8/25 EDITORIAL

Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868

Special session needed to address state budget

If you think the state budget crisis couldn't get any worse, you might want to buckle yourself in for the Thursday, Aug. 26, announcement updating the state's economic picture.

To say the anticipated news is going to be depressing might be the understatement of the year.

Forecasts for the state's quarterly economic and revenue forecast claim that Oregon's nearly $600 million budget shortfall will climb significantly, with estimates ranging from $200 million to $500 million. That presents the possibility of the current 2009-11 general fund budget shortfall exceeding $1 billion. That's $1,000,000,000 -- and that's a lot of zeros.

There's no good news in gloomy projections like that, which likely will send state agencies and local school districts scrambling to make additional budget cuts to ones made earlier this year. No group will go unscathed, be it education, senior services, public safety or transportation.

That leaves many of us posing the question, "What is our state to do?"

Well, for starters, it is time to call Oregon lawmakers back to Salem for a much-needed special session. A budget crisis like this needs more heads debating cuts and solutions than simply allowing Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the individual leaders of the Senate and House to make crucial decisions.

Yet, to date, there has been little interest shown -- particularly among Democrats -- in reconvening lawmakers for a special session. The argument against -- and it is worthy of note -- is that during an election season little will be accomplished but political posturing and the gathering will be little more than a giant waste of time.

But given the extreme circumstances surrounding the state budget crisis, a special session is what is needed.

Oregon's elected politicians are long overdue to begin demonstrating any sort of true leadership to show they are worthy of holding the positions they now do. Of course, we know that for many of those individuals serving us in the state Senate and House that is wishful thinking. But the time has come to put aside identifying labels such as Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, and buckle down and start making tough partisan decisions that benefit Oregonians as whole and not one political party or special interest group.

A special session, if nothing else, would give Oregonians a great opportunity to see exactly where their representatives stand on the budget issue, where they believe cuts should be made, and hear their solutions to a long-term problem that shows no sign of disappearing anytime soon. It also would provide lawmakers an opportunity to demonstrate they truly can work together and find common ground to try and find answers to the budget crisis.

It's time for lawmakers to come together for a much-needed special session. Waiting much longer only keeps those ominous dark clouds hanging over our state with no sign of hope.