What planet do the folks at Moody’s Economy.com live on anyway? A story today in the Oregonian newspaper almost made me roll on the floor with laughter. Moody’s analyst Andrew Gledhill tries to assert that Oregon and other Northwest states could lead the nation out of recession, yet his comments are devoid of any historical data or acknowledgment of the negative consequences of the new taxes being imposed by the Legislature.

Historically, Oregon typically is one of the first states to enter into a recession and one of the last ones out. Also, we have the second highest unemployment rate in the nation and the hill the state would have to climb to lead the nation out of the recession is so high, that statistically, it is impossible, especially in the time frame the article notes.

Add to this reality the fact that the Legislature is about to enact a host of job killing business taxes that will cost 5,865 Oregonians their jobs and businesses to close and one can easily surmise that this man’s assertion is pure bunk! Even the Oregonian editorial board - no friend of business - today half-heartedly says we should go easy on new business taxes because of their negative effect during a down economy.

Gledhill also is apparently unaware of the Congressional Budget Office analysis which clearly points out that less than half the stimulus money will be spent in the first two years following its passage in February of this year, because he says that a danger to his theory is that the stimulus money will run out at the end of 2009.

All of this madness is unnecessary if my former colleagues in the Oregon Legislature simply adopt the common sense budget proposals in the , (a much better alternative than job killing tax increases) that meets our basic needs by utilizing money we already have and holding the line on unnecessary spending.