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Pork politics might pay off for north state
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Why does Congress have a 15 percent approval rating? One reason is the naked cynicism.
The nation faces a financial crisis. The credit freeze is so severe that the state of California is having trouble taking out run-of-the-mill short-term loans to pay state workers. Imagine what the crunch will do to small businesses and consumers.
But the U.S. Senate came to the rescue Wednesday night. It passed by a healthy margin the controversial $700 Wall Street rescue plan - in a bill that was decorated like a Christmas tree with unrelated tax cuts and pet projects designed to win votes. They drove the cost up an extra $100 billion.
But here's the thing about naked cynicism: It works - not just for continually re-elected members, but for their districts.
One addition to the bailout bill was $3.3 billion over the next four years for the Secure Rural Schools program, which compensates counties with large tracts of national forest - all of the north state - for lost timber revenues. It's a poor substitute for actual jobs in the woods and in the mills, but it's a critical backstop for local governments and schools. Yet the program expired this year and had not been renewed, until the Senate revived it this week.
The House is expected to vote on the package again today. We'll see if the bailout and the goodies including Secure Rural Schools pass.
And maybe it's cynical, but if it takes a crisis on Wall Street to avert a crisis in Weaverville's schools, you won't hear many parents complaining.
Posted by Dionysus on October 3, 2008 at 6:20 a.m.
Wooo-hoooo! More goodies, more pork-barrel politics! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
Sure, we'll talk about fiscal responsibility and living within our means...but, gosh, it is sure nice to get "free" money from the government.
Forget about the $700-billion bailout with another $100-billion of government giveaways. What's really important is now we're getting our OWN greedy mitts on the money.
God bless America!
Posted by richsteele on October 3, 2008 at 7:46 a.m.
California can't get loans because it is a bad risk. Maybe if the lending institutions had be able to do that with housing loans to people that could not pay them back we would not be in this mess.
One more Government social program gone astray. When will we learn.
Posted by secondclass on October 3, 2008 at 8:06 a.m.
It seems unfair that residents of Oakland and San Francisco have to pay for their public schools with property taxes, while rural counties get their schools paid for by the federal taxpayer.
Posted by Treebones on October 3, 2008 at 8:12 a.m.
in response to secondclass
Yes, it does seem unfair, but what's one to do about lack of property tax rolls when 75% of the County (Trinity) is Federal lands?
Do you have a solution that would be more acceptable to U.S. citizens?
Posted by willie on October 3, 2008 at 8:21 a.m.
in response to Treebones
Actually, more than 75% - and the original idea was for Trinity County to receive monies from timber sales from these public lands for education and roads - Guess what happened when the timber sales dried up --
Posted by Treebones on October 3, 2008 at 8:41 a.m.
in response to willie
I understand. That turned out to not be a very stable source of income.
So here we are trying to figure out an alternative. This "pork barrel" is what we have.
(What's one person's pork barrel is another's necessity.)
Posted by JustBob on October 3, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.
I've never quite understood why school districts populated with more trees than students need extra help. The trees don't require education, so why do the schools have to get paid for them? Rural districts might need some extra help because of the low incomes and low property values within their districts, but tying schools to trees has never made sense to me.
Posted by secondclass on October 3, 2008 at 12:20 p.m.
in response to Treebones
75% of Trinity county is federal land and no children live there who need to be educated. I think of Trinity as a tiny county, less than 10% the size and population of Alameda or San Francisco Counties. The equitable way to fund students is equalizing property taxes and school funding per person as they have done in Arizona. Property taxes should not be per acre or per tree.
Posted by joyy1 on October 3, 2008 at 3:22 p.m.
And who didn't support rural school funding before this bailout bill ? Wally Herger who has voted against the health care, education, employment and senior programs for 22 years.
Wake up and make a change of better representation on Nov. 4th.
www.jeffmorrisforcongress.com
Posted by alumni_pine_st_school on October 3, 2008 at 5:18 p.m.
In the past timber industry paid a portion of their revenue to the schools in rual areas theirfor the state did not give as much to those schools.
When timber sales dropped several years ago the schools lost monies.
Posted by Jim_96003 on October 3, 2008 at 8:58 p.m.
Pork politics is not the answer. Pork spending has no place in the State or Federal budget process. Senators and House members should be elected based on their job performance, not on how much pork they can get through the budget process.
As a Republican, I have no faith in Mr. Herger after his vote in favor of the bailout. Then again I have great fear that his democrat chalenger is a socialist. Therefore, I will vote with reluctance for Herger ande not the socialist democrat.
Vote Palin/McCain
Posted by Treebones on October 3, 2008 at 11:13 p.m.
in response to Jim_96003
"Pork politics is not the answer."
Mr. Herger disagrees. He's been our Representative everytime this "pork" has passed. It's been the way we've done it for over a decade now. He's had plenty of time to come up with something diffent but hasn't.
What makes Jeff Morris a socialist? Being a Democrat? Don't you have anything better than that? Mr. Morris has been an elected official in Trinity County. Do you have evidence of him being a "Socialist"? He stated that he would have voted no on this "Socialism for Wall Street" bill that the Republican Mr. Herger voted for twice.
I don't get your reasoning.
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