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Posted on 12/15/2007 10:37:06 AM PST by george76
The Senate removed a provision from the energy bill that would have extended for four years payments to rural counties that once depended on federal timber money to pay for schools and libraries.
A House bill approved last week would set aside more than $1.5 billion to compensate 700 rural counties in 39 states -- mostly in the South and West -- that were hurt by federal logging cutbacks in the 1990s. An additional $350 million would have gone to rural states through a program that reimburses state and local governments for federally owned property.
The timber plan had support from lawmakers in both parties, but was dropped in final negotiations Thursday as Senate Democrats ...
The Senate fell one shy of the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to a vote. Republican Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined all Western Democrats in supporting the call for a vote.
All other western Republicans opposed it.
"Congress had a golden opportunity to do what's right for rural America, but they chose to turn their backs on our Main Streets,'' said Sen. Max Baucus...
"A minority of senators on the other side of the aisle are denying rural counties their lifeline,'' Kardon said. "In this case 40 senators supported President Bush in stiff-arming rural counties.''
"Without an extension of this successful program, schools will begin to lay off teachers and librarians..."
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
Pork is pork. Why should we pay for your schools?
exactly :
I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help you.........
The federal government should transfer most of the public lands away from Washington so that the locals could finance their own schools.
The local communities did just fine until the feds ‘vacated’ historical allotments.
Nothing new, same old same old.
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I think that you're looking at this the wrong way. The timber in those forests rightfully belongs to those locales, not to the Fed Gov, and curtailing the logging is destroying their forests to boot.
Perhaps what we need is to dissolve the federal mistake. The Articles of Confederation provided way more than was needed already.
Yes and yet we have The Nature CONservancy and all their little immitators manipulating the remaining rural private property from so-called "willing sellers" into federal/state ownership at hugely marked up government (taxpayers) cost to take more and more land off the county's dwindling property/schools & roads tax rolls!!!
Then everytime CA has a budget crisis with Pete Wilson, Gray Davis or Arnold Schwartzenfrauder, they abscound with our local property/schools & roads tax revenues!!!
Marsh2 is so correct it's sickening!!! Rural American timbered counties are treated like the USSR used to treat Siberia!!!
The Soviet planners were amateurs.
Yet W wants another $30 billion for AIDS in Africa after already busting the bank a few years ago with a $15 billion spending spree.
Alaska is less than 1% privately owned. ANWR is on Fed land, Prudhoe on State land. Tax base? What is that?
Jurists have yet to define ‘rights’ in general.
Real simple : these “rural schools” are just as chock full of libs as universities are. They killed our timber industry out here in MT, now this is their reward : cut them off at the knees, see how THEY like it...
Empty forests aren’t a taxbase. Being empty, other than a few roads to barely keep up they don’t cost anything either. No one lives there to need schools, or jails, or welfare. They may as well not exist.
Of course these local governments would have it easier if they were given new land with a logging industry to tax - that’s true of every local government in the country. And yet every other local government manages to pay their way with neither forest land or timber payments.
Historical allotments are just a polite name for welfare that’s been going on a long time.
” Historical allotments are just a polite name for welfare ...”
Sheep herders and cowboys running cattle on federal allotments put food on the table of many Americans.
With ‘vacated’ allotments, food will increasingly be from feed lots where growth hormones and lots of other drugs will likely be added.
No more free range food.
Logging also provides lumber for homes as well as jobs for families and tax revenue for all that ‘free’ stuff governments like to get credit for.
Some other economic thoughts on “ Historical allotments are just a polite name for welfare ...”
The feds do not give away these allotments for free. There is a bidding process where there are cash payments for the rent ; plus there is required maintenance or other mandated services.
Those who hate cow boys and sheep herders can and do bid , too .
Rural communities also provide fire, medical, and other emergency services to lost hikers, hunters, tourists, fishermen...These communities provide many fire fighters when massive forest fire explode every year.
Many search and rescue first responders are volunteers : they do not get paid.
>Washington should be out of the education/school business altogether.<
Ready to vote for Ron Paul. He’s the only one who’ll kick the NEA out.
Thanks george76.
Do you have any idea what you are talking about? What empty forest?
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