Letters to the editor
Montana unemployment 6.6%
Montana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased slightly by 0.1% to 6.6% in August. The national unemployment rate increased by 0.3% to 9.7%.
“Montana continues to weather the national recession,” says Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly. “The August figures indicate job gains across most industries, with a large job gain in the government sector that is possibly due to the spending of stimulus funding.”
Seasonally adjusted, non-agricultural, payroll employment increased by 4,800 jobs in July. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, Montana has lost 0.9% of its payroll jobs while the nation has lost 5% of payroll jobs. The total number of Montanans who are working, including agricultural, payroll, and self-employed workers, increased by 897 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis.
From the Montana Medical Association
The members of the Montana Medical Association want to assure our patients that we share their concerns about many aspects of health system reform. For many people the system is now broken and is not sustainable. There should be health care for all citizens. The health care system should be quality-based and patient-centered.
Montana Medical Association physicians believe that insurance should be affordable, accessible, and portable. The doctor-patient relationship should stay strong. We believe that insurance should provide a basic benefit package based on best medical evidence. Patients should not be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
Physicians of the Montana Medical Association are committed to excellent patient care. We agree with the need to reduce waste as well as to provide incentives for quality improvement, prevention, and wellness. Legislative reform must emphasize the recruitment, training, and support of primary care physicians. We recognize a critical need for tort reform to help reduce unnecessary costs and continue excellent patient care.
Thanks to the Art Council of Big Sky
So another summer has past and another great year of music organized by the Arts Council of Big Sky. My husband and I had the privilege of attending every Thursday night concert this summer and the Doobie Brothers as well. If you missed Patrick Sweaney because of the rain, too bad for you, the memories of my husband on stage will last years for me. The rain didn’t stop us. What a great variety of music, and fun to socialize with friends and neighbors. A huge thank you to the Arts Council, the sponsors, vendors, volunteers and anyone who contributed to this awesome summer of music.
Looking forward to next year,
Marie Rapp
Letters to the editor
Montana property tax scheme
After reviewing the property assessment procedures and property taxes resulting from these market valuations I have concluded that the current system is severely negligent in complying with the Montana Constitution, which states “the State shall appraise, assess and equalize the valuation of all property which is to be taxed in the manner provided by law.”
The valuation processes have been completely thrown out the window and have been replaced by computer manipulation of values to reach the end desired result. This has created unrealistic market values which defy all logic in property valuation methods. This in turn results in unequal taxation, in violation of the Constitution.
The legislature, which institutes rates and adjustments in the property tax provisions to mitigate stated valuations and the resulting property tax increases are in essence ignored. Valuations are manipulated after preliminary agency stated values are provided to the legislative representatives and the legislature establishes these mitigating calculations. This is done primarily through reclassifications and economic condition factors. When these methods are not sufficient to reach the desired result, valuations are arbitrarily altered, which are unsubstantiated and defy all reasonable rational standards.