Necessary Medicine : Orange County’s influential vote on Measure R today

The nation is watching today to see whether Orange County voters will back the one reliable bankruptcy recovery plan or choose to face a fiscal future clouded by uncertainty and even pariah status.

Over the weekend, opponents of recovery blithely encouraged voters to opt for a house of straw over one of bricks. They pandered shamelessly, urging residents to disregard authoritative warnings and vote “no” on Measure R, the temporary half-cent sales tax. In so doing, they called on voters to put their faith in already discredited recovery plans. Instead of heeding these Pollyannas, all eligible residents should get to the polls and vote “yes” on Measure R, for their own sake and that of their children. They must show that Orange County indeed can distinguish between the road of order and the road of chaos.

The ominous signs of the damage of continuing in bankruptcy are on the immediate horizon. The top executive of Fluor Corp., one of the county’s biggest employers, on Sunday voiced concern about how a “no” vote would harm the area and his business; he said Fluor might leave if Measure R was voted down. Moreover, the region is interconnected. Los Angeles County, reeling from its own budgetary woes, needs a message of resolve from its neighbor.

Orange County will be much better off if it decides to take a minimal but sure dose of medicine now. The alternative is the stigma of bankruptcy, protracted and costly litigation and much higher borrowing costs. On this important day, voters face an urgent and clear choice.