Earlier this month, I thoroughly dismantled the underlying premise of a chamber luncheon presentation by Al Pettit, that poverty and unemployment are somehow linked to Oregon’s unofficial status as an unfriendly business state. More than a year ago, I began reporting on some of the very same statistics about teen pregnancy, poverty and unemployment as presented by Pettit and even through in some data about local foreclosures. Mr Pettit is right to bring these statistic before the chamber and anywhere else but if he has a path to a solution, i.e. be more business friendly, he is yet to back his assumption with any logical or empirical data.

Pettit’s cited statistics are not the issue but rather the logical disconnect between equating high numbers of unwed teens to environmental protections and a regulated business climate. Let me repeat that “attempts to reduce the very complex problems facing our nation and our region down to simplistic cause and effect is childish, ill thought and irresponsible. Serious critical thinking is required with much more than a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude to make this community self sufficient”. (Remember how the county was sold on the 12″ pipeline. Build it and there will be 2,900 jobs….)

Statistically, I could prove that deregulation and failure to protect against rampant exploitation of finite resources and “friendly” corporate tax cuts has lead to more poverty, unwed gestating teens, underfunded schools and higher unemployment rates than any number of LNG opponents. In Oregon, more revenue is received from lottery funds than corporate income taxes.

Apparently, Mr Pettit was upset enough that I was concerned enough by his disjointed and irrational reasoning to explain what was wrong with his argument on this blog, to tell the Port how mean I am. At Thursday’s Port meeting Pettit complains that he was ‘crucified’ on a local blog and he would like to respond, (not on the blog), but during citizen comment at the Port meeting. While I am not sure whether my opinion of Mr Pettit’s reasoning skills are important enough for public comment he did produce a marvelous demonstration of the precise logical disconnect I was expressing in my original piece.

To begin, Pettit deflects away from the factual argument made against him by instead focusing on the matter of “ladies” daring to challenge his claims. Quoting from a comment on this blog by “JM”, whom Pettit calls “anti-leader”, JM says that he should do his “homework” before he speaks (about LNG). Pettit then snorts, “…ironic that the following week after these comments another bank was robbed at gunpoint and Coos County schools announced they were going to a four day week”. So in one breath he deflects criticism about his research on LNG by shifting to armed bank robberies and shortened school weeks. This is sort of like the “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon” defense, a game based upon the theory that everyone or everything is connected by only six degrees of separation, except he doesn’t define the degrees.

Pettit makes a couple more interesting logic leaps but concludes with an obvious oversight. After declaring the importance of LNG to this area and listing many statistics he points out how the City of Astoria has enjoyed a nice economic recovery and rebuilt its downtown. What he doesn’t mention is that Astoria fought hard against and won to keep Bradwood Landing LNG out of their area. Like Pettit says, if Astoria can work together to be successful (without LNG) so can Coos Bay.

It’s nothing personal Mr Pettit, but if you can’t take the heat of debate perhaps you should reconsider entering the arena.

Watch the entire video Coos Media.