Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ross talks campaign, economics

U.S. Congressman Mike Ross said there are many facets to the

current economic situation, and that he expects the economic conditions

to get worse before they improve.

Members of Prescott civic clubs joined for a meeting on Oct. 14

with Ross as the keynote speaker for the event.

I know the economy is on everyones mind, Ross said.

Ross said the recent bailout bill carried a sense of urgency that

carried the bill directly into the hands of the President shortly after

its approval by the U.S. Senate. Ross said he supported that bill in

its revised state because he believed there would have been a

domino effect had the government not stepped in. Ross said his

main concern was that the federal government not offer a golden

parachute to the companies and their top executives. He said he

was also not in favor of handing the troubled companies a blank

check. One of the key components of the bill, according to Ross, is

the requirement that the companies be responsible for a recovery

plan.

This bill essentially made the federal government a stakeholder,

Ross said.

Ross said his vote is never cast lightly and that he gave this bill

careful consideration. In the end, he came to believe that, though

this bill doesnt provide an immediate turnaround, it was the best

solution available.

Ross said that many people believe the crisis was all about the

stock market.

This was never about Wall Street, he said.

Ross said it was about banks that had made it possible for people

to own homes through the use of predatory and overly-lenient

lending practices. Banks that offered mortgages without requiring

anything down then sometimes bundled groups of outstanding

mortgages and sold those to other financial institutions.

Ross said another important point of the economic situation is

federal spending. The cited the hundreds of mobile homes that had

been held at the airport at Hope as evidence of poor practices.

Ross said the bottom line is that the federal bill recently passed

isnt a magic wand that will cure the countrys economic woes.

Instead, its a step in that direction.

Things are going to get worse before it gets better, Ross said.

I dont have to tell you what thats going to do to the forest and

timber industry. But this is America and well come out of it.

Ross, representative of the Fourth Congressional District, said

he is in the midst of his campaign. Ross is a member of the Blue

Dog Democrats, a fiscally responsible group. He said the term came

from the old adage about the yellow dog Democrat. That saying

goes that some will vote for the Democratic candidate, even if it

were a yellow dog seeking the office. Ross said the Blue Dogs

became so named because some felt theyd been choked blue by

the extremists of both parties.

Rosss opponent is listed on the November ballot as Joshua

Drake of the Green Party.