Economic bill throws rural counties a lifeline

[depakid]

Source: Oregonian

Passage of the massive bailout bill Friday brought cheers of relief in Oregon, from the governor's office in Salem to county boardrooms in the southern end of the state. Tucked inside the rescue plan is $3 billion in federal relief to rural counties that once relied on logging money to pay for roads, schools, jails and sheriff patrols.

Of that, about $740 million is headed to 33 Oregon counties during the next four years, staving off a looming financial crisis in the state. "What Oregon got is a lifeline for the next four years," Gov. Ted Kulongoski said.

When he announced what he'd learned, "everyone started clapping," the governor said. The euphoria spread quickly. In Jackson County, county commissioners and staff gathered around a TV, watching C-SPAN's coverage of the House floor vote. When the gavel came down, they erupted in cheers, a county receptionist said. "You go up and down this roller coaster so much that you're just kind of numb," said Commissioner Dave Toler. Josephine County has been forced to close its libraries, and was looking at shutting down jails, cutting out all but the most serious criminal prosecutions and all but ending sheriff patrols.

Kulongoski, meanwhile, warned that counties affected by the payments must start working now to reorganize their budgets and find new sources of cash, because the payments won't be extended again. But he said people are motivated.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/economic_bill_throws_rural_cou.html

[lamp_shade]

1. Thank you, depakid. I'm going to look for more stories like this.

[NMDemDist2]

3. here's another one for NM

http://www.currentargus.com/ci_10633638

[lamp_shade]

6. I believe it was these types of funding that were flushed down the toilet

every time Bush vetoed a bill that included such provisions.

[fasttense]

2. Yeah, to bad they didn't throw all rural communities a lifeline.

Unemployment rates here in rural TN are very high. We could use some help too.

[depakid]

7. Justification for this program comes from the fact that those counties are largely federal land

and their revenues came from timber sales (as opposed to, say property taxes). Back in the 1980's, the Reagan administration abandoned the priciples of sustained yeild- and cut much more timber than could be regrown. Hence in many places over the past 15 years, industry's had to fold up shop. This program tried to replace some of the lost federal revenue- but only temporarily. This year, they couldn't get an extension passed- and for some local governments, things were looking pretty bleak. Several counties faced insolvency- hopefully, this extension gives them time to restructure their finances.

[bread_and_roses]

4. A scrap from the Baron's table for the rabble at the gate.

And aid to rural counties has exactly what to do with bailing out profiteering crooks to the tune of 700B? This is conventional Federal Aid - not to mention it is exactly the sort of aid that many were calling for as part of an economic stimulus plan in place of bailing out the tax-exading rich and corporations. Not to mention that there are counties and cities all over the country in the same straits due to the Evil Empire's tax cuts to rich and corporations and off-shoring of jobs. Where's their bail-out?

This looks like the cost necessary to get some Oregon legislator's yes vote.

Meanwhile, the public has been taught that Federal money that actually goes for something like roads or jobs is "pork," while a free give-a-way to profiteering speculators is necessary and "responsible." (Obviously there are excesses and freebies to donators and other rip-offs in "pork" monies that warrant that scorn, but it has all been lumped in the same "pork" pile by the MSM).

We are down the rabbit hole.

[Zenlitened]

8. Excellent post.

This looks like the cost necessary to get some... legislator's yes vote.

Meanwhile, the public has been taught that Federal money that actually goes for something like roads or jobs is "pork," while a free give-a-way to profiteering speculators is necessary and "responsible."

There were lots of things tacked onto the "bailout" bill that are entirely worthy of passage and enactment on their own merits. Renewable energy incentives, for example.

And yet, they'd already been thrown in the trash heap, to be fished out only when it unexpectedly became necessary to cajole a few representatives into voting for a bill that no one likes -- and that few believe will be effective in the way it was sold to them.

Ugh.

[rpannier]

5. Thanks for sharing this post

It's nice to see deserving people getting money