“DC-like Gamesman” or Populist Stalwart?

On June 17, The Oregonian nailed  Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, for casting votes with Senate Republicans, thereby defeating SB 5519.  Edwards was roundly criticized – by the Governor on down - for scuttling an attempt to navigate a compromise between Republicans, who want further cuts to Public Employee Retirement System benefits and Democrats who want to find extra revenue to spend on education.  The Oregonian added that “lawmakers had a chance to approve a $6.55 billion K-12 budget that, combined with $200 million in already approved pension savings, would give schools about $1 billion more to spend over the next two years.”  The Governor called the defeat of the bill “DC-like gamesmanship.”

Suspend, for the moment, any discussion that the legislative formula for the full funding of schools in 2013-2015 biennium – the lost and forgotten QEM Model – calls for a spending level of $8.75 billion.  The vaunted compromise represented by SB 5519 funds schools at 75% of the amount determined by the legislature-commissioned QEM Model.  This is not enough to re-hire the teachers laid off in the last four years nor lower class sizes effectively.

Suspend, for the moment, any examination of what exactly those “pension savings” are:  cuts to the contractually defined benefits of currently retired Oregon public service workers.  These “savings” if passed into law, will absolutely be challenged in court by the targets of those “savings” and if history is a guide, the courts will be sympathetic to their grievance.  The attempted “savings”, after litigation, may end up being a net loss for Oregon taxpayers.

Instead, what does Senator Edwards have to say for himself:  "For my hometown, this budget isn't good enough."  The Oregonian reports, “even with a school spending package worth $6.75 billion, the Eugene School District faces more teacher layoffs, fewer classroom days and other cuts, Edwards said. Falling enrollment, property tax limits and a lack of reserves have squeezed the district more than others, he said.”

Politics may be the art of compromise.  But compromise is not  an end in itself.  As we see here, compromise can throw a lot of people under the bus.  All Senator Edwards declared was the obvious but he can be commended for declaring that the Emperor has no clothes.