Klamath News.net

A Common Sense Perspective
on News, Economics and Government in Klamath County, Oregon

Recent Articles

Comm. Linthicum

Commissioner Dennis Linthicum

County Address:
305 Main Street
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
Commissioner Phone:
541-883-5100

17
Mar
2012
by: Commissioner Linthicum

It appears that I’ve upset some folks on the Public Safety Advisory Group. A member was quoted in the Herald and News (Safety Group Looks for Clarity - 3/16/2012), saying, “he felt county Commissioner Dennis Linthicum’s lack of support nullified the group’s work.”

It seems that I forgot to read the memo that informed everyone else that “universal consent” was both a necessity and a goal. Somewhat like the recent KBRA agreements, as long as all the participating stakeholders agree to pass the cost along to the taxpayer it must be OK – “universal consent.”

I must have been incorrect when I believed that all ideas – good, bad, indifferent, or even just contrarian – would be welcomed for discussion. I mistakenly thought the committee was an idea factory. In an idea factory, the committee would be responsible for discovering and then vetting every possible suggestion. They would weigh, measure and comprehend each of these ideas. Some ideas would get demolished, while others would only get dented, reworked and polished up. I was under the impression that all discussion would be profitable, and disparate ideas should never be cast aside under the guise of “lack of support.”

To be clear, my view is simply that the real problem isn’t revenue, therefore, a levy won’t fix the problem. The real problem is government spending and Public Safety is only one facet of the predicament facing our county.

Peruse the graph below for half-a-second. Compare the first 100 years of our constitutional Republic with the next 50 years. World War II is certainly a blip, but, what happened next? What’s happening during the 50 years ending in 2000? Look at this chart and try to describe what you see from 2000 to 2012.


This may seem like a giant leap, from Public Safety in Klamath County to fiscal problems at the federal level, but remember, this has a direct relationship to our local economy. It is a grave mistake to think that the Federal problem isn’t related to our County’s problem. You’ll hear Commissioner quotes like, “Our problem is the Feds took away our Timber Payments.” Or, “We don’t have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem... the Feds discontinued our Secure Rural Schools Funding.” I’ve made these statements myself.

However, we need to set the record straight. The Timber payments come directly from the Federal government and we are part of the Federal government’s spending problem.


After the 1991 Spotted Owl debacle, there has never been any sustainable program to backfill the lost revenue from the timber industry. The Federal government killed the timber industry and their solution was a welfare check. Once the timber economy was subverted our local industry was decimated, mills closed and our county lost enormous quantities of skilled labor and human capital. This was an economic travesty.

In closing, I have some questions for you:

  • Were the Federal timber payments sold as a means to keep everyone content while buying votes for our Senators and Congress members?
  • Now that we have become accustomed to our current levels of government consumption are you willing to pay more for it?
  • Can we continue to ignore Federal policies with regard to spending, simply because we garner momentary gains?
Source: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/spending_chart_1800_2012USb_13s1li011lcn_F0f

5 Comments

  1. Tom Fulton ~ March 18, 2012 10:25

    Wow, your second graph is powerful! It took me a minute to see it, but before 2000 there was no spending for the Secure Rural Schools Act. Now, there is and we want it to continue. Even conservatives are begging liberals like Wyden and Merkley to support the continuation of the SRS funding. Wyden's bill is attached to the Transportation Bill. The Senate Transportation Bill is an all out attack on Rural America. It includes giving billions of dollars of Gulf Oil Spill monies to the Federal land agencies like the Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and BLM for purchasing private land. There is no way these agencies should have a blank check to convert private land into Federal ownership with the current deficit. Stop The LWCF Transportation Bill Land Grab, Go To http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/federallandacquisitionLWCF_030912.htm for details. #

  2. Roger Johnson ~ March 18, 2012 12:10

    Fantastic article! We have been soothed into accepting welfare payments in trade for not demanding our forest be reopened. We've built government to a point where we are so dependent on these payments that without them chaos will ensue (or so we are told). Time for a change. Time to elect some fiscally conservative, limited government commissioners who will say no to this insane path we are on. #

  3. Steve Rapalyea ~ March 18, 2012 12:54

    The "Rural Schools" and blah, blah money certainly does not replace the lost jobs. It pays to fund the public sector but does nothing for the destroyed economic base. In my opinion no amount of Spotted owls is worth the economic damage done to the West.Now we are going to see the Feds spend millions to try to stop natural selection by shooting Barred Owls. All this from a government that is borrowing one third of its annual budget. I had to add 1+5 to comment. Are you sure that's not 7 by "consensus"? "You can't fix stupid". #

  4. Tom Mallams ~ March 19, 2012 17:56

    Dennis is 100% correct when stating our real problem is SPENDING! A number of us, including all 3 Commissioners, recently had breakfast with Greg Walden. One of the interesting points he made was EXACTLY the same observation, that our problem (both local and nationally), is SPENDING!! I guess the other 2 Commissioners were not awake when he made that simple straight forward statement. Of course, agreeing with that statement would be admitting the spending problem in County Government is being led by the incumbent County Commissioners. It appears the incumbents are never going to admit the obvious, that they cannot make the hard decisions concerning what are needs and what are wants. The only recourse for Klamath County voters is to replace the incumbents with Commissioners that can make those critical decisions. #

  5. Brian Smith ~ March 23, 2012 11:03

    I will only address the issue of upsetting some of the group memebers. Dennis on two occasions voted in the meeting for something, only to reverse his vote during Commissioner votes. Dennis has every right to change his mind and I respect that right, however doing so behind the backs of his fellow committee members was a mistake that caused much of the distrust and commentary you hear. Dennis referred to our group in a meeting as "nothing more than a group of guys having a beer and toasting at a bar". Dennis likes to use analogies to make his points and sometimes they are spot on; however sometimes they are so off based they damage the process with which they may have been meant to help. There is a spending problem, there is a taxing problem, there is a power struggle problem; there are so many problems that its hard to see where you can start so you don't leave one behind. Our group is doing exactly what is needed to come up with a 360 degree solution; Service Levels (Operations), Funding and Spending. The short term proposal was only a bridge to get us through what's needed to reach the long term solution; period. What Dennis is actually saying to us is that our leaders cannot handle even the short term money correctly, so why waste it. He's also saying that he will not approve a vehicle to present facts and figures and options to the public; he would rather make that decision himself and alone, blocking any ability for the public to vote on taxing itself short term in Klamath County as a means to an end of this entire issue. We don't disagree on the problems! We don't disagree on how it should look in the end! We disagree on the method to get us there and how information and choices are made by citizens! #

Leave your reply

*
*
Comment

* = required field