GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI faces continued questions about his
recession leadership after announcing shaky economic plans at
Portland’s City Club late last week.
Kulongoski plans to convene a cabinet of experts in the field of
education, human services, and public safety later this year, to look
at “end[ing] the budgetary insanity” in Oregon, he said, particularly
when it comes to low tax rates for corporations and for people earning
more than $250,000.
But Kulongoski’s term ends in late 2010, so it’s unlikely that the
cabinet will be able to invoke any actual changes. Meanwhile Kulongoski
ruled out using any of the state’s $900 million in rainy day reserves
to pay the salaries of teachers, public safety workers, and social
workers, all of whom are facing job losses thanks to a $3.8 billion
hole in the upcoming state budget.
Listeners wondered aloud whether the governor could have done
something about tax reform over his past six years in office to avoid
such revenue holes—before the recession required him to make
politically unpopular job cuts.
“I think the hard work needed to reform the tax system needs to be
done, but I also think we could have been working on that for these
past six years,” says Steve Novick, who attended the meeting. Novick, a
former candidate for US Senator in the 2008 Democratic primary, is
rumored to be considering a run for governor when Kulongoski
retires.
“There’s nothing wrong with trying to give yourself extra
credibility by convening a panel of experts, but it would be nice to
see him say, ‘You know what, I should have done this four years ago
even though the pollsters were advising me against it,'” Novick
says.
Novick suggested Kulongoski should also have considered abolishing
the statewide tax kicker as another way to protect jobs. “The state
needs to save during good times so we can protect education and human
services,” he says. “Not give the money back to people and face a
budget crisis when the economy turns bad.”
New unemployment numbers released this week show Oregon’s jobless
rate continuing to hover at 12 percent, and the governor announced an
emergency jobs program to give 12,000 Oregonians temporary employment
this summer. Kulongoski even responded to criticism over alleged failed
leadership by shouting into the microphone, “If you want to criticize
me for not creating enough jobs, criticize me for not creating enough
jobs!”
Audience members were indeed willing to criticize the governor after
the speech—but for different reasons.
“I was a little perplexed to hear the governor talking about job
creation efforts without protecting teachers in the classroom and
caseworkers,” said Oregon Parent Teacher Association Legislative
Director Otto Schell. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
The state budget will be hammered out over the next two months in
Salem.