The Montana Shrugged Group

...Of The People, By The People, For The People...

After 35 years of Baucus, Montana is in bad shape

You can view the original article here : http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_45b176a4-ab03-11de-a2da-001cc4c03286.html

 

I would like to ask all Montanans to take a serious look at where Sen. Max Baucus has taken our great state. Being born and raised in Montana and a graduate of Montana Tech with a bachelor of science degree, I have great concern for the past actions of Baucus and where he is taking our state and the U.S. now. When Baucus was elected to the House in 1974 and Senate in 1978, Montana was a state with a strong business presence (hard rock and coal mines, power generation, agriculture, oil and gas, etc.), high average wages, low wage deductions (Social Security, unemployment, taxes), low unemployment rates, minimal welfare recipients, strong middle class, low government employment, low insurance rates. We Montanans were proud of our state and its economy.

Thirty-five years of Baucus policies in Washington have driven us into being a state with a weak business base (mines closed down, oil and gas activity at historic lows, Montana Power bankrupt, agriculture struggling), low average wages at 46th in the country ($604/week), very little middle class, a huge minimum-wage work force, low wages and high wage taxes, high government employment, which drains the economy, high property taxes, high personal income tax, high insurance rates, low accessibility to insurance in Montana due to past litigations and a high number on welfare programs.

Need I say more? Wake up, Montana, and send Baucus a vote of no confidence. I cry for Montana. Do you?

Eric Olsen

Billings

Saturday, September 26, 2009