Economics

The tragedy of the 2001 water shut-off devastated our community. The uncertainty of  irrigation water deliveries from our storage that we paid for, even on wet springs like 2003 when we were threatened with a shut off, and also the projected 'downsize' of 1/4 of the Klamath Project with the Bureau of Reclamation's 'water bank', are all devastating our local economy.

Uncertainty grows for water deliveries, H&N 4/13/18. “The April 23 start date hangs in the balance of what happened (in San Francisco),” Kliewer said. “And I don’t know if ... we don’t have any water till July or if we don’t have any water this year....The farmgate value of commodities out of Klamath County is $292 million, and the Oregon State University economic multiplier after that gets spent in our community, that’s over $500 million. And how can this community live without that?”

Commissioners declare Drought emergency; dry summer could lead to $557 million loss for local ag, H&N 2/21/18.

Jobless rates stagnate in Northern California, H&N 3/26/14. "In Modoc County, the rate for February was 13.2 percent while in Siskiyou County the rate was 15.3 percent. The California average for the month was 8.5 percent while the national rate was 7 percent."

As tax base shrinks, Oregon must turn from federal funds. Reduce rates, but increase taxable population for economic growth, by Bill Kennedy, guest writer for H&N, posted to KBC 3/16/14

Modoc, Siskiyou unemployment up, H&N, posted to KBC 1/4/13. "The Siskiyou rate, which was 12.7 percent in October, jumped from 14.2 percent in November to 15.9 percent in December. The Modoc rate rose from 12.9 percent in November to 14.4 percent in December."

Examples of outcome of government intervention in a free market economy, Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 1/30/13. "Consumers are already paying untold billions to purchase corn distilled ethanol blended gasoline that actually reduces fuel mileage. The federal mandate that requires ethanol blended fuel is also causing a perennial shortage of corn supply that is costing consumers untold billions in inflated food prices."

August UNEMPLOYMENT: Herald and News 9/25 and 9/29, 2012:
Klamath County 11.7% .
Siskiyou County13.5 %
Modoc County, 12.8%

Economic vitality and stability to Oregon’s rural communities, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 2/17/12

Economic Records established during Obama administration, Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 9/10/11

KBRA - No one contacted us, by James Burney, Hornbrook, Siskiyou Daily News, May 16, 2011. "Today property values are falling far below the state average of 30 percent (2006-2011) because no one wants property subject to potential loss of its’ greatest assets, both aesthetic and economic."

Oregon's economic forecast, Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett newsletter 5/12/11. "...our state has no more private sector jobs than it did in the year 2000. Moreover, our per capita income continues to fall behind the national average and the rate of negative change is accelerating."

The Big Picture Part I, by Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou County Supervisor, posted to KBC 5/11/11. "I was struck by a sentence in the recent “chinook expert panel” report commissioned for the dam removal studies. It said: “Furthermore, the refuges should be managed for fish and wildlife versus agriculture if the basin management objective is rehabilitation of fish species.” Just when did the citizens of Siskiyou County agree to an over-riding regional “management objective”of fish rehabilitation? Just who signed the orders relegating us to serfdom, putting our private property and livelihoods in the service of fish production and those who harvest fish? What happened to our own economic priorities – to the development of our local natural resources to create food, fiber and mineral products for the benefit of our families, communities and nation."

3.25 minutes: short video on our national debt.

Production, economy missing from opinion , H&N letter by Robert Bacon 3/1/11

Our Government Spending Crisis, from Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 1/21/11

Merger and Buyout of America, by Toni Thayer 7/5/09. "...In her early years, she had morals and ethics, and she was known for righteous ideals, like individual freedoms, liberties and justice..."

Here’s why taxes can rise when property values drop, posted to KBC 2/22/09 by Klamath County Assessor Reg LeQuieu

Local farms lose operators and acreage; Latest agriculture census shows Klamath County losing 21 farms in past five years, H&N, posted to KBC 2/14/09

Buffett: Here Is My Plan for the Economy, Newsmax, posted 10/6/08

Unemployment at 5-year high, H&N 8/6/08. (KBC NOTE: The left wing continues to rip out hydrodams which create affordable power, raise taxes so employers can't afford to provide many jobs, shut down our timber industry which has destroyed thousands of jobs and taxes for counties such as Klamath County, and downsize agriculture (more than 100,000 acres in the Klamath Basin) destroying jobs and tax base.)

Top 10 taxpayers in Klamath County, H&N, posted 7/19/07. In 2006 "(PacifiCorp) paid $1,380,564.49 in taxes for its property in the county."

The Klamath Basin Water Crisis, by Klamath County Assessor Reg LeQuieu April 2002, posted and submitted to KBC 8/4/04.

Rich farmers? by Larry Gabriel, posted to KBC 4/24/06 "The small operations (85% of farms) get only about 20% of commodity payments."

Local economy hit by greens, Pioneer Press 6/24/04. 'Greens want to stop the Biscuit fire salvage timber harvest and used a smaller sale to their advantage stopping it in mid-June.'

Nibble on the Biscuit, 4/7/04 The Oregonian editorial."The Southern Oregon towns that surround the Biscuit are struggling with Oregon's highest jobless rates. They badly need the work, and the wood, that would come from salvage. "  "Meanwhile, insects are chomping away at the dead trees."

Number of students continues to drop Are coho salmon and spotted owl the same?, posted to KBC 3/29/04, Pioneer Press.

Don't forget agriculture in looking at Big Picture, Oregonian 2/17/04, editorial by Katy Coba, Oregon Dept. of Ag,  "By volume, agriculture and food products are Oregon's largest export. By value, they rank second only to electronics at nearly $2 billion a year. A majority of the Port of Portland's total tonnage of exports -- about 60 percent -- is agriculture."

Farmers, ranchers honored this week, H&N 3/25/04. Department of Agriculture: "Farmers and ranchers manage 17.5 million acres of private property in Oregon, contributing substantially to wildlife habitat. As much as 70 percent of wildlife spends part of its life on private agricultural lands." "Agriculture is responsible for more than $8 billion in economic activity when all directly related goods and activities are factored. That equates to roughly 9 percent of Oregon's gross state product."

A Lenders Point of View, Greg Williams, Klamath Branch Manager – Northwest Farm Credit Services AgLife Magazine January 2004 issue. "I can tell you that we are here today due to Federal financial assistance to help mitigate losses from the 2001 water shutoff. Without the assistance many farmers would have ended up in liquidation, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Should that have happened, the social, ecological, and economic consequences would have been catastrophic. Should it happen again, the results will be catastrophic. The value of land, specialized facilities, and other buildings will plunge to dry land values. Most growers "dodged the bullet" with financial assistance. However, agribusinesses and some farmers still sustained large losses, even with the financial assistance. I know because I saw the financial records."

Economic update by Dick Carleton, Merrill rancher 1/27/04, AgLifeNW Magazine, April issue, Klamath Basin Update

 

Speech by Dick Carleton, Merrill farmer, telling how the ESA-gone-bad is impacting his family.  "I am a 3rd generation farmer in the Klamath Project. I earned a Master’s Degree with a major in math and a minor in science. My, 81 year old mother still lives on the farm in Merrill that has been in our family since 1909. She is also solely dependent on that farm for her livelihood. She was hoping my grandson, the 5th generation, would be able to farm that land.    I would now like to take a couple minutes of your time to explain, from a farmer’s viewpoint, what the effect of no water (in 2001) has actually been." Posted to KBC 1/7/04

Dick and Margie Carleton, Merrill 2003