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Part 1:

This downturn is unlike any other we have experienced in our lifetimes. Solutions too need to be unlike any others.

When competent people are unemployed there is a reason. This time the reason is a terminally ill Dollar. Washington’s Dollar based policies are dragging Oregon down. Yes, it seems strange, but we must sever economic ties from the source of our distress to discover Oregon solutions.

A healthy bureaucratic sector requires a healthy voluntary sector. Yet every solution on the table takes from the voluntary sector.

Taxing the rich is an illusion. Capital moves easily to where it is welcome. Left behind to pay are the rest of us.

We need:

1.  Debt forgiveness, a Jubilee of Biblical proportions because debt is inhibiting any recovery. The Dollar is debt based. We need a fresh start, a clean slate.

2.  A state economy based on a new Oregon currency, one with intrinsic value and ideally tax free. First steps might be to emulate North Dakota, which owns its own bank, or issue Oregon Script to pay all State obligations, accepting Script for all taxes and fees. (We ought to be smarter than California and learn from their example what not to do.)

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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Part 2

Before this downturn is over (i) labor will realize we've been snookered into exchanging 1/3 of our lives for worthless paper, (ii) everyone will recognize that Government is not the solution to every challenge, that fostering dependence on Government is self-destructive.

Government is force. Force always generates withheld cooperation and push back. Force is counterproductive. Force cannot improve the Oregon economy.

It’s not sane to increase taxes knowing the probability of voter backlash is near 100% and then sit back and make no contingency plans, waiting until February to see what happens. The time to solve these problems is NOW.

To discover new, innovative solutions I suggest we begin with a new assumption - that government solutions are not an option. Yes, we want community colleges and excellent education. Even without the downturn Government performance in these areas has not been satisfactory. We can do much better.

How do we achieve excellence if the State is Dollar constrained, even bankrupt? Or do we just sit and moan, not knowing what to do for ourselves without some politician making us promises of a better future, promises he cannot keep.

The best helping hand is at the end of your own arm. Learn to use it without asking for assistance except from family, friends and others who are self-reliant.

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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