How Stupid are Oregon's Legislators?

HOW STUPID ARE OREGON'S LEGISLATORS?

Here in Oregon all too often our State Legislature does things that belie common sense. For example, hearings are being held in Salem, our State Capital, on the effects of Measure 37, which was passed by a vote of the people last election. Basically, the measure mandates that when land or structures are condemned or rezoned after the present owner purchased them, the jurisdiction - usually a City or County, but occasionally the State - must reimburse the owner for the dollars lost by the owner. In other words, if you purchased land zoned industrial a number of years ago and it has been rezoned as farmland, you would be reimbursed for the value you lost because of the rezoning. These hearings have been packed, so much so, that the overflow crowds are forced to sit in other rooms to watch the proceedings on television. Sounds fair, doesn't it? Well, those persons holding "gold passes" can be admitted to the hearing room at any time... and the unbelievable part is that gold passes have been issued to all the Oregon singers who auditioned for "American Idol" in Portland and were advanced to the next round in Los Angeles. Can anybody explain to me why a 20-something rocker should get precedence over the owner of a tract of down-zoned land worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? It's no wonder that Oregonians, like much of the rest of the country, are rapidly losing confidence in their elected officials. Whatever happened to good old horse sense among the anointed few?

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