Are We Being Bribed To Bail Out Wall Street?

The government calls it sweetening the deal--I call it bribery!

A few years ago, a large section of the State of Oregon depended on the logging industry, not only for daily wages, but for taxes to support schools, law enforcement, etc.

When the spotted owl, an endangered specie, was discovered to inhabit Oregon forests, logging slowed to a crawl. Large areas of timberland were suddenly off-limits to loggers, and taxes in many areas dried up.

In return for not logging in the spotted owl areas, the federal government granted the state a specific amount of money to replace the tax money that had been eliminated.

Over the years, the federal payment was slowly phased out, and this year, the area where I live was told that there would be no more timber money coming our way.

Although there was the usual complaining that accompanies a withdrawal of federal monies, the state seemed to be adjusting fairly well. That is, until the recent Wall Street bail-out mess in Washington.

After the bail-out plan was rejected, due largely to an outcry from the public, the government quickly got busy figuring out how to make the plan more appealing to that public.

Oregon has been told over and over again that they will receive NO MORE MONEY to replace lost timber money. Now, suddenly, the government has added that money back into the bail-out bill that will be voted on by the house of representatives tonight.

To me, this is out and out bribery; if our representives change their vote and bail out Wall Street, our state will receive the timber money that had previously been denied.

It does make one wonder how many other bribes are being written into the revised bill to change the minds of those in states other than Oregon. And, just where is all this money to sweeten the deal coming from, when a month ago, we were told there was absolutely no more money available?

Something to think about, isn't it?