Op Ed: Saxton Evades Tax-Reform While Repairing Own Image On PERS-Blunder Statement

(SALEM) - Any sensible manager avoids overly-aggressive action or statements that leave workers under vain threat or unfair pressure.

Workers these days, union-protected or not, simply do not respond well to an arrogant, insensitive approach. Government-agency operations are especially vulnerable, demanding effective professional understanding rather than crass confrontation.

Working attitude, acceptance and ongoing motivations are already under pressures from prevailing compensation in private employment.

Many in public service are there by choice for working satisfactions not achievable “outside”, seeking genuine service. When attacked today they tend to walk-away; easy, now, with better compensation “on the private-side”.

That’s extremely Oregon-sensitive now. Recent data-bank development on our top-100 key-employee salaries stresses reality: State agency leaders are under-compensated by corporate and private standards.

So are many loyal workers, remaining State-employed by choice but resistant to political-cult pressures. “Perks and protections” count very little when life is devoted to doing what your skills and attitudes prepare you to accomplish, with very high work-satisfactions at stake.

It’s amazing any would-be Governor, posturing as “top dog”---rather casually it seems, appearing as irresponsible--blundered into this statement-trap snapped-shut on his campaign.

Any candidate for Governor must communicate clear policy-plans for fundamental situations-faced.

But Saxton’s choice is to equivocate, evade, delay, then seek further study; while he speaks privately --”reporters barred”-- with supporters seeking assurance on true intentions, to clear more “campaign-contribution” dollars. Oregon’s PERS-operation was renewed under Court order --a Constitutional function demanding support.

That’s the reality we face: hard to change, and sure of delay. Court-action opposition is a “safe”, if silly, attention-diversion, diffusing understanding of our perilous State-funding situation.

Nothing is known about Saxton intentions on dollar-issues demanding politically-painful decision; but his PLEDGED-status is admitted and confirmed.

That substitutes political-cult “performance” --pleasing to selfish interests with hands-full of dollars, for openly honest public reporting, creating effective dialog with anyone seeking solutions, not sly subterfuge.

Rationality demands corporate tax reform replacing massive give-aways and loop-holes boldly perpetrated for twenty years.

Firms profit from Oregon operations but Kicker-kickbacks, coupled with low-rate corporate tax-share refund, roll tax- dollars right back to them.

That long ago proved far too costly for wise State program-funding--as painful program-denials now demonstrates every day.

Everything is affected: Education, first and foremost; health care; police and safety; and all other Oregonian-survival and essential- assistance actions are reduced, with others threatened and some denied.

That situation cannot be permitted to continue; it convulses state funding for all programs, and can only get worse. Yet Saxton is PLEDGED to frustrate, hamper, slow, evade and defy fundamental-funding for necessity, via acknowledged signing of the ATR/Norquist PLEDGE.

Futile fulmination over fixed-facts set by Court action cannot suffice for survival, shaping the future of this State.

Attacking organized and Court-approved State-staff and worker benefits is NOT what any skilled, experienced, sensitive and competent State-level top-kick should be doing.

“Fire for a day...and then re-hire” won’t “cut the mustard” but might end up, New-Jersey-style, slashing services with unforeseen and unfortunate results, via confrontation- continued.

Full rational reasoning is sorely missing in what should have been a thoughtful, responsible Saxton Op Ed, recently published. Unfortunately even casual reading displays glaring deficiencies. That Op Ed was a political ploy --one more of many in a fancy-filled --and now perhaps futile-- campaign; as voters caught in escalating economic-squeeze on every essential now are focusing squarely on straight- talk. The powerful, potent necessity to communicate clearly, completely --and competently-- is surely paramount now: We must KNOW what our Governor will DO.

For fault found anywhere in our Oregon system, we must fix that at the foundation --sensible funding.

Reflexive railings at Court-regulated pension and pay conditions earned by loyal workers only provides easy-target “get tough” topics for substitution of “the real stuff”.

If you want more cult-driven confrontation, Ron’s your man. That’s what “corporate campaign contributions” accomplish: distortion and perversion of commonweal-service capabilities.

That’s full-cycle with corpulent corporate compensations and more “campaign contributions”: Dollars-in-depth, stock-options back-dated for illegal harvest, pensions-in-place before retirement, and many other clearly-concealable complex components; “all the rage these days” in too many corporations, with Oregon home-base for its share of perpetrators.

What’s clearly NOT understood is rage-unleashed, inevitably, when corporate social responsibilities fester and fail; while America’s huge middle-class is “denied, defied, despoiled and deprived”.

In Oregon we are at the very bottom-level of corporate tax-payments nationally; with an atrocious “kicker” triggered to transfer many millions more from thin tax payment to corporate pockets again; and with personal tax-refunds made lusciously appetizing to curtain off realities for voters by paltry-portion “refund repayment”.

We must be very careful whom we choose to be Governor in this most-threatening future-shaping next Oregon administration.

Do you believe anyone telling us “to trust the market” as main control for massively-needed economic surveillance? Or for volunteered wise-care for our environment, from those seen for a century as depleting it at radical rates?