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If I buy stock and later sell it for more, I have a capital gain but have created no jobs.  If I buy an apartment building and later sell at a profit, I have a capital gain but have created no jobs.

If I start a company, hire employees and successfully market my product or service, and later sell some stock at a profit, I have a capital gain and have created jobs. 

Does anyone have any idea of how much of the capital gains tax revenue comes from each of these categories?  Don't the capital gains also reflect the results of jobs that were created in the past and not that the money realized from the sale of the capital assets are going to create new jobs?

ngalash — Fri Oct. 1st 9:39a.m.

Ngalash makes an excellent point.  Why should capital gains be taxed at a different rate, period?  

If I buy an elephant for $100, feed it for a month, then sell it for $200, I've got a $100. of capital gains.  But if I paint my neighbor's fence for $100, that's earned income.  Why on earth should those two sources of income be taxed at different rates?  (Unless, of course, because rich people have lots of earnings via capital gains--while poor peoples' earnings are exclusively earned income).

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:07p.m.

"rich people have lots of earnings via capital gains--while poor peoples' earnings are exclusively earned income"

BINGO!

How does Dudley see capital gains being different from earned income in terms of stimulating the economy...? Would he structure the capital gains cut so that it only rewards companies putting people to work in Oregon or would it just be across the board capital gains tax?

OregonRain — Tue Oct. 12th 7:22p.m.

Hello,  My background is AS degree from California, son of hard working parents that started their own bussiness.  I have been a public employee (firefighter) for 26 years.  I now live in Bend, married with two kids in public high school.  I have been with Bend Fire for 17 years.

My question...How will the Governor stop the polarization in government?  How will the Governor find Oregon's measure of success?  Where are we going Gov and where should we be going?  How can we help?

Paulswag — Fri Oct. 1st 11:17a.m.

My name's Chris, I live in Portland, and am very interested in infrastructure and sustainable development issues.

Portland is known for being a leader in sustainable development, infrastructure and mass transit.  When are we going to see that kind of leadership in the rest of western Oregon?  Why do we still not have a commuter rail system in place between our four major population centers on the I-5 corridor (Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene)?  There are many people who work in Salem but who live in Portland and drive down and back on I-5 every day.  I-5, as we all know, is overly-congested and stressful to drive on during rush hours.  A western Oregon commuter rail system would give people in Portland another option for commuting to work to Salem, and would give those in Portland an easier way to get to Eugene for things like the Shakespeare and Bach festivals, and the big football games there or in Corvallis.  It would give students and residents in Eugene and Corvallis a car-free way to get between those cities or to Portland.  All in all, it would give everyone in this part of the state a far less stressful and cheaper way to get around, and would help relieve congestion on I-5.

And needless to say, the creation and construction of such a system would create many, many jobs.

It's a given that this would be a massive undertaking, and would take a lot of money and several years - more like decades - to complete.  I also understand that Amtrak in this area is somewhat crippled because most, if not all, of the railroad tracks in the state are owned by private companies.  We'd have to figure out what to do about the current track system and Amtrak, and there would be many other details which would take much hard work and careful planning to flesh out.

However, despite the seeming difficulty, investing in infrastructure is a good way to create jobs now and set up the country for greater mobility and more sustainable development in the future.  So, will someone in this or any political race come out in favor of taking even the first steps towards a comprehensive western Oregon commuter rail line?

--------

And my question to Think Out Loud and OPB in general: The Green, Libertarian and other non-corporate parties have candidates for governor in the race.  Will we hear from any of them in in-depth interviews on OPB?

WeatherServo9 — Fri Oct. 1st 2:51p.m.

here here on both accounts!

albertkaufman — Tue Oct. 5th 3:26p.m.

Thanks for the transport question including all the context! We don't have plans at the moment with the other candidates for governor.

Emily Harris — Wed Oct. 6th 2:10p.m.

Why not an all non-typical candidates TOL day? I think it would be interesting... Give time (15 minutes?) to various candidates from Governor to Senator to House to debate each other. The soloflex guy versus the green party guy!!! Expands the voter conciousness, opens the mainstream people to new ideas, offers a platform for unheard from individuals who serve an important role in our democracy.

It should be called 'The alternative debate.'

OregonRain — Tue Oct. 12th 7:25p.m.

Three years ago, Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries surveyed 2,182 K-12 public school buildings and identified 1,018 buildings at high or very high risk of collapse when the next Cascadia Quake strikes the state. An estimated 300,000 Oregon children attend the schools at risk.

Oregon State University scientists now calculate the likelihood of a Cascadia Quake within the next fifty years at 37 percent, three times higher than previous estimates of major earthquake risk.  A Cascadia Quake could strike at any time. When a quake of comparable power struck Chile earlier this year, 4,013 public schools sustained damage.

My question for John Kitzhaber and Chris Dudley is this: If elected, what steps will you take during your term to protect 300,000 Oregon children by strengthening Oregon’s public schools to withstand our Katrina, the next Cascadia Quake? How should the state pay for this essential investment in school resilience?

ECWolf — Fri Oct. 1st 5:01p.m.

While you're at it, what about the Multnomah County Courthouse?  Nevermind earthquakes--a huffing and puffing big, bad wolf could blow that building down.....   

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:09p.m.

• Oath of office – what does it mean to you?

• State sovereignty – how important is it (or should it be) to Oregonians?

• Do you believe English should become Oregon’s official state language? Y/N
  

Jeffersonian — Tue Oct. 5th 1:32p.m.

In a time of increasing national and subsequently political polarization, candidates continue to promise the public programs that require bipartisan expertise. What skills and successes has each candidate demonstrated that might predict his or his success in working across party lines, for the benefit of the general public and not their party—or their reelection—alone? 

I am hoping for thoughtful, concrete answers . . . not a statement such as, "The other candidate served the state for eight years, and we still have problems, so the only obvious answer is to elect fresh leadership." New leadership brings its own problems. How have both candidates thought out their steps towards better governing of Oregon? How will they make a difference? 

lifegrabit — Tue Oct. 5th 1:39p.m.

With the financial setbacks likely lasting years into the future, we need to harnass every tool to negotiate "the dark ages", maintain education/health outcomes at a high level, and discern how to exploit every possible way to prepare for new economies.  Please revist how our transition from resource extraction went for Oregon as a fast history lesson...

Q:  To what extent are you each knowledgable about and prepared to leverage the philanthropic sector, itself injecting billions of dollars into Oregon, in your leadership, and are you aware of initiatives like the Meyer Memorial Trust's to seek innovation in addressing Oregon's challenges?

pdxdan — Tue Oct. 5th 1:40p.m.

Governor Kulongowski and the Oregon Department of Energy have said that we do not need LNG. Our gas utilities are requesting lower rates due to stable and abundant domestic natural gas sources from shale gas. An LNG terminal in Coos Bay would either import foreign gas through Oregon to bring to the California market, or the terminal would be used to export natural gas from shale gas in Wyoming to Japan. Neither of these options benefits Oregonians.

How would Kitzhaber & Dudley work to defend rural farm, timber, and fishing families from the unnecessary risk of new pipelines for LNG?

MonicaLV — Tue Oct. 5th 1:48p.m.

What is the optimum population for Oregon?

Is there any limit?  If so, how do we stabilize or shrink our population accordingly?  

Or, do we just let population growth continue until we're completely gridlocked?

albertkaufman — Tue Oct. 5th 1:53p.m.

With the recent Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. FEC, big groups like corporations and unions are basically free to spend as much money as they want in federal elections. What's interesting to me is that according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Oregon is one of the only 6 states that have no campaign contribution limits of any kind for its state and local elections (http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16594).

If I could ask the candidates a question, I would ask them: do you think money is corrupting our elections process and if you think it is, how would you change things?

Bluewater42 — Tue Oct. 5th 2:04p.m.

And how about supporting a measure requiring that "The Committee for the Promotion of Puppies and Kittens" must disclose that 97% plus of their funding is from the NRA, or Exxon Mobil, or Goldman Sachs, etc etc... as opposed to a declaration that the committee is "a grass roots organization of kitten and puppy lovers everywhere!"  See, e.g., the fight that Peter DeFazio is in with that astro turf organization.

"I'm not sure, but will definitely look in to that" is not an answer--unless it means "no, I oppose mandatory disclosure of funding sources."

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:40p.m.

Candidates Dudley & Kitzhaber for governor have refused to answer since they became candidates directly to our organization, Oregon State Police-Independent Citizens Review Board just one question, Do you support and will you mandate when you take your oath of office, that the program, "Truly Reforming Law Enforcement"  which is attached to Oregon Senate Bill 111-Police Use Of Deadly Physical Force mandated to be in full force July 1, 2008 be implemented?

Several of the highest Oregon State Officals are under investrigation by the United States Justice Department for breach of their oath of office, by not protecting WE THE PEOIPLE, from unjustified excessive deadly physical force, as mandated by several articles of federal and state civil rights acts and The Constitution Of The Unied States.

Please Google:

1.  Program, Truly Reforming Law Enforcement

2.  Rise In Police Brutality USA TODAY Dec. 18, 2007

3  Jerry Atlansky Oregon Senate Judicial

Vote for Jerry Wilson for governor as he supports the only program in this nation to stop the "KILL BY WILL, WITHOUT DUE CAUSE".

Jerry Atlansky-Founder/Chairperson

jmatlansky@gmail.com   24/365

JerryAtlansky — Tue Oct. 5th 2:10p.m.

ABC World News' recent feature story was on "Pornland, USA," referring to Portland having the largest legal commercial sex industry per capita in the nation.  I have lived in the Portland / Beaverton area for 26 years and have two young children. I have personally witnessed the growth of the "adult entertainment" industry in my neighborhood. I write to ask the candidates if they would specifically support an Oregon law or Oregon constitutional amendment prohibiting sex industry businesses from being located within 3 miles of schools and daycares?

oregonian — Tue Oct. 5th 2:30p.m.

I am reasonably sure you'd need a Constitutional amendment.  Under Oregon law, "obscene speech" (however you define it) is still protected speech.  For a restriction based on the content of the speech, you would have to show there were no less restrictive measures available, and that having a strip club within a X distance of a school was a problem.  I doubt there is evidence showing having a strip club within three, two, one, or even a quarter mile of a school or day care center causes problems serious enough to warrant that type of zoning.

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:33p.m.

Maybe the problem is that you're too uptight. There's nothing that can be seen on the outsides of adult businesses that would bother children and there's absolutely no evidence these businesses pose a danger to children. You might as well try getting a blue law against liquor stores.

jordanlund — Tue Oct. 19th 10:15p.m.

How old is the Earth and what do you base your answer on? A simple yet revealing question that determines if the candidate has an evidence-based world view or is out of touch with reality.

ThorGoLucky — Tue Oct. 5th 3:11p.m.

I second the question. Just imagine a world/state were policy was made with evidence based outcomes in mind. What a radical notion that is. We'd all be Lucky.

I am extremely skeptical about most laws and their ostensible purposes versus their effectiveness as deterrents for undesired behavior.  I think there should be some kind of social impact/ cost benefit analysis requirement done before a new law can be passed. We should also go back and review the all existing statues already on the books for cost effectiveness.

Example of cost ineffective laws:
Does the death penalty deter murders? No.

Do Sudafed prescriptions decrease meth use? No.

Do high student funding ratios produce great achievement outcomes? Are you kidding?

Here's some more questions that would be revealing:

*If a Federal National ID card were mandated would you have Oregonians comply with the law?

This would reveal how trully independent a govenor is. Given this is could seriously happen.

*How do you feel about the laws prohibiting adult possession and use of drugs?

Are we going to have a reason based policy on Marijuana? Even if the Feds object? Reveals if the canidate thinks the citizens of Oregon are children and in need of the protection of a nanny or big brother.

*How do you feel about the laws regarding sex for consenting adults? Reveals if the candidate is running for First Nanny or not?

*Do think of tax deductions or subsidies for businesses as corporate welfare? It's the capitalist litmus test?

From: Portland

Professional Background: Degree in Economics, Business Analyst/Real Estate

Importance to me?

I think an outrageous amount of taxes are wasted on enforcement of victimless crimes. The money could be better spent or better yet given back to the taxpayers.


thx1138 — Thu Oct. 14th 7:58p.m.

Every year in Portland there is a budget crisis for our public schools.  We endure cuts in arts, music, amount of teachers, counselors, school bus routes, and even school closures.  What will you do to give a more reliable budget for public schools?  Will you fund schools adequately so that parents don't always have to make up the difference with "foundations" (which not all schools have)?

radiofan — Tue Oct. 5th 4:56p.m.

In these days of negative rhetoric, spin-doctoring and demagoguery it is difficult to know who actually stands for what. The differences between the parties seems huge at election time, but not that different in the day to day workings of the political system. My question is simply this:

If you make promises to do a certain thing for us, regardless of what it is, will you resign if you cannot keep your promise? Will you leave rather than compromise the promises that got you elected?

John France

jjprof — Tue Oct. 5th 6:41p.m.

There is a significant possibility that in the four to eight years of your term(s) as governor you will be faced with the Cascadia earthquake and tsunami.  This event will cause widespread damage to our transportation and utilities infrastructure and unreinforced masonry buildings.  In addition, a devastating tsunami will sweep low lying coastal areas. With a potential loss of life in the thousands and the cost of damages in the tens of billion dollars, this will be the largest disaster in Oregon’s history.  Responding to such a natural disaster will be as close to being a commander in chief, that you as governor, will face.  

Given the severity of this coming natural disaster, how prepared is Oregon? What additional measures would you consider to strengthen our emergency response and relief efforts? How would you increase the resiliency of our communities to reduce the cost and time to recover after the event?  

While the Cascadia earthquake will affect the Willamette Valley and the coast, the coast will also bear the additional disaster of the tsunami.  What special measures do you see need to be taken to prepare the coastal communities for tsunami’s?

Finally, what personal experience do you bring to office that will help us understand how you will respond to such emergencies? 

JRaskin — Tue Oct. 5th 7:03p.m.

As a rural resident of Oregon, I find myself living in the Paleolithic age compared to the rest of the country, and the world.  No proper road service in the wintertime from ODOT, blocking us from the valley and the cities entirely.  No snow plows, no salting the ice on the roads through the coast range to the valley.  Add this to the year-round disaster of rural phone/internet/wireless "service",  which is more like "disservice", and it is embarrassing to tell your business colleagues as well as your family and friends around the country that you are still living with no truly-high-speed internet and have dead zones of wireless phone service scattered all over your communities.  Extraordinarily-high fees for the most primitive of phone services and slow-moving "high speed" internet in name-only.  What is this new governor going to do to try and being this state into the 21st century with proper road service and communications with the outside world?  For all the people moving to Portland because it is a relatively-easy city to be poor in, the rest of us are moving out of Oregon in droves because we can no longer work in such a backward environment.

betenoire — Tue Oct. 5th 7:42p.m.

I'd very much like to know, how does each candidate think global warming is affecting Oregon? And could each provide an example of how his leadership and policies would help mitigate human greenhouse gas emissions, and an example of how he would assist Oregonians in adapting to changes in climate and weather?

If you would like a good resource for information on global warming and its effects on Oregon, I'd suggest Phil Mote at OSU.

mikeoregon — Wed Oct. 6th 2:21p.m.

Specifically for Mr. Dudley--how can he say (as he did during the 9/30 debate) that he "doesn't know" how much human activities contribute to global warming?  

In the first place, there is no scientific dispute as to the causes of global warming.  Those few nay sayers who attack human causes are marginal hacks who have not--and cannot--substantiate their claims in recognized peer reviewed journals.  See, e.g., Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, Merchants of Doubt (and dozens of other books).

Second, how can you possibly address global warming, if you haven't taken the time to figure out what are the primary causes?

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:20p.m.

I've got two questions, specific to Mr. Dudley, and a third for either candidate.  The TOL geniuses (geniui?) can pick & choose which, all, or none:

For Mr. Dudley:

1. You have said that the current economic problems in Oregon are a product of "the politics of the past."  Is that fair, considering that in March 2008, the stock market collapsed, the real estate market collapsed nationwide, and the country was thrown into a credit/banking crisis that was the most serious since the Great Depression?  Wouldn't you agree that all fifty states suffered a sharp decline in revenue, as a direct result of that crisis--as opposed to anything any one state governor might have done?

2. In the 9/30 debate, you were asked several times what specific cuts you would make as governor.  You deflected the question, saying that Oregonians are all tired of hearing "raising taxes" as the first solution to everything, and that the state needs to get its own "spending in order first."  I can appreciate that feeling of tiredness--but isn't that beside the point?  It sounds to me like you are promising the state free lunches, via announced tax cuts--but refusing to cut any services.  Under your vision, it's time for Oregon to make some hard decisions--why do you refuse to talk about what are those hard decisions?

For either candidate:

3. Why in hell is there a statue of Vic Attiyeh in the airport?  Could I place a statute of Neil Goldschmidt inside the airport, if I provided the money?  How about a statue of some of Oregon's founding fathers, the ones who were proponents of slavery?  Believe me--there are good reasons why Vic Attiyeh was Oregon's last GOP Governor.  But there he is, life-size in the airport.

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:01p.m.

Oh oh--now I'm starting to get mad.  

Is Mr. Dudley going to continue campaigning in the Senator Gordon Smith model of a bipartisan, ready to compromise, reasonable conservative in the Portland tri-county area--but then suddenly morph into a hard nosed, take no prisoners conservative in eastern and southern Oregon?

Specifically, will Mr. Dudley clarify if he is a "Tea Party" Republican or not, for the entire state of Oregon, as opposed to being a "Tea Party" Republican when convenient?

And for goodness sakes, do not say something silly like "Well, I don't like to be tied to labels..."  What I am worried about is if asked "Are you a Tea Party Republican?" Mr. Dudley will give a different answer in Northwest Portland ("Well, I shy away from labels...I like to be my own person...") than he would in Pendleton ("Oh, absolutely!").

Bill Abendroth — Wed Oct. 6th 11:27p.m.

If we cut Capital Gains taxes in Oregon, what guarantee do we have that businesses are going to expand and hire more employees?

I would also like to know if the State of Oregon spends money on infrastructure like bridges, roads and sewer; what percentage of those construction jobs go out for bid to private sector construction companies?

tednottodd1 — Thu Oct. 7th 3:51p.m.

Given the Governor's position is the "3rd-leg" of the State's government structure...what top three pending legislative changes being proposed and/or introduced for the next political cycle would they veto? What top three (in their opinion) would they support?

Paul Paz - Beaverton, OR

waitersworld — Thu Oct. 7th 6:09p.m.

Why does Chris Dudley think he is ready to be a governor? Why is it that only wealthy people can bypass any previous experience in government?  I would be ready to vote for him in a state representive role but this political rookie needs to spend some time on the bench before getting the starring position in state government.

pdxpeters — Sat Oct. 9th 12p.m.

As a member of the middle class from Washington County struggling to get through this recession, I have the following question for Mr. Dudley:

Real wages have been stagnant and income inequality has been rising since the 1970's.  We recently heard on OPB that the top 20% hold 85% of the wealth (property, savings, investments, etc.) and the bottom 40% hold 0% of the wealth (with many in deep debt).  Wealth has been similarly stagnant, even though most Americans would like it more evenly distributed.  The recession ended in June 2009 and the economy has been expanding since then, but unemployment has been steadily high.  Which of these facts troubles you, and what would your tax and other economic policies do about them?

yjerome — Mon Oct. 11th 10:55a.m.

Question for Mr Dudley:

As part of your 26-point plan on your campaign web site, one point is "Find It to Fund It". This requires that funding for new programs must involve ending an existing program or demonstrate equivalent cost savings of the new program. This sounds like a good idea.

Will you promise to do the same with any tax cuts you propose? To provide a similar revenue-neutral plan for tax cuts, you must estimate the tax revenue loss to the state, and cut existing state expenditures by the same amount.

It is simply not enough to hand-wave how tax cuts will stimulate business, grow jobs and thereby increase state tax revenues. [At 9% income tax rate, there's a fairly low state revenue return on every tax cut dollar.]

Will you promise to pursue this same approach? If not, why not? The risk here is that while state budget expenses will not grow, state revenues will shrink, which will continue to expand the Oregon budget deficit.

penguin or — Tue Oct. 12th 12:15p.m.

With the budget deficit and the cuts to services you must contemplate, what do you propose to do for children in the foster care system. Will therapy, medical services, and other needed treatment still be available to these children?

On another topic, do you hope to continue or expand and solidify funding for Oregon heritage institutions? How important is it to you that Oregon citizens and children understand the value set and heritage that underlies Oregon citizenship?

janmitchell — Wed Oct. 13th 4:01p.m.

If you don't have a job, it is a waste of time.  Maslow taught us this back in the 50's.

pnordbye — Tue Oct. 19th 7:19p.m.

John Kitzhaber first appointed Elizabeth Harchenko to be Director of Oregon Department of Revenue in 1996.  It is known by some, and has been proven by the Secretary of State auditors Elizabeth Harchenko fails to enforce tax law.  Why did John Kitzhaber appoint Elizabeth Harchenko and has she accomplished that which he intended, the reduction of revenue to the government.

GordonHillesland — Thu Oct. 14th 9:20p.m.

What with the recent revelation that a Clark Co. candidate has never voted, or appears to have never voted, I would like to know how many elections the candidates have missed in the last five years.....these candidates and all of them.

Seems to me that there are two fundamental requirements of citizens here, voting and paying taxes.

BEMUSE — Mon Oct. 18th 9:12a.m.

I own a small business in PDX.  I want to know how, (in detail) each candidate will encurage more small businesses to come to PDX and stay in PDX?  Tax brakes? 

strongsexysmart — Mon Oct. 18th 12:27p.m.

U both believe in Openness and Accountability in Government Agencies.  What about the CURRENT appointment of ALL of the Trimet Board (Portland Mass Transit System)  by the Govornor, with no qualifications, or confirmation oversight.   They even pass budgets, priorities without oversight.   The local Press does not cover their Board meetings, and their policiy development is "opeque" at best.

Do both of U favor appointing ALL of Trimets Board being an LOCALLY ELECTED Official from the Tri-Met Area Served  (Meyor, Councilman, Commissioner) ? 

>Like other Trasnsit Systems elsewhere. ?  ((Pudget Sound))

mark445 — Tue Oct. 19th 2:39p.m.

Understanding that small business requires a robust middle class to purchase its products, how do each of the candidates plan to systematically build a robust middle class?

pnordbye — Tue Oct. 19th 7:14p.m.

For Chris Dudley: The prime reason for gridlock during Mr. Kitzhaber's Governorship was his conflict with a Republican led legislature. How would placing you in as a Republican Governor with Democratic legislature be any different? For John Kitzhaber: Your opponent has claimed, repeatedly, that your last term as Governor was a failure. Why have you not challenged that statement with the fact that a Governor cannot make law, but rather can only sign or veto laws brought to them by the legislature?

jordanlund — Tue Oct. 19th 10:06p.m.

For Mr. Dudley: You have claimed that reducing taxes on wealthy people will result in job creation and better wages. However, the wealth gap is at an all time high while at the same time unemployment has reached record highs. How do you reconcile these two facts?

For Mr. Kitzhaber: You claim to have a good track record of governing Oregon for two years, yet during this election you have been as elusive as Mr. Dudley when it comes to media access and public appearances. If you have a good track record, why not take every opportunity to tell people about it?

rv6n6r — Wed Oct. 20th 2:58p.m.

Mr. Dudley how do you feel on Don't Ask Don't Tell? As a Veteran I'm in favor of equality for all Americians and DADT needs to be repealed. Will you stop any Oregon National Guards from being fired for being gay?

Most NATO countries allows their service members both gay and straight to serve without any problems, why do you think we are so far behind on this issue.

faamech — Wed Oct. 20th 5:25p.m.

Part of your education plan is to provide 1-on-1 help for kids who are not reading at grade level.  I'm curious about this because I don't know of any research that supports this as  a method for improving a low reader's performance (works great to initially teach kids to read).  But more importantly,

do you know how much this will cost?

how will you pay for this, especially if you also cut the budget and cut taxes?   

gracefulwarrior — Thu Oct. 21st 6:55a.m.

Since out economy has declined, and our deficit has grown, how can you justify extending a tax cut that has failed to produce jobs for 9 years? 

billodot — Thu Oct. 21st 8:54a.m.

I like this question. We keep hearing that returning the top rate to pre-Bush levels (a few extra percent) would hurt job creation. But then many of the larger businesses that would be affected are sitting on cash positions and/or still giving their execs generous compensation packages. The real issue in much of the economy is middle class DEMAND. Extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans isn't going to help that, or the debt that big military spending and the economic fiasco have left us.

Alex J — Wed Oct. 27th 1:44p.m.

Question for Chris Dudley: For those worried your poor free throw shooting speaks to your ability to be Governor -- a lack of preparation, an unwillingness or inability to put in the time to get the job done, an inattention to detail -- how would you respond?

jonathansinger — Thu Oct. 21st 9:05a.m.

Q: How will you combat Oregon's illegal sex trade and human trafficking industry? As a candidate for governor, surely you already know that Portland, in particular, has earned attention from national organizations and the press regarding this (Google "portland oregon sex trade human traffiking".) Obviously, this is a horrific violation of human rights and must be challenged and defeated, everyone will agree this crime is terrible, but will you do about it? What *can* the governor do? Thanks. I'm a Portlander, an Oregonian of 20 years, from Alaska.

nweinham — Thu Oct. 21st 9:45a.m.

As we all know, the world's water resources are becoming more and more scarce.  Our own state's dwindling resources have created intense conflict but Oregonians understand the value of protecting our water as a sustainable community as evidenced by the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. 

What will you do as governor to protect our water, especially, from being shipped out of our state by large multinational corporations such as the plan proposed by Nestle to build a water bottling plant in the Columbia Gorge?

mcr — Thu Oct. 21st 4:43p.m.

I have heard that the PERs system guarantees public employees a certain rate of return. If the investments lose money the tax payers are on the hook to make up that loss.

Do you believe it is fair to make tax payers pay twice for a public employees retirement account? If so Why? If not how do you propose to resolve this issue?

Native 1960 — Fri Oct. 22nd 12:45p.m.

 John:

 Several spectacularly stupid schemes to foist liquefied natural gas onto Oregon -- to the detriment of our health, safety, property rights and environment -- remain in the works, despite broad-based and determined opposition.

 Individual citizen activists and environmentalist and property-rights organizations successfully blocked one such plot, the now moribund Bradwood Landing LNG Terminal proposal. But two other LNG terminals are proposed: at Coos Bay and at the Skipanon site on the Columbia River at Warrenton; and, like the corpses in Night of the Living Dead, Bradwood Landing and its associated Palomar Pipeline could lurch from their graves.

 The Skipanon LNG site -- just like Bradwood Landing -- is linked to Palomar, a huge and explosively dangerous steel pipeline that would be hundreds of miles long, most of it above ground. Erecting and maintaining this high-pressure gas pipe would require clearcuttting and bulldozing a freeway-wide swath through 47 miles of the Mt Hood National Forest, including old-growth timber, threatened and endangered species habitat and some of the finest recreational areas and most beautiful scenery on Earth.

 Burning petrofuels like gas contributes to the global climate crisis and continues our nation's dependence on, and kowtowing to, foreign governments and greedy corporations that supply them. The enormous amount of energy required to liquefy, ship, regasify, store and pipe petrogas enlarges its carbon footprint by 30 to 40 percent while boosting its cost to consumers and further enriching the world's worst parasites, the petroprofiteers.

 If we choose to elect you again as our governor, what would you do to protect Oregon and its citizens from the curse of LNG?       

stevenamick — Tue Oct. 26th 9:04p.m.

Because Oregon has not been able to reduce the poverty rate for many years, with our increase in population we have more poor in Oregon than when you were first elected and income inequality is greater as well.  Despite this, neither your economic plan nor Mr. Dudley's plan even mention poverty or the related problem of growing income inequality in Oregon. As you know, the number of poor effect our fiscal situation, not the poverty rate.

Why is your economic plan silent on poverty and income inequality, and can you commit to making poverty reduction a goal of your administration? If so, what will you do to make sure its always front and center?

csheketoff — Tue Oct. 26th 10:12p.m.

I just read an extensive report on why Dudley was given an A and you an F by two educational reform organizations, billed as Obama related.  They are hardly progressive, according to this article, but wealthy stock brokers and so on... promoting an agenda.  

I am curious as to your approach to educational reform, especially in keeping our poorer children in school and graduating from high school, your response to Brad Avakian's proposal concerning more vocational education in high schools and increasing our physical education, arts education and foreign languages in our high schools.

thanks,

Linda Layne

revlindak — Tue Oct. 26th 10:31p.m.

The science suggests that climate changes, accelerated by the buildup of fossil carbon, pose risks to holocene ecology and societies. Despite some efforts to muddle this reality, and spread claims of scientific malfeasance, the strength of the case is reflected in both the reviewed literature and the statements of top scientific institutes.

Given that thermal inertia and feedbacks mean changes will likely continue for at least decades after we cut emissions, there's some urgency to getting a serious start. Do the candidates support a system that would recognize the externalized cost of fossil fuels, and provide consumer rebates, aimed at spurring CO2 emission cuts and green jobs? Thanks.

Alex J — Wed Oct. 27th 12:22p.m.

OLCC

Washington has an initive which would basically abolish the state regulation agency of liquor/beer in that state.  One result might be that bars could stay open 24 hours.  As a bar owner in Oregon, I would take a hit there. Our OLCC is outdated and repressive toward free trade and business in general.  Chris Dudley has stated he would abolish the OLCC.  Where do you stand on this issue?

lanagan — Thu Oct. 28th 9:32a.m.

an ad:  Dudley has a nice smile, an admirable personal history, but good grief, he has never governed a thing.  

or: You don't become CEO by saying you want to be; you earn your way up so you know what you are doing when you get there.

simple, sounds less negative, no numbers, not the same tone of ad-voice that people are so sick of by now, short, sweet

less policy wonky

Tamsin — Thu Oct. 28th 10:19a.m.

Comments are now closed.