I got an email at work this last week and all it said was that "the fat lady is warming up". There has been a lot of talk in the court about how bad things are getting, particularly since the state of Oregon is nearly $900 million in the hole right now.

So, as if you needed another indication of how bad thngs are getting, the state was originally going to cut 1/2 of the state court budget. Don't get me wrong, I believe in tightening the belt when there isn't money to spend, but the courts are one of the few things that government HAS to fund. Cutting the budget in half would mean that 1/2 the work would get done, and what courts do is keep society civil. People bring cases to court, whether they be family custody battles, suing people, or criminal cases - if the courts aren't there, the nation will no longer be ruled by law, but some people will revert to violence. No, I am not being melodramatic, just think about it.

So the solution was reached after lots of debates, that the courts will make severe cuts. We were sure that our program would get the axe. Instead, some services will be curtailed, fees will be increased, and all the courts in Oregon will be closed on Friday - beginning the 13th of March. THat means that those of us who work in the court will take a 20% pay cut.

This is just a reminder that times are tough. Things may be bad for you, but they may be worse for others. We do not yet know how bad this will get. The stock market appears to be in a slow free-fall. Many people who were ready to retire no longer have the retirement they thought they would have - so they continue to work. Unfortuantely, the governemnt is bent on expanding welfare at an increasing cost to the fewer and fewer people who are productive. FDR tried this in the 30's and all we got was a longer and deeper depression. Winston Churchill saw the efforts of the Socialists in his own country and said that the stupidity of a nation that tries to tax and spend its way to prosperity was like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by pulling on the handle.

I don't really want to spread doom and gloom, just a notion of what is happening, and the lame response of our government. Socialist programs run apace, with increased funding, but those services we need, like law enforcement and courts, are being cut back.

I guess one bright side - for those of you who hate attorneys - is that thousands of lawyers are losing their jobs as law firms cut back. (But it's tough on those of us who are honest attorneys and still have a house payment to make as all our neighbors stop paying their mortgages assuming Obama will save them).