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East Oregonian: Political heavyweights jab big government |
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Governor, rep swing through Eastern Oregon |
EAST OREGONIAN
Political heavyweights jab big government
Governor, rep swing through Eastern Oregon
by Phil Wright
Two Oregon political heavyweights Thursday in Pendleton attacked the problem of bigger government, though from opposite sides of the issue.
Rep. Greg Walden, the lone Republican in the state's congressional delegation, held forth during a 7 a.m. breakfast with a room full of Pendleton movers and shakers and like-minded conservatives at St. Anthony Hospital.
An hour later, Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski had the attention of the Pendleton Progress Board in the room next door.
Rep. Walden decries federal deficit spending
Walden was on a 780-mile, 16-meeting swing through his sprawling 2nd congressional district that started Wednesday in Ontario, where he and Kulongowski dedicated a new Oregon National Guard armory.
Walden hammered away at one of his favorite topics - runaway deficit spending and the danger it presents to the U.S. economy.
"We're going broke," Walden said.
If the federal government's deficit spending continues, he claimed, by 2020 the U.S. will have a debt that's 120 percent of the country's gross domestic product. And by 2023, every tax dollar will go for government health care and Social Security.
"Our debt load is unsustainable," he said.
The GOP representative also criticized the recently-approved health insurance overhaul. Using a flow chart more confusing than a New York subway map, Walden said the nearly incomprehensible plan is what business will have to deal with once the system takes full effect.
While he conceded there were things in the plan to help many who didn't have insurance, the burden it places on business, he said, was just too large.
And on top of all of this, he said, President Barack Obama is drumming up support for carbon emissions cap-and-trade legislation, and businesses will face another $3.8 billion in tax increases.
"You can't expect businesses to hire people and pay more taxes," Walden said, "It just doesn't work."
During a question-and-answer session, Walden said there is hope for change. While helping raise funds in his leadership role for House Republicans, he said he has politicians willing to push reform, even if it means they are in office a single term.
If that proves out, he said, this year's midterm election could be a watershed year for congressional reform.
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