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Our Oregon Home Our Oregon Media Watch

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In this week's issue the media continues digging on Measure 48 - Oregon TABOR - and the Department of Defense warns that without strict usury laws, payday lenders will do what they did in Oregon - find the loopholes to protect their profits and continue their predatory ways.

1. Measure 48. The Rich Trickster and new analysis shows Oregon TABOR could be retroactive.
2. Ballot Watch. Summary of the measures. Westlund to work against Oregon TABOR and for Measure 44 - Prescription for a Healthy Oregon.
3. Payday Loan Reform. America's military families are targeted by payday lenders. Department of Defense calls on Congress to pass comprehensive reform that will prevent the industry from reinventing itself to get around laws and charge exorbitant interest rates. Also, Minnis minion (we couldn't resist) rejects payday loan reform in Keizer.

Feature Story - The Rich Trickster
Sometimes the political gods smile and bestow benevolent gifts. This year's election is like Christmas. We thought we were lucky when the fraud-laden signature gathering for Measures 41 and 48 was orchestrated by the aptly named Tim Trickey. We couldn't have made up a better name ourselves. Now we face an embarrassment of Riches. Howard Rich, that is. As alert readers know Howard Rich is a wealthy New York developer and the chair of Americans for Limited Government, the group that has moved more than a million dollars into Oregon ballot measure campaigns.

But wait, there's more. Thanks to the investigative reporting of The Oregonian, Mr. Howard Rich has a multi-state campaign to push his agenda. He has moved $7.3 million into campaigns in 12 states, including Oregon.

As The Oregonian reports, "This is a breakout year for Rich." That's an understatement. Not only is Rich funding measures in 12 states, it turns out the Mr. Trickey is not alone in breaking state election laws to qualify Rich's measure for the ballot. There are investigations in Maine, Missouri, Montana and other states that do not start with M.

As you recall in Oregon, Trickey's company openly violated our state's ban on paying per signature. His crew was buying and selling signatures on the street. The Elections Division investigation against Measure 48 remains open and active.

Oregonians should be extremely wary of any measure that counts on illegal means to make it to the ballot and they should be asking some hard questions of Howard Rich. What's his agenda for Oregon and the other states where he is buying and lying his way onto the ballot?

One thing is clear - Howard Rich isn't looking out for us. That's why you should join the Defend Oregon effort today. Click below to sign on to the campaign to defeat Measure 48 AND Measure 41. Bill Sizemore's measure works in concert Howard Rich's measure to make the TABOR cuts deeper and come more quickly.

www.defendoregon.org

Here's The Oregonian story. Read it and pass it on.

Story: Spending Limit Start in Question
We've told you that Bill Sizemore's Measure 41 is retroactive and will force cuts from the 2007 budget already passed by the legislature that schools are counting on. Now comes the warning that  the language in Measure 48 is so poorly written and vague that it could also be retroactive and force the legislature to cut $2.2 billion from the current state budget and $4.9 billion in the next biennium.

You'll excuse us as we say, "WHAT!?!"

Maybe Howard Rich didn't bother read Oregon law before sending his measure draft to Oregon for Don McIntire to file. Or, even more insidious, he knew exactly what he was doing. Either way, Measure 48 neglects to state an effective date, which means it could go into effect 30 days after passage and strike a blow to the current budget.

Because of the legal uncertainty, the Fiscal Impact Statement to be published in the Voter's Pamphlet Statement will lay out both scenarios. And what do you want to bet Howard Rich is already racking up legal fees for a lawsuit if TABOR isn't implemented immediately. In this story, Measure 48 lawyer Eric Winters tries to claim that Measure 48 delays the cuts until the next budget because he knows voters will reject the retroactivity. But we're not buying it and neither should you. If TABOR goes into effect right away, it will force immediate and deep cuts, which is what the proponents are looking for. What motivation - other than PR - do they have to delay it?  The Oregonian. August 9, 2006.
 

Ballot Watch

Story: "Taking the Initiative: The Mercury News Team Picks Apart This Fall's Ballot Measures"
Nearly good primer from the Mercury about the ten ballot measures that have qualified. One problem, though. They neglect to mention the many groups that are opposing Measures 46 and 47, the campaign finance measures. Groups like Stand for Children, Basic Rights Oregon, Planned Parenthood Columbia/Willamette...You can get the entire list here and information about why progressive groups refuse to let their voices be silenced by Measures 46 and 47. The Portland Mercury. August 10, 2006.

Story: "Westlund to fight against TABOR, for prescription drug pool"
We're looking forward to the help!
"Westlund said the political organization he built will remain active in influencing the debate about some ballot measures. He said he particularly supported a measure expanding bulk purchasing of prescription drugs for the uninsured and opposed measures that would cut income taxes and place a cap on government spending." BlueOregon. August 11, 2006.

Story: "Quarter of Oregon students in survey think governor is a senator"
"Oregon's young people would like to be active in public affairs, even if a quarter of them think that Ted Kulongoski is a U.S. senator, according to survey results presented to a legislative committee. The Oregonian. August 11, 2006.
 

Story: "Pentagon's plans to protect military target payday, other lenders"
"The Pentagon, citing the harm that short-term, high-interest loans have caused some members of the military, is calling for federal and state restrictions on the credit that payday lenders, car-title lenders and others extend to service personnel."

Here's the deal - Last week the Department of Defense issued a Report to Congress calling on a 36% interest cap on short-term loans made to members of the military. The problem is that payday lenders, car title lenders and check cashing stores target military basis and soldiers who are young and often financial insecure. Of course, the lenders don't bother doing a credit check to see if the soldiers can actually afford the loans. Not only is this a problem for military families, the report says, it's a matter of national security. "The number of its revocations and denials of security clearances for financial reasons jumped from 212 in fiscal year 2002 to 1,999 in fiscal 2005. That year, financial reasons accounted for 80 percent of all revocations and denials." Virginia Pilot. August 14, 2006.

Story: Defense report uses Oregon as an example of how payday lenders will skirt a law that doesn't combine strict usury limits and vigorous enforcements
The Payday Loan Reform Act passed by the Oregon legislature was a good thing. The problem is that Karen Minnis delayed the implementation date and payday lenders have found loopholes in the law that allow them to continue charging 521% interest. That's why the Department of Defense is recommending to Congress that interest caps are not limited to the technical definition of payday loans. They call for a 36% interest cap on all short-term loans. Period. We agree. Such a cap would include car title loans, check cashers and all incarnations of payday loans.

Here's what the Department of Defense said about Oregon. Catch that they noted the measure showed 72% support!

"The State of Oregon recently enacted a law to cap payday loan rates at 36 percent interest and a fee of $10 per $100 borrowed with a minimum 31-day repayment period. Similar limits were contained in a proposed referendum where advance polling showed 72 percent of the populace supported the protections in the Oregon ballot proposal. Although the new law will not take effect until mid-2007, payday lenders are already switching to a lender's license that does not cap rates or put any limits on repeat borrowing in order to avoid these restrictions."

You can also download the entire report. The Oregon section is on page 48.

Story: "Keizer will await 2007 payday-loan law"
Apparently the folks in Keizer didn't get the Department of Defense report, which is too bad because there are a lot of military families in the Salem-Keizer area. Mayor Lore Chirstopher used the twisted logic that protecting Keizer residents from being charged 521% interest rates is a "campaign issue." Huh? That didn't make any sense to us until we noticed that Troy Nichols is also on the Keizer City Council. Maybe he thinks that because he's been listening more closely to the payday lenders than his constituents. And they have good access to him. Until earlier this month, Nichols was chief of staff to Speaker Karen Minnis. He held a similar position in Republican Majority leader Wayne Scott's office. As you know, Minnis was the top recipient of payday loan money in 2004, cashing in at $14,500. Wayne Scott got $11,000, according to the Money in Politics Research Action Project.

Money talks in some circles, but never louder than voters. That's why Speaker Minnis finally relented and passed the Payday Loan Reform Act. That must be why Mr. Nichols, who called it a "waste of staff time," refused to even hear testimony in Keizer. The Statesman Journal. August 9, 2006.

General information

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