Stratospheric Legislators (S.L.) are those who see every problem from the 50,000 foot level. They look at budgets and ask how much more is being given this biennium than last, without asking what the taxpayers are buying for their money in the first place. For instance, S.L’s, when looking at the K-12 education budget, get prime time media coverage by publicly wringing their hands while proclaiming the need for more money for education, because after all, “it’s for the kids.” Such sound-bite simplicity is irrational. In my opinion it is irresponsible for politicians to begin the bidding war for voter approval with inflating promises of more money programs, such as K-12 Education, without first asking the following questions: (1.) What outcomes are desired? (2.) Will additional financial resources accelerate achieving the desired outcomes? (3.) If so, how? (4.) Is the current system the best way to achieve those outcomes? (5.) What reforms in the current system would help reach the desired outcomes in a more efficient, effective and economical manner?

When it comes to educating our children, I watch our current system take our children from world leaders in math and science in the third grade to 28th place—behind Bulgaria, Slovania and other 3rd world countries—by the time our kids reach the 10th grade.

Instead of listening to the Oregon Education Association’s (OEA) mantra that all that is needed for student success is more money, we should be requiring better performance in the classrooms. Instead of spending more and achieving less than our regional neighboring states, we should be providing positive incentives for the best teachers and breaking the OEA’s strangle-hold which makes it nearly impossible to terminate bad teachers. We should be granting freedom, support, aids, assistants and power to teachers, principals and parents to determine how best to teach their unique mix of students. Instead we hamstring our local educators with social engineering experiments that promise to produce tolerant toddlers and students. In the realm of public education, cultural competence can never compensate for incompetence in math, science and English. So long as our high-level Stratospheric Legislators continue to focus solely on increased funding, without requiring accountability for what the tax dollars are buying, Oregon is destined to wallow in mediocrity instead of competing internationally.

On the other end of the scale are Minutia-Minded Legislators, who get so caught up counting trees they lose sight of the forest. These are Legislators who leave no stone unturned as they attempt to micro-manage agencies in marathon committee meetings and work groups. They are addicts to the system and care more about process than performance, and they waste tremendous amounts of time and resources while doing so.

The most productive Legislators are a combination of the two. They have management skills in identifying the long-term goals and outcomes desired from the agencies they over-see, while utilizing a technician’s ability to drill down and spot check individual agencies and programs to assure budgets are justifiable and performance promises are kept.

I am working hard to be a balanced Legislator. At the high management level I am researching two issues: Oregon’s tax structure and the possibility of universal access to health care.

Regarding Oregon’s tax structure, I am analyzing it with fresh eyes. Instead of the old, time-worn argument that seeks to add to Oregon’s current income and property taxes a retail sales tax as the “third leg of Oregon’s tax stool,” I am asking questions on structuring a tax system that would replace property taxes completely, and lessen or eliminate income taxes too. It wearies me to listen to those whose only response to new ideas is to summarily dismiss them with explanations that begin with “No, it is impossible because….”

Creative juices flow when, instead of negativity, new proposals are considered with the positive consideration that begins with “Yes, it could work if….” As I search and consider options for generating revenues for Oregon, I am searching for a system that does not punish wage-earners or burden the poor. It should be a system that enables those who are having hard times to live on the “absence of expense.”

It has always seemed immoral to me that when people come on hard times, they cannot hunker down and make it through without the fear of losing their homes for failing to pay property taxes. Essentially, under our current property tax system we rent our homes from the government. We can never really own our homes. We must either make our property tax payments on our homes or our families will be subject to having the government confiscate them. The property tax system is unfair and should be changed.

Regarding universal health care, it is apparent to me that Oregon citizens need, desire and will soon demand affordable access to high quality health care. Presently, we have universal health care via hospital Emergency Room visits, but it is too expensive to sustain. Far too many Oregonians and illegal immigrants use hospital E.R.’s and fire department emergency care units as their sources for primary care. This leaves hospitals and fire districts with millions of dollars of unpaid emergency care costs every year. Those costs are then transferred to the backs of individuals and insurance companies who pay for their medical care. The result has been double digit annual increases in health insurance costs that have plagued businesses for more than a decade. Add to those rising insurance costs the sky-rocketing increases in medical costs and decreasing reimbursement rates for medical providers, and we have a perfect storm that threatens to bankrupt our health care delivery system.

I have been reviewing the health care legislation enacted in Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine. Each of these three states recently passed reforms to provide universal access to health care. Another dozen states are currently considering their own solutions to the health care crisis. Oregon can learn from the experience of other states, before carefully crafting an affordable and sustainable solution that will honor our free enterprise system while confronting the need for access to high quality, affordable health care for all Oregonians. This should be a primary issue in next year’s Legislative session.

In addition to the macro issues of Oregon tax reform and universal health care, I have been doing my own form of legislative spot audits in the areas of Oregon health delivery systems, cost of care and treatment for Oregon’s rising population of HIV-AIDS patients, and the costs and extent of services to illegal immigrants in Oregon. I will give a full report on these individual issues in a subsequent newsletter.

In closing, with the help of the Oregon Fujian Sister-State Association, I have the opportunity to lead another Oregon Legislative Trade Mission to China in June. Oregon has a tremendous opportunity to enhance our economic and other ties with the People’s Republic of China, and I will continue to champion those relationships. This will be my third trade mission for Oregon—none at taxpayer’s expense. I make no apologies for seeking good relationships with the largest communist nation in the world. All who are aware of the double-digit annual growth in China’s GDP can see that China is making a dramatic entrance into the world community of developed nations. America and China are destined to be two powerhouse nations for the 21st century. All Americans and Chinese—and, indeed the population of the entire world—will sleep better if our two nations continue to develop greater understanding, greater exchanges of our students and tourists, and greater economic partnerships, rather than allow misunderstandings and fear to move our nations into another cold war. When I return from China I will update you on what we were able to accomplish by accepting this invitation for representatives of our Legislature and businesses to visit Oregon’s sister-state of Fujian Province.

Sincerely,

Dennis Richardson
State Representative
Speaker Pro Tempore

Missed a Newsletter? Download all past newsletters for 2005 and 2006 at http://www.leg.state.or.us/richardson/news.htm

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