thinking Oregonians on how to reform state government. If you have any, please share them with your Co-Chairs and Legislative leaders. We will consider all suggestions as we grapple with Oregon’s gaping multi-million dollar revenue “hole.”

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Anonymous January 24, 2012 11:24 am (Pacific time)

to anon at 8:10...Even tho I agree with your spirit 1000%, your suggestion is not a solution. The elite/powers that be/corporations/bankers/or whatever term can be used, have let the flood of illegal immigrants come into this country for too long now. It was their plan all along, they wrote it in their books decades ago. I think our only answer now is...education. And I dont mean the indoctrination skools owned by the elite, nor the mainstream media lies, nor the politician lies..we need truth. But what is truth yeah? In my humble opinion, truth comes from diligence in searching for it.. Not watching tv and going along like sheep. The only answer is for people to seek truth, and quit being led around like sheeple from the mainstream media, politicians, and the indoctrination camps they call skools...By the way, Ron Paul knows he cant cut off aid to the welfare state, and he wont do it. What he WILL do, is start a path leading to a country where its inhabitants become to learn to be more self-sufficient and not have to rely on welfare..I think it is a noble cause, and I think it can work, because I believe in the human spirit, no matter race, color or creed. We need, as a society, to quit making people reliant, and teach them their abilities. Cut off the money to the military industrial complex is even difficult. Many countries rely on our troops being there and buying stuff. Cutting our military in Oahu for instance, would devastate the island economically. We need a new paradigme of thought process is what we truly need...Sorry for the novel here, but we all need to start talking and sharing.

Anonymous January 24, 2012 8:10 am (Pacific time)

Dennis Richardson, I have some ideas. Cut all the spending on the illegal aliens. No more free Health care, charge them for schools, no more housing opportunities, no more welfare checks, no more nothing what cost the taxpayer money. Did you know that the illegals send millions of dollars every year to their home Country? You either don't recognize the problem with them or you just ignore it. Stop waste money on the ESL, and stop write everything in Spanish. If they don't speak English, too bad. How I no idea how much money all this special treatment for the illegals cost but I bet you it will put some extra cash in the State account. Now, it's easy to take care of all this, and believe it or not, the illegals will leave our State if you don't support them. Now you can take my advise and do something about it or you can kiss their butts over and over but then please don't come to that paper and ask your citizens to help you get money for this State.

Stephen January 23, 2012 6:46 pm (Pacific time)

I am anon 4:53 with the 6 suggestions...I must recant..Anyone who takes my suggestions will be taken out. So, I dont know why Mr Richardson asks for solutions, when he should know, the only solutions will get him banned from politics or even wind up in a plane crash. Ron Paul is the ONLY one speaking out and risking his life...The media can black him out, but they wont kill him. They know it will start a revolution and they are not quite ready for it yet, but they are getting closer. The only way things will change is if we stand up, risk our lives, our families, our careers, our homes...for liberty. Nothing else will work.

Anonymous January 23, 2012 6:07 pm (Pacific time)

First thing Dennis, if you want to be taken seriously, stand against human rights violations, and make sure that you take a stand against anyone or anything that threatens to violate these rights. This includes Oregon police and the OCCUPY movement. Stand down the operations against these citizens that waste so many tax dollars.

Anonymous January 23, 2012 4:53 pm (Pacific time)

1. De-criminalization of drugs. All of them. I can go downtown Salem and find out where to buy drugs within minutes. Criminalization of drugs is only making the government and the drug cartels rich, violence, etc.
Oxycotin is much more dangerous than any illegal drug such as MJ.
2. Start a state bank like North Dakota did.
3. Start standing up and saying NO to the federal government. Its the federal government (actually, the bankers who own the federal government), that is causing all of our problems.
5. Put an end to the indoctrination centers they call skools. Here is an example..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7z_hd7k9zoandfeature=related

6. Any money that the state has currently, ie: almost a billion in reserve unemployment benefits should be immediately changed over to precious metals, gold/silver. This is probably the most important of my suggestions. I personally got out of the stocks, IRA's, dollar etc and glad I did. And its only going to get worse.
Mr Richardson, advocate starting a state bank like North Dakota/Iceland did...And advocate taking any dollars/stocks/paper and converting them to Silver or Gold. NOW!

adam January 23, 2012 3:56 pm (Pacific time)

legalize and tax pot...problem solved! Grow Hemp and create job!

Douglas Benson January 23, 2012 3:55 pm (Pacific time)

The first thing you do is freeze spending by essential services . I personally watched what happens when places like the prisons know they will take cuts . They spend as much as they can so they can cry for more as an emergency.

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Your Help Needed on Oregon State Budget

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