Lars Thoughts - Oregon Doesn't Do What They Are Supposed To, And Now We Face The Fallout

MGN

The story on unemployment checks changes by the day. Every state has big problems getting people paid because America has never seen a surge of jobless this big…not in 08, not ever. I get that. But while Washington state admits its running behind, Oregon’s employment division isn’t even in the race. House Speaker Tina Kotek admitted yesterday that some initial claims from weeks ago haven’t even been looked at. And then there’s the 85 million bucks congress delivered more than a decade ago specifically for Oregon to buy new computers. The employment division hasn’t answered my calls so I’ll pose my questions here. The 85 million from congress was supposedly put in a trust fund. PERS money for public pensions earns over 6% a year. If the 85 million makes about 5 million bucks a year in interest for 11 years, that would be at least another 50 million bucks. Where is that? There should be 135 million in the account. Instead it shrank and there’s only 82 million bucks. Where did the money go? I buy technology stuff in my business too…so I know, it gets better every year. If you hold off buying computers as long as they keep getting better…you’d still be using paper and pencil today. There are no good answers coming but I know who’s been in charge…Brown who months into this emergency still has that “deer in the headlights” look.

-Lars Larson