BP HATERS TAKE NOTE

Ned understands that many of his loyal readers now hate BP, although they continue to buy gasoline and drive cars that get poor mileage. Naturally, being Americans, they believe America's problems are due to someone else's criminal behavior, incompetence, or conspiracy.
Ned is tempted to join them, at least occasionally. Here's why.
In my state, Oregon, we are facing yet another in a seemingly unending series of budget "crises." At present the governor Ted Kolongoski, for whom Ned voted, has ordered a 9% across-the-board budget cut for all state agencies. This will severely impact schools and of course, the frail and helpless among us the most. It could also be very harmful to small business owners who have little if any safety net, unlike retirees and state government employees with their guaranteed pensions.
Now, why are we facing this crisis? The state is short $557 million, a not inconsiderable sum, but if one divides this sum by the number of state residents, it amounts to a paltry $150 each. Now, Oregon has no sales tax and a very modest income tax, with all sorts of exemptions and deductions. For example, Ned's social security is not taxed, and the state gives him a $4000 deduction for health insurance costs.
Ned recently lost his BP dividends for the rest of the year due mainly to political posturing by President Obama, who apparently thought by getting "tough" with BP and its hapless and harried CEO, Tony Hayward, the country might take its eyes off Obama's growing debacle in Afghanistan, costing us $80 billion a year up-front and untold billions in costs associated with our troops coming back with traumas of the mind and body.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are BP shareholders, just as hundreds of thousands owned Washington Mutual until its assets were seized by the Bush regime's FDIC and handed over to Chase. This cost shareholders, many of whom were Oregon residents since WaMU was a Northwest company, tens if not hundreds of millions in lost income.
But here's the important point. WE SHAREHOLDERS DON'T GET TO KEEP ALL OF THE MONEY. Oregon's 9% marginal tax rate would have earned it $270 for 2010 from Ned's BP dividends, which he would have gladly paid. It also cost the feds $450, which again he would gladly have paid.
Now, think of all the money the state and federal governments have lost in lost tax revenue from dividends that have been cut or eliminated, due to political grandstanding or blatant incompetence in the case of WaMu.
Ned suspects that state taxes from dividends from WaMU and BP could have helped close that Oregon budget deficit. Moreover, even if it isn't the total answer, those who got these dividends would have been in a good position to pay a small, say, $150, surtax to help the state avoid these kinds of problems.
Just keep in mind that all those who get stock dividends aren't rapacious capitalists, or selfish yuppies. They are just folks trying to get by. And, friends, we are all in this together, like it or not. If we don't get by, you don't get by.