On Oregon Public Broadcasting's morning news today, they interviewed State Senator David Nelson (R, Pendleton), who was part of the group that backed out of the budget talks.
Mr. Nelson pissed me off.
He went over the list of tax increases in the latest (rejected) proposal, and was quoted as saying "How can we in good conscience pass a budget" with those increases?
If Mr. Nelson is too stupid to answer that question, then he has no business being a state legislature, and ought to go back to lecturing the cow patties out in the pasture where his lack of insight won't hurt so many people. You pass a budget with tax increases, because you don't have the money to run the state government without them, Dave. Existing tax revenues will not support the services demanded by the citizens of Oregon, as the disasterous budget cuts earlier in the year demonstrated. Even a senator from the sticks of Eastern Oregon should be able to figure that out. How can he, in good conscience, not pass a budget? Does he seriously think that is a better solution?
The Republicans, who control the house, need to get off of their philosophical high horse and do the painful work of passing a budget with tax increases. It has to be done, and no amount of rhetorical speechmaking or partisan muckraking is going to change it. Raise taxes or kill people. Seems like an easy choice, doesn't it?
What ever happened to common sense?
