Klamath News.net

Last Tuesday was the day before Lent. In the past it was commonly called “Shrove Tuesday”, in reference to confessions of a penitent heart in front of “Ash Wednesday.” Today, it is universally known as “Fat Tuesday.” Fat Tuesday is the day for the Mardi Gras Carnival where revelers party their respective lives away. Here in Klamath County, I wasn’t aware of any efforts at all-night revelry, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Unfortunately for America, it seems that we would all prefer some midnight merriment to being penitent.

Pleasure is more fun than pain. Just as that extra piece of dessert goes down far easier than those extra pounds come off. Yet, the real battle is in the decision making which foreshadows our actions. Think about it... you must decide to avoid the desserts long before the dessert cart shows up. The party is always more agreeable than the disciplined denial.

Using this logic, on Fat Tuesday, I recognized the quick, easy and agreeable response to the Klamath County Public Safety Ballot measure was to simply ask voters for more funding. Yet, is quick and easy always right?  Care for more dessert?

Look at our local economy. Office Depot is closing; Sterling Bank is laying off 6% of its workforce; Premier West Bank closed its Dorris office; all three Blockbuster stores are out-of-business (along with innumerable Main Street retail shops). Aqua Glass is closing; the AAA Office is closed. The raw unemployment rate in Klamath County is 12.2% and gas prices are quickly approaching $4.00 per gallon. This spring’s Southern Oregon Career and Job Expo got canned because there are not enough employers looking for workers and Costco won’t locate here because the area’s per capita income level is too low. How will any worker ever get ahead if their taxes keep going up? How will he, or she, receive a raise if their employer’s tax rate is constantly rising?

Below the surface there are much harder questions to be asked and harder choices to be made. Unfortunately, none of them are quick or easy.

Columnist John Stossel recently wrote,

The American people are complacent. We like the goodies. We think we're getting something for nothing. We are like alcoholics who know we have a problem but just can't resist one last fix. One more infrastructure bill or jobs plan will jumpstart the economy. Then we'll kick our spending addiction once and for all. But we don't stop spending. Almost all budget categories grow, even when adjusted for inflation. ... So what do we do? We must cut. But I fear Americans aren't up for that. People on the street told me that the budget is out of control. But when I then asked them, 'What would you cut?' most just stared ahead.

Please don’t think that these sentiments exists only in Washington D.C., or in Portland/Salem. These very same sentiments are prowling the streets of Klamath County. My stance on the Public Safety Special Option Levy runs counter to the sentiments above. My position is:

1. Action is required – complacency is fatalistic
2. “Needs” must be prioritized ahead of “wants”
3. Tough choices are the only options available

Less government will mean lower taxes, less regulation, fewer rules, fees, and permits. Each family, employee, employer and individual will have greater discretionary income. The result will be economic freedom, prosperity, and charity. This, in turn will supply ample resources for constitutionally valid governmental endeavors like Public Safety – the protection of private property, persons, and the administration of justice.