Rep. Richardson: Oregon: Confusing "Debt" with Revenue

DENNISRICHARDSON.ORG/NEWSLETTER, 3/18/2011 by State Representative Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point)

In the upcoming 2011-13 State Budget, $940 Million will be spent from General and Lottery Fund revenues just to service Oregon’s “tax supported” debt.

Imagine… $940 Million…nearly ONE BILLION DOLLARS, that must be budgeted and paid “off the top.” Think of it…a Billion Dollars we cannot use to educate or provide health care for our children. A Billion Dollars we cannot use to protect our citizens or to provide care and food for our most vulnerable seniors. A Billion Dollars from the 2011-13 budget, siphoned off in payments on long-term debt. How did Oregon accumulate such a high amount of debt? I believe incurring such high and burdensome debt levels stem from Legislators who, in their efforts to do good with other people’s money, deluded themselves into confusing debt with revenue. And those debt payments must be paid for decades. It is sobering to realize that much of this debt will not be paid off until long after our grandchildren are grown, our children are retired, and we are dead and buried. Read more of Rep. Richardson's March 18, 2011 Newsletter...