The Legislature appears to have lost its mind

Groveling before the rich for having dared to pass Measures 66 & 67 apparently, somebody has come up with an absolutely absurd proposal: a big old tax break for the golden parachute set. If the Lege wants to do anything for rich guys getting out of a business, they should do something to encourage the kind of transfer that Bob of Bob's Red Mill engineered for his company, selling it into an employee-stock-ownership plan (ESOP). But the turkey below is --- or should be --- a dead letter.

No Tax Breaks for Golden Parachutes

Tell Chairwoman Burdick to oppose giving another tax break to well-off CEOs.

I can't believe it.

The Oregon House of Representatives just passed a bill that would make "golden parachute" severance packages tax-free up to $500,000 if the applicant agrees to put that money into an Oregon business. This would allow well-healed CEOs to get a tax break of up to $54,000!

However, few working families will be able to save even one penny on their taxes. A recent survey found that 68% of workers did not receive any severance package when laid off.

Right now this special tax break is being quickly pushed through the Oregon Senate Revenue Committee. Proponents of the bill argue that this legislation will help generate jobs by encouraging business growth. It is a well-intentioned idea, but no different from the failed, trickle-down policies of the Bush administration.

Tell Senate Revenue Chair Burdick and her fellow Senators to oppose the "Tax Break for Golden Parachutes Act" today!

http://www.taxfairnessoregon.org/NoGoldenParachutes

While being promoted as a "jobs bill" this new tax break does not require the recipient to create even one job! Oregon has far more effective tools to get unemployed Oregonians working again than another costly tax break for the rich.2

We applaud our legislators for trying to bring back jobs to Oregon, but we should not create more harm than good by repeating the mistakes of the past.

Sincerely,

Noah Heller
Tax Fairness Oregon
Sources:

1. "Half of Workers Who Were Laid Off in the Last Three Months Have Found New Jobs, Reveals Latest CareerBuilder Survey," CareerBuilder, August 5, 2009

2. The Building Opportunities for Oregon Small Business Today Fund (BOOST Fund) gives grants of $2,500 to employers per new full-time job established and offers loans of up to $150,000 for businesses.

Saturday, February 20 -- Seed Sharing!

Image by Satrina0 via Flickr

Greetings,

This is a short turn-around, however we are beginning to ramp up the garden season and have lot of resources to share. This Saturday, from 2-4pm, a few of us are gathering here at MPFS to network and share seeds. It will be our first, but definitely not our last attempt to get together to share resources. If you are interested in connecting with the gardens program, whether by volunteering, leading a project, teaching kids about gardening or just connecting to grow food and have fun, please contact me. The season for gardening is here.

Please check out the new MPFS website to learn about the programs we are creating to put an end to hunger in Marion and Polk Counties. Click HERE to enter the new Food Share website.

Thank you!

Jordan Blake
Sustainable Community Gardens

Mobil: 503.798.0457
Phone: 503.581.3855 x 329
Web: http://www.marionpolkfoodshare.org/
Mail: 1660 Salem Industrial Drive NE, Salem OR 97301

Seen around

"The trouble with internet quotes is that you can never be sure they're accurate.
-- Abraham Lincoln.

Calling all Salem-area career seekers/changers

Not sure of where this is, but it could easily be Eastern Oregon. Image by aja via Flickr

Chemeketa Community College has some important news you should definitely know about:

Chemeketa is offering students a way to transfer many of your Chemeketa classes in the electronics program into a Renewable Energy Technology degree program at Columbia Gorge Community College, a very forward-looking program up there in The Dalles.

The Chemeketa website is too lame to have included this important information which appears in their Spring 2010 catalog, but you can get more information tomorrow or any day by contacting Gene Moore at Chemeketa at gene.moore@chemeketa.edu or by calling him at 503.399.6506.

So if you're a stalled-out young person in Salem who's wondering how in hell you get started on a meaningful career when there don't even seem to be many shit jobs around, or if you're an older person who's trying to find a new career that won't disappear or be outsourced to China or India, this would be a very, very good program to look into and to consider very carefully. Get with a Chemeketa counselor and ask about financial aid -- especially if you are a veteran trying to find a new career.

Cross your fingers for KMUZ grant application!

Salem very much needs a nonprofit community radio station, and the good people behind KMUZ (note much-improved new logo!) are trying to ride to the rescue. Cross your fingers (or cross your fingers and get involved to help too) for their grant application to defray construction costs!

KMUZ-FM, the proposed Salem-area community radio station, has submitted a federal grant request as part of its effort to get the station on the air at 88.5 FM.

Proposed community radio station seeks funds from feds

Thirty-four community groups or individuals, including Salem Art Association, A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village and the League of Women Voters, endorsed the request.

If successful, KMUZ would receive a grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Public Telecommunications Facilities Program for $93,000. KMUZ is among hundreds of radio and television stations applying for the grant program. About 50 percent of applicants will succeed; they will be notified in October.

The station has also applied for matching grants from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund and the city of Salem; and it is submitting requests to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the Collins Foundation and the Meyer Memorial trust, among others.

The station needs about $200,000 for construction alone, said Jeanine Renne, the grant writer. It also will need to pay rent and utilities.

The station hopes to be on the air by August 2011, serving an area ranging from Albany north to Keizer, and Stayton west to Dallas. The transmitter tower will be in Turner, with a broadcast studio at the Historic Grand Theatre building in downtown Salem.

The station would feature community-generated programming including music, civic events and politics.

Significant for Salem re: Census

TN state prison. Image by Exothermic via Flickr

One of the worst aspects of the War on Americans that is labeled (for PR purposes) as a war on drugs is that it has led to a huge population shift from cities to prisons that are located in (generally) pretty rural areas, where the prisoners are counted as residents for census purposes despite their being unable (in almost every state) to vote.

Thus, a vicious circle of insane drug laws and prison expansion turn into a mutually reinforcing dynamic, where communities that stand to benefit by imprisoning young men from urban areas keep electing politicians who demand ever more draconian sentencing schemes and criminalize even more aspects of life. Prosecutors try to amp up the cycle at every turn, becoming the true kings of the criminal justice system and turning judges into errand boys and bystanders who have no discretion while prosecutors are totally without accountability or balancing incentives.

To add insult to injury, most federal aid programs rely on census data, so in addition to causing over-representation of rural areas where prisons are housed, it diverts federal aid to those communities that is needed even more in the cities where the prisoners come from.

LWV reports that a good first step has been made at the federal level that might help with this problem:

New option for the states on inmates in the Census

The Census Bureau has agreed to release information on prisoner populations to states before they are set to redraw their legislative districts. This would give the states an option in deciding how they count prisoners. Census director Robert Groves made the decision after weeks of discussion with Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and with public interest and black groups. They called it an important first step toward shifting federal resources and representation back to urban communities, where they believe the aid is needed the most. To read the complete AP article, click here.

Wise words

Making the Best of Our Situation Now

http://campfire.theoildrum.com/node/6213

Posted by Gail the Actuary on February 13, 2010 - 6:45pm in The Oil Drum: Campfire

Topic: Sociology/Psychology

Most of us think our situation 10, 20 or 50 years from now will not be as good as today, in one or more ways--less oil, reduced wealth in general, and the possibility of many other negative changes as well--loss of electricity; rapid population decline; and perhaps climate change.

My question is, "How can we keep ourselves from feeling discouraged, even though we strongly suspect our future situation will not be as good as today?" Below the fold, I give a few ideas.

1. Count your blessings.

No matter how badly things are going, there are always some things that are going well. I have heard that some Jewish people give thanks for each body part that is working in their prayers each day. We can be thankful for the sunshine, and fresh air, and the birds flying by. We can be thankful for our friends and family members. If we focus on the good, it leaves less room for our mind to dwell on the not-so-good.

2. Spend time with family and friends.

Anything seems worse, if you are going through it alone. Surround yourself with loved ones.

3. Learn some cheerful, uplifting songs.

If you sing regularly, you will often find songs running through your mind. Joint a singing group, or attend church or temple and learn some hymns or other music. I am sure there is music you can download from the Internet too, and CDs you can buy. In some cultures, dancing is important, too.

4. Keep yourself busy.

Even if you don't have a job, find something worthwhile to do--studying something worthwhile, or helping someone in more need than yourself, or planting a garden, or attending a community planning meeting.

5. Take care of your health.

If you don't feel well, everything will seem much worse. To me, the big part of taking care of your health is proper diet, exercise, and avoiding substances which are harmful to your health. Getting proper dental care is probably helpful as well. Visiting health care providers may be necessary at times as well.

6. Focus as much as possible on the here and now.

What happened yesterday, even if it is the loss of a family member, is past. We have less control over the future than we would like. But we do have at least some control over the here and now, and there are always likely to be at least a few things that are going right. Focus on those things. Leave worrying about what you should have done, or what might happen in the future, to someone else.

7. Join a church or other religious group.

I am sure joining a religious group is not for everyone, but some may find it helpful. There are multiple benefits--a network of friends, some hope for help in facing current difficulties, and the possibility of hope for the future. Even if you don't believe in any possibility of an afterlife, you may find enough worthwhile in a church to justify joining. (I do recommend staying away from fundamentalist groups of any religion, however. Stick with more liberal groups that don't take their scriptures too literally.)

8. Get your priorities straight.

If your first priority is amassing great wealth, you are likely to be disappointed. If your first priority is advancing in your company, there is a good chance this may not happen--you may get laid off instead. Try to find appropriate alternative priorities--for example, helping those less fortunate than yourself, or working on a way to make the future for yourself or your community better.

Great post on why No Child is such a crock

http://www.good.is/post/teaching-notes-from-the-front-lines-3

The idea behind NCLB is that teachers are interchangeable production units and that students are just widgets that need to be have so much time on the bench from each production unit before passing the widget over to the testing bench where we determine whether the production unit needs realignment or even total replacement (because the widgets are totally indifferent to which production unit they are manipulated by).

This story is a poignant explanation of the reality -- which is of course 180 out from the doctrine exemplified by No Child Left Behind and the idiots who imposed it and who continue to back it.

Best bet: AC Gilbert Soiree

Discover the Wonder

Friday, February 19, 5:30 pm

Join us for an elegant evening at the Grand Ballroom in downtown Salem with our second annual dinner and auction. Meet Martin Morris, founder of A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, who will be the event's guest speaker. Catering is provided by Willaby's. Enjoy a silent auction of interesting and unique items, fabulous food, an assorted wine bar, entertainment and fantastic company! Top that all off with the chance to support the wonderful work of A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, and you definitely have a winning combination. Please call 503-371-3631 for reservations. Tickets: $50 per person. Presenting sponsors: Foresters and Drs. Sornson, Stevens, Berzins, Tibolt and East.

Bravo! The best flip-art animation EVER