The financial problems of the former Boise Cascade Mill has not only affected the mills employees through wage and benefit package decreases, now has become the Problem of every citizen in Columbia County. November 29^th 2006 the Columbia County Commissioners sent a letter of support to mill manager Mat Sax. In the letter the commissioners express their knowledge of the mills apparent financial woes along with acknowledging the importance of the mills status of being an employer of several hundred Columbia County residents. Stating that it is the county's development mission is retention and expansion of economic development.
In doing so the county has promised that they will be ready to assist the corporation in creative ways to reduce costs for the facility, whether it be grants, TAX REDUCTIONS, REDUCED PERMIT FEES, SHORT-TERM FINANCING, OR ABEYANCE OF COSTS. 
Ensuring the company that the employees at the mill are creative, knowledgeable and open to change. Are the commissioners insinuating that the employees are willing to take another wage and benefit reduction?
In fairness to the worker I would like to see a break down between wage and benefit package verses taxpayer funded corporate welfare handouts, It would be interesting to see how much people actually earn after they pay their share of the taxpayer handout back to the corporation. Heck the workers are paying their own wages plus the CEO's, nice deal for the corporation.
I most certainly do not want people to lose their jobs, but I do not agree with the commissioner's offer to special tax money give a ways to private corporations, it is not the responsibility of the taxpayer to continually bail out these corporations. Because these CEO's of companies make bad investment decisions or bad business deals, the towns where they site must make up their deficits or stock losses? This mill already receives tax breaks and has for years from this county how much more can the poor working man of this county shell out to the ever-expanding CORPORATE WELFARE PROGRAM of COLUMBIA COUNTY?