According to a report released last week by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, more than $18 million was spent lobbying the state legislature during the 2009 legislative session.

As is typically the case in Oregon, Government entities, chemical manufacturers, unions, private insurers, and utilities were among the biggest spenders on lobbying.

Some standout expenditures...

• $468,269 by the Citizens for Fire Safety Institute, which is funded primarily by chemical manufacturers, which appears to be a front organization for chemical manufacturers that produce the toxic flame retardant, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). The group has spent millions lobying state legislatures around the country to block legislative initiatives to regulate PBDE's.
• $193,765 by Bradwood Landing LLC and the LNG Development Company, which sought to facilitate a fast-track permitting process for siting LNG pipelines on private land.
• $585,000 by public-sector unions (OEA, AFSCME, SEIU).
• $274,000 by Oregon's largest private utilities (PGE, PacifiCorp)
• $101,000 by the Oregon Humane Society, which passed legislation to regulate commercial puppy-mills.

I recently came across an IMF report that outlines the relative wealth of its 359 member nations. The results, to put it mildly, do not bode well for the long-term economic future of the United States.

The following chart depicts the 10 most endebted nations in terms of government debt to asset ratio. The $660 billion negative balance for the United States makes it four-times as indebted as the next most indebted nation.

Go below the flip for the globe's largest creditors...

Although I often don't agree with the commentary on Oregon Catalyst, it has long been one of my favorite conservative political blogs in that it tends not to promote polemical attacks and hyper-partisanship to the same degree as many other political blogs.

I was pleasantly surprised by an unsigned post titled "A call for change. Real change".

The condition of contemporary political dialogue is disgraceful. Rather than debating the issues, American media figures, politicians, and commentators repeat old arguments and report valueless stories. For example, no less than 8,826 news stories were written on our nation’s (so-called) “beer summit.” To be frank, who cares? Is it uplifting? No. Is it encouraging? No. Is it intellectually stimulating? No. Does it matter beyond the clicking of cameras? No.

The political debate today should not be commenced with insults (Obama, “stupid”), race baiting (Professor Gates), or unwarranted accusations (Glenn Beck, Obama is “a racist”). That’s not debate. That’s diatribe.

Indeed.

Head over to Oregon Catalyst and read the rest...

The Independent Party, Oregon's third-largest political party, added more members than either the Democratic or Republican party in Oregon for the 10th consecutive month, according to statistics released today by the Oregon Secretary of State.

Though the party's overall voter registration remains small compared with the major parties -- there are just 46,000 members compared with 900,000 Democrats and 700,000 Republicans -- the party remains the fastest growing minor party in Oregon history

Click image for larger view...
h/t to Jack Bogdanski

Conservative tax activist Don McIntyre filed paperwork earlier this month to initiate a referendum on the $300 million transportation plan that passed during the 2009 legislative session.

They have approximately six weeks to collect 55,000 valid signatures in order to put the measure on the ballot in the fall of 2009.

The House and Senate Committees on Health Care and veterans affairs will hold a work session on Monday night to consider House Bill 2009. This omnibus bill will establish a Health Care Authority that will have jurisdiction over dozens of aspects of health care regulation in Oregon. Some of the key provisions of the plan include:

• Establishes cost controls to ensure that increases in health care costs in Oregon are limited to the Consumer Price Index for medical care, minus 1 percent.
• The purchasing of individual and small business health care plans shall be purchased through an exchange administered by the agency.
• Does not allow insurance to be denied on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.