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Greg Walden, R-Ore., blamed Senate Democrats, calling the removal of the timber payments “one more in a long list of failures by the leadership of this Congress to get its work done and solve the problems real people are facing every day in our country.’’
On the bright side there’s still money for the Department of Education, PBS and NPR.
Washington might justify this kind of funding, but Washington should be out of the education/school business altogether.
Without an extension of this successful program, schools will begin to lay off teachers and librarians...
Yup. Whether dims like it or not, small communities have small timber owners AND large ones which employ a ton of people (as does my company).
My home town was decimated by the effects of the spotted owl. As one envirinmentalist said - "there are pleanty of jobs in tourism".
But heavan help if there is a man hole cover loose in some Eastern city......
Our county received $9 million a year in Secure Schools payments. This amount was based on a formula of the average 25% of the profit from timber receipts we used to get off our National Forests when they were logged. This was used exclusively for schools and roads. Before they gave us a one year extension last year, we were looking at being unable to plow snow off raods in the winter and maintain the roads in general. Now, post Northwest Forest Plan (spotted owl) and with non-paying Stewardship Contracts, the default to timber receipts will average about $250,000.
They also removed the full PILT payments. This is the In-Lieu of Taxes payments that the federal government pays to the County and states for its federal lands. It is based on a small percentage of the frozen value of the land when withdrawn - in our case 1904. Not only is it pennies on the dollar, it has not been fully funded in years.
In our County, 65% of the land base is in federal lands. That leaves us without the tax base to adequately fund basic services and restricts our land-locked communities from physical and population growth.
Remember the Appalachian area in the 1950s with its poverty? - That is what our federal government is re-creating in its policy on Western rural lands.
The ugly results of the enviro freaks of many years ago using the spotted owl to start the slow death of the timber industry in the Northwest are all too apparent and the moonbat libs supported them all the way, it’s criminal!
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Iffen they hadn’t prevented the timber harvest there wouldn’t be any problem at all, now would there?
I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help you.........
Pork is pork. Why should we pay for your schools?
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.
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...
Thanks george76.
Agenda 21 says to move the folks into the cities and suburbs. This is one way to help get them moving.