Critics want Wyden to take more from the rich, give more to the poor.

Willamette Week:

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is taking heat from the left for siding with fund managers on a key bill that proposes to cover benefits for the needy, in part by closing an immense tax loophole.

Advocates for low-income Oregonians hope the bill, HR 4243, will kill that loophole and thus provide the extra money to help poor people cover medical expenses.

The money is crucial to Oregon lawmakers and Gov. Ted Kulongoski as they scramble to soften a $577 million budget disaster. The governor has ordered a 9 percent across-the-board budget cut in response. But Chuck Sheketoff, director of the left-tilting Oregon Center for Public Policy, says Wyden favors preserving a tax break for fund managers.

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