Senator Evan Bayh’s article in the Sunday Times, “Why I am leaving the Senate,” was an excellent statement of the problem facing Congress, particularly the Senate. He offered several well reasoned remedies to help the Senate work better, but what I didn’t see was why he is leaving.

Now is exactly the time for people who understand and care about the state of decline to renew their efforts and make our legislative bodies work. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome t o my Decade of Decision Website.

On this site you’ll find something I published on the day of Oregon’s special election on my concerns about where we go from here.  My goal is to work with people who care about actually translating our hopes and concerns into concrete actions this decade. I will be working on issues that relate to the environment, the budget, healthcare, and other priorities that speak to my goals of making this decade of decision actually accomplish things that we know need to be done that are in our power if we’re being honest and working together.

I’m particularly interested in your thoughts or observations: what are the particular decisions in this decade that matter most to you? Are there specifics that you’re concerned about that can help drive this year’s political conversation toward the positive and the constructive?

What is your top priority? I’m particularly interested in what you’re going to do. What are you doing that relates to our federal agenda?

Keep me and my team posted so that we can be aware, acknowledge, and -schedule permitting – be able to join you.

RSVP to the Decade of Decision Portland Event!

Regardless of the outcome of the election today, Oregonians are going to awaken tomorrow with the need to face stark realities; our state is still going to be in trouble. Whether the tax measures are repealed or stay, Oregon is facing daunting budget realities, the magnitude of which will become clear, and people are likely to be confused.

One of the reasons for the shortfall is that Oregon, like states around the country, has relied on federal revenues from the economic recovery package to help fund critical services like education, health and unemployment benefits. These actions helped move the state’s economy along and insulate local governments as well as families from the full impact of the recession. Last week’s vote in Massachusetts for a Republican opposed to the economic recovery package and national healthcare reform makes it much less likely that there will be any significant help from the federal government in the near future.

On January 27^th, Oregonians will find that we are in a very difficult position. Our challenge is to deal meaningfully with this reality. We should begin by acknowledging that we’re not just at a crossroads, but that we’ve still got a long and difficult path ahead of us. While the state’s economy has started to improve, it will take years to be back to where we were in early 2008. Even after our economy recovers, Oregon will still be trapped in an economic downward spiral.

The structural problems of our revenue system defy logic. Why should the state refund legally collected revenue at the established tax rates just because economists cannot accurately predict the inflation rate and unemployment level 30 months in advance? It makes no sense to send out “kicker” checks when the state is facing looming budget deficits. Most people, regardless of party or ideology, would agree that this is a silly and self-defeating process, yet it has been enshrined in the Oregon Constitution.

The state’s budget is not aligned with Oregon’s future. A state that spends more on prisons than higher education is unable to equip its young people for the new global economy. Oregonians remain deeply divided over educational investments with firmly held but diametrically opposed positions about the path to the future, to say nothing about a consensus on how to get there.

Read the rest of this entry »

We have just finished 48 hours of a media circus focused on the President’s first anniversary in office and the spectacle of an inept Democrat losing a Senate seat that was held by Jack and Teddy Kennedy for almost two-thirds of the century.

In normal times, the evaluation of the President’s record thus far would look pretty good. The economy, teetering on collapse when he took office, has stabilized with modest signs of recovery. America’s standing in the world has dramatically improved and our country is once again the most admired nation on the planet, something that has not been the case for a long time. There have also been major legislative achievements in children’s health, economic recovery, and hate crimes. In addition, for the first time in history, major health care reform passed both the House and the Senate.

But these are not normal times. Read the rest of this entry »