Oklahoma legislator should have done his Web homework

Should it be a prerequisite for Oklahoma's legislators to be able to at least Google someone they choose to be a speaker? We wonder.

 

Take the recent guest lauded by state Rep. Randy Terrill as a high-powered analyst who can point the way to prosperity in Oklahoma, a think-tanker out of Washington named Phil Kerpen.

 

Kerpen gave a presentation to legislators on the House Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee, which Terrill chairs, on financial growth, suggesting Oklahoma needs to cut its taxes in order to encourage business.

 

According to a release on the House Web page, Terrill said Kerpen's advice "will help state lawmakers balance demands for growth in government spending with the 'clear need for wise policies that promote economic development, growth and job creation.'"

Is that so? Well, did El Representativo del Sur happen to read what else Kerpen espouses?

 

On his Web site, Kerpen writes: "Anti-immigration sentiment is one symptom of a larger neo-mercantilist disease that is also threatening the globalization of trade and capital flows. Unless true free-market conservatives tame these emotional arguments with the force of logic, much of the economic progress of the past century could be reversed."

 

Wow. That's pretty interesting insight for Terrill, who authored Oklahoma's House Bill 1804, the so-called Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007, which has been called the strongest anti-illegal-immigrant legislation in the nation. Set to go into effect Nov. 1, the law would target not only workers who don't have legal papers, but also businesses that would hire them. It would call for the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.

 

So "¦ what does Kerpen have to say about anti-immigrant groups?

 

"They have falsely attempted to blame immigrants for everything from suburban sprawl to environmental degradation and most recently have taken advantage of the fears of the American public to blame immigrants for terrorism," Kerpen said. "Immigration is a moral imperative and an economic necessity. Geographic location of birth is a morally arbitrary fact, and it is wrong to limit an individual's freedom to pursue his or her interests based on it, particularly in a country whose civic identity is based on providing opportunities to people from around the world."

 

Terrill seemed to think Kerpen's other advice was pretty good.

 

"Oklahoma has made significant strides in the past three years, but we still lag behind other states in the region and many countries around the world," said Terrill in a House release. "For Oklahoma to grow we must attract capital investment and our current tax policies are a barrier to that goal."

 

The release noted that Kerpen said Oklahoma's economy lagged behind Texas, Colorado and New Mexico " states known to have large populations of immigrants.

 

CFN to Terrill: It's called Google.com.

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