He [Peralta] has gained insights into local communities through various civic and political activities. More importantly, he has a strong grasp of important state issues and clear thoughts on how to improve quality of life for Oregon citizens.
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Some might worry that Peralta will become a leader for causes that increase public costs without an offsetting curb on government excesses. We accept his claim to fiscal conservatism and believe that he knows how to compromise on tough issues.
This is the News-Register folks, not exactly a bastion of liberalism. Nelson is in trouble, while there is no polling to prove this I think that Peralta has a serious shot at winning this. The second paragraph is relevent to address, while the Register sounds skeptical but trusting about Peralta's committment to a sound budget as he advocates improving Oregon schools, law enforcement, and health care. He has a very good idea how to fund these needed increases in essential services. He is definately sincere and has good ideas for paying for his ideas. The corporate kicker for example causes massive budgetary problems defunding our schools, health care, etc. This State can't afford to do what it needs because out of State corporations are giving nothing back to Oregon.
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Your characterization of the News-Register as "very very conservative" made me smile. Typically, they do a good job of playing both sides of the fence; I don't think they have opposed any tax measure proposed to voters, and they often endorse democrats for office. In fact, the endorsement for Saxton surprises me far more than their endorsement of Peralta.
Sal is clearly making some inroads in the district. He is working his tail off, and if he can reach enough people, he may indeed have a shot (contrary to my previous assessment). He is bright and articulate where Donna is all bluff and bluster.
I do disagree, however, with your claim that, "The corporate kicker for example causes massive budgetary problems defunding our schools, health care, etc." The kicker causes no such "budgetary problems" because it is a rebate of taxes collected over the amount budgeted for the previous biennium, not a reduction in funding for current programs. The money never accrues to "our schools, health care, etc.," so it never needs to be "defunded" from them.
There is much to debate regarding what should happen with the "kicker" money, but don't muddy the water with an inaccurate depiction of its consequences.
Its not innaccurate, if that money did not automatically bounce back then it could be spent on education and the like the next year. What it causes is that when tax receits are higher than expected the State can't use the extra money for anything, and then when receits are lower than expected we face huge cuts and budget shortfalls. So while the corporate kicker may not directly relate to the annual budget situation it is directly linked to the long term funding picture.
My disagreement appears to be one of phrasing. The sentence, as written: "The corporate kicker for example causes massive budgetary problems defunding our schools, health care, etc." is inaccurate because the kicker does not defund anything. It would be more accurate to state that keeping the kicker would help mitigate some of the budget constraints on essential services. It may seem like nitpicking, and you are clearly defensive about it, but accuracy is critical when it comes to debating public policy issues. The sentence in question - on its face - is not accurate.
Hi Cwech & Sponge,
Thanks for monitoring the HD24 race. Frankly, I was somewhat surprised by the News-Register endorsement.
The paper is not "ultra-conservative", but until recently, they billed themselves as Yamhill County's "Independent Republican Newspaper", and I believe that this is the first time in 4 election cycles that they've endorsed someone other than Rep. Nelson for this seat.
I think that they tend to be center or center-right on most issues but believe in the importance of good government more than base partisanship.
Jeb, Steve, Wanda, and Cassie are all excellent people and we're lucky to have 3 independent newspapers in Yamhill County.
Sponge, thanks for the kind words.
- Sal
Sponge, I'm not defensive about it, I think that it is a major factor in the budgetary problems of the state. You seem to make a distinction between "defunding" and "mitigating budget constraints." I think after reading your response that we don't disagree, you think it was poor word choice, I think its all right, but I understand where you're coming from.
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