a little extra/something good from bailout plan

[forestryworks]

Financial bailout bill includes timber payments

By MATTHEW DALY – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The financial rescue plan signed by President Bush on Friday extends a program that pays rural counties hurt by federal logging cutbacks.

Senators inserted the timber provision as one of several sweeteners to attract more votes for the bailout bill, which the House approved on Friday, two days after the Senate.

The four-year, $3.3 billion extension of the timber program was especially welcome in the West. Lawmakers from both parties have been trying for years to renew it.

The law, officially titled the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, is commonly known as "county payments." It provides hundreds of millions of dollars to Oregon, Idaho and other states, mostly in the West, that once depended on federal timber sales to pay for schools, libraries and other services in rural areas. In all, payments go to 700 counties in 39 states.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who co-sponsored the original timber payments law in 2000 and played a key role in its renewal, hailed the program's extension, which came after a series of votes in the House and Senate that alternately passed and rejected the program.

"Oregon communities can finally breathe a sigh of relief," Wyden said.

Wyden voted against the bailout bill but asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to include the timber provision, which also was backed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and a host of Western lawmakers.

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, called the program's extension a significant victory for rural America. Many rural areas in his state and across the nation are "struggling under the weight of economic hardship and have been on the brink of slashing essential services such as schools, law enforcement and other critical local infrastructure," said Rahall, whose state gets about $2 million a year under the program.

Under a new formula approved Friday, Oregon will continue to receive the largest share of timber payments — about $254 million in the current budget year — followed by California ($63 million) Washington ($43 million), Idaho ($43 million) and Montana ($32 million).

Eric Schmidt, a spokesman for the Oregon Association of Counties, called extension of the timber law "a day of great elation." But he added: "It's a bridge, not a bailout."

Thirty-three of Oregon's 36 counties get some timber money, Schmidt said, and many have taken drastic steps — including firing sheriff's deputies and releasing prisoners — to meet budget shortfalls caused by the delay in timber payments.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski called passage of the bill "a lifeline that Congress has thrown to Oregon. It was badly needed."

Associated Press writers Brad Cain and Tim Fought in Oregon contributed to this story.

 

[RandyMac]

Good deal on the timber payments, since the FedGov and the State own 85% of our puny little county.

RandyMac

 

[slowp]

I think not such a good deal. People were actually considering logging more when the payments were cut off. Now the counties get money for nothing and the city people who are anti-logging until they realized the county money was getting cut off, can still go to the library and live in "the country." BAH.

 

[Bushler]

SlowP, I agree. The whole principal is flawed. 'free money', isn't free.

 

[Gologit]

Okay, my state is getting 63 million dollars. How will it be parceled out? Who determines the areas of real, genuine need? How much of the 63 million will wind up being spent as administrative costs and never reach the people for whom it was intended? Will any of the money actually reach the people who need it the most? Waaaaaay too many unanswered questions here.

I've seen these programs before and too many times it turns into just another form of welfare. If the money goes to the schools I can accept that....as long as there's accountability about how it's spent. If it goes to perpetuate a welfare-rat lifestyle for somebody who milks the system I think it's a bad deal.

Federal timber sales of any significant size are a thing of the past around here. It's time for the schools and libraries to consider new sources of funding. Most of them already have.

 

[Backwoods]

I live in one of the hardest hit counties in Oregon. Even with the county payments the schools are running on only half the budget they had prior to the loss of the timber revenue. Our county was the timber producing capital of the world and now we have lost over half of the major jobs associated with the timber industry. The county is changing over to depend more and more on the medical industry and encouraging retirees to move into the area but it has been a slow process to changing the entire base of the economy from timber to medical. These county payments only help with the basic operations of the public services, and have help avert the total destruction of our local economy. Drill baby drill will not help our local economy but log baby log would.

Just my two cents.

 

[Bushler]

Backwoods, we're in the same boat. Our schools are at the botom. All the 'eco tourist' dollars that were going to flow into the county, didn't.

Our economy is based on flipping burgers and changing bed sheets, or cooking dope.

All our brightest kids graduate high school and leave the area.

Sometimes it makes me mad enough to take a saw into the Fed land and start dumping trees just for the hell of it. Godamn I hate GreenPeople and what they've done to us.

 

[ropensaddle]

I think we should all get a bailout from the harm the
gov has placed on citizens by globalization and illegals
and corporate pocket padding but what do I know

 

[RandyMac]

Backwoods, we're in the same boat. Our schools are at the botom. All the 'eco tourist' dollars that were going to flow into the county, didn't.

Our economy is based on flipping burgers and changing bed sheets, or cooking dope.

All our brightest kids graduate high school and leave the area.

Sometimes it makes me mad enough to take a saw into the Fed land and start dumping trees just for the hell of it. Godamn I hate GreenPeople and what they've done to us.

:agree2:
Up here or down in Del Norte, we are in the same boat. Gologit has a valid point, much will be wasted, can't trust the Gov, any of them, to do what is right. The Feds have not kept their part of the deal for the Redwood National Puke, very little of what they said would happen, didn't.
I work for the county, my job is secure, however our staffing has been at or below the minimum, my officers are out numbered 70 to 1 in our little jail. The whole county looks like a third world country.

Let's dump the grove of the Titans in protest, I know where it is. Just kidding, sort of.

RandyMac

 

[redprospector]

Nothing good can come of the feds. getting involved with much of anything.
We didn't get any kind of "timber money" when it all went down the tubes here.
I wonder what the "greenies" are going to do when logging is all gone? Along with oil, mining, etc.
They won't have anything to build their houses out of, or put in their fuel tank, or tires for their beemers, or the wheels to put em on. Oh, that's right, we'll import it all.:angry2: :deadhorse:

Andy

 

[Spotted Owl]

Timber payments, gas tax, cigarette tax, road taxes, income taxes, voted and passed levy taxes. All are here and we are still in the same boat as we have been for years. Our government officials were/are on track for a 33% pay increase, where is that money comming from? The crazy road job happening not 5 miles from our house, over passes exits and service road for a restaurant/service station, where is that waste comming from?

Close to home for my family. Last year we passed a 9.? million dollar levy specifically to revamp our high school and current middle school. The high school and elementary kids have been in the same school building starting the day it opend a few years back, originally designed to be the middle school. Work started on the high school that the levy was passed for. Exactly 9 days into the work the district super halted the job. Six days later the school was condemmed, now the levy money is nowhere to be found. The middle school is currently in a different town not in the new building built to be the middle school. The roof leaks, in the wind the curtains blow like a flag, the play equipment is gone(demed unsafe), the siding is falling off, just to name a few things. Wher5e is the money from the levy? Not one official I have contacted(repeatedly) can tell me where that money has gone, but thats just it, It's gone.

If you expect me to believe that this will all get better, nope!! I will listen to George first and buy Ocean front property in Arizona.

It will take years to fix what has taken years to create. The schools, fire, police and the like will always be the whipping boy for the government scare tacticts. The only problem is that it's routine now and they are the ones that suffer for it. Around my local area things will be changing, the threats and such aren't doing any good anymore, even if the govrnment gets what it wants those listed a few lines back still get hit with cuts.

Sit back, take care of you and yours and do your best to enjoy the ride as it comes to you. There is nothing that you or I can do to change any thing.

A government that is big enough to give you everything you need, is big enough to take everything you have. This will push our gov over the edge and the lemmings will follow with their hands out and follow the heroes to the end.

This is all on just the passed bail out right? How are they gonna divide up the newst thing? The radio today said the Treasury dept is gonna cut loose with an additional, 900 billion. They said to squeeze banks but what the he!! does that mean.

You don't get something for nothing, This is a GREAT BIG something we have here. How much blood do we get squeezed for this time?


Willamina(Timber town), Polk County, Oregon signing in.


Owl

 

[joesawer]

So they added enough PORK to get the PORK BILL of all time passed.