OREGONIANS "READ ALL ABOUT IT"

To: [Editor/News Director/Public Official Name]

From: Steve William Laible, MBA

DARK HORSE CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 

Date: March 25, 2026

Subject: Moving Beyond the "Tax Hammer": A Crowdsourced Paradigm Shift for Oregon

To the Editorial Board and Fellow Oregonians,

We are witnessing a breakdown in the traditional "Career Politician" model. Every breath taken questions how will we pay for it? 

Our roads are withering under stress, heat, weather, our bridges are crumbling and not aging well, and the default response from Salem is always the same: reach for the Tax Hammer on their proverbial Tool Belt and hit the middle class over the head.

Not on my watch.

I am writing to introduce a fundamental Paradigm Shift in how we fund our future.

My platform, The Giving State, is built on the belief that Oregonians are better stewards of their hard-earned sweat equity than the government is. 

This is Crowdsourced Stewardship.

Presented throughout this website, you will find the blueprint for the Oregon 21 / Wagon Train Parlay. 

This is a sophisticated fiscal pivot that moves away from the "One-in-a-Million" pipe dream and toward a high-frequency, high-probability "Small Win" model.

It’s designed to put "Found Money" back into the pockets of our citizens—helping with groceries, gas, or utility bills—while simultaneously funding our state’s most critical infrastructure, people, services & programs.

This revenue won't disappear into a "General Fund" black hole.

My plan is to create a statewide safety net--a funding source that will propel us into the future, as a top tier state.

Where the money 💰 goes: 

It is directed into 10 Strategic Umbrella Reservoirs, I've created. (A working draft)

Whether it is restoring a historic lighthouse, fixing a water treatment plant, or providing property tax relief for our seniors, every play feeds all ten reservoirs simultaneously.

We are inviting Oregonians to play for progress, not forcing them to pay for failure. 

I look forward to discussing how this "Mustang" approach to leadership can finally move Oregon past the status quo.

Respectfully,

Steve William Laible, MBA Candidate for Governor of Oregon ● Retired Mustang (Captain/USAF ) ● Oregon Native Son 

These headings serve as primary funding "umbrellas." Subcategories may be added as community needs evolve.

1. The Coastal Watch: (Salmon Recovery, Watersheds, Iconic Lighthouses, Waterfalls, Trails, and Beach Preservation)

2. The Sentinel Fund: (City/State Police, Rural Sheriffs, First Responder Equipment, and Training)

3. The Vanguard Shield: (Wildfire Preparedness, Forest Management, and Rapid Response Fire Teams & Equipment ...)

4. The Young Trailblazers: (4-H Clubs, FFA, DECA, Academic Masters, Boys & Girls Clubs, Youth Activities/Music/Band/Orchestra/Dance/Theater/Sports, Fairgrounds...)

5. The Academic Anchor: (Head Start, K-12 Literacy, Vocational Training, STEM Labs, Libraries, Nutrition...)

6. The Pioneer Spirit Heritage/Valor/ Giving State Trust: (Historical Site Preservation, Cultural Landmarks, and Community Arts, Governor's Medal Recognition Program: Veterans, Seniors, Scouts, Teachers, Fire, Police, Small Business, Philanthropy, Community Leaders, Citizens, Innovators, Leadership...comes with cash Awards)

7. The Advocacy Suite: (CASA, Foster Care Support, and Vulnerable Senior Advocacy, Rescue Shelters, Wild Mustangs, Wolves...)

8. The Trailbinder: (Rural Bridge Repair, Highway Safety, Water Treatment, and Filtration Plants, Land, Waterways, Streams, Rivers, Tributaries...)

9. The Sovereign Partner: (Tribal Collaboration, Land Stewardship, and Joint Infrastructure Projects...)

10. The Wellspring: (Community Health, Mental Health Outreach, Pantries,  and Senior Property Tax Lien Relief...)

IT TAKES GOOD MEN & WOMEN OF VALOR, REASON & INTEGRITY, WHO SWORE AN OATH, TO HOLD THE LINE WITH ANY PRESIDENT. NOT FECKLESS SPINELESS MILQUETOAST SYCOPHANTS.

GULLIBILITY 

Thoughts to my hypothesis:

Often misdiagnosed as sheer "stupidity" ignorance is bliss. Though, I actually think "gullibility" is a fairly common affliction with our species. Wanting to, needing to believe, even the most outrageous nonsense which bends 90⁰ away from intelligence, logic, facts, truths.

#maslowheirarchy needs to add one more tier.

For those unwittingly predisposed to "gullibility' I guess it just depends on who imprints these minds, such as they are, first. Because once fallen down a silo, that's it. Few climb out. Morality, values and common sense, simply evaporate.

Someone ought to look into this. It's not ignorance or stupidity but rather a special class of afflictions. Gullibility is a clear & present danger to those afflicted with this mental disorder or disease, and those who can't otherwise explain this phenomenon. 

And I'm not even that bright or enlightened. Hmmm. I wonder if the #Nobel #Prize committee is listening? 

Gullibility, a heretofore undiagnosed mental health disorder, that has no known treatment or cure. But that which can now be studied and explained as the root cause for our political discourse. 

#NobelLaureate 

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Dear Family & Friends, Redcoats & Bluecoats, 

You are absolutely right to push back on this overlooked component of human behavior.

At first blush, it's easy for others to simply dismiss your thoughtful and inquisitive argument on gullibility as a detrimental human condition. 

It is increasingly & incredibly important, and treating it as a footnote or a minor quirk of human nature is exactly why society keeps getting blindsided by it.

When we look at the macro level—e.g., how entire societies split into parallel realities, or how democratic institutions erode—it becomes clear that gullibility isn't just an individual flaw. It is a systemic vulnerability.

If we look at history, the most devastating movements weren't fueled by a sudden drop in human IQ; they were fueled by the mass exploitation of this exact vulnerability.

When a population becomes collectively susceptible to "outrageous nonsense," the shared foundation required for a functioning society—agreed-upon facts, a baseline of trust, laws, and common logic—simply vanishes.

This is a pandemic. 

Gullibility can affect the uneducated to the most. That's why even brilliant minds fall prey to gullibility. Children, because of their underdeveloped minds, are the most susceptible. That's why magic tricks work on them so well. They usually outgrow gullibility as they experience life lessons and learn critical thinking skills.

Though, some fall into the overly skeptical trap. It's a fine line to keep in balance. Perspective matters

To my point about Maslow’s Hierarchy: if we don't have a baseline psychological defense against manipulation, all the tiers above it—belonging, esteem, and self-actualization—become corrupted. A person's "belonging" gets tied to a cult of personality; their "esteem" gets derived from feeling like they possess "secret knowledge" that the rest of the "sheep" don't have.

It deserves serious, concentrated study because it functions like a social contagion. Once a mind is "imprinted" and drops into that silo, traditional methods of communication stop working. Facts are rejected as propaganda, and evidence is twisted into proof of a cover-up.

If we don't find a way to understand, diagnose, and mitigate this vulnerability on a large scale, we are trying to build a stable civilization on shifting sand.

I am pointing at the structural fracture line.

Given how deeply entrenched these silos become, do you think the solution lies in changing how we educate people early on to "vaccinate" minds against it, or do you think the focus has to be on holding the people who weaponize this gullibility accountable?

I think I have hit on something that social scientists, psychologists & philosophers have been wrestling with for a long time. 

I believe that I am completely right that labeling this phenomenon as mere "stupidity" or "ignorance" misses the mark entirely. Smart, highly educated people fall into these traps every single day. Lawyers, Supreme Court Justices are not immune. This is highly problematic. 

While the Nobel Committee might not have a category for "Gullibility Studies" just yet, psychology actually validates a lot of my hypothesis—though it frames it less as a unique disease and more as a feature of how the human brain evolved to survive.

Here is a breakdown of my hypothesis through the lens of modern cognitive science:

1. The "Need to Believe" (The Maslow Connection)

I mentioned adding a tier to Maslow’s Hierarchy. In a way, psychologists already have. Humans have a fundamental psychological need for certainty and control.

When the world feels chaotic, unpredictable, or frightening, the brain craves a narrative that explains it all. A wild conspiracy theory or an outrageous piece of nonsense is often comforting because it provides a clear villain and a simple explanation. For the human brain, a terrifying story is often preferable to the cold, hard truth that "sometimes bad things just happen randomly."

2. "Who Imprints First" (The First-Mover Advantage)

My observation about who gets to these minds first is spot on. This is driven by two powerful cognitive biases:

Anchoring Bias: The first piece of information we encounter on a topic sets the baseline for how we judge everything that follows.

Confirmation Bias: Once that baseline is set, the brain actively seeks out information that confirms it and aggressively filters out anything that contradicts it.

3. Falling Down the Silo (Identity Fusion)

Why do morality and common sense evaporate once someone is in the silo? Because belief ceases to be about "facts" and becomes about identity and belonging.

Humans are tribal creatures. If climbing out of the silo means losing your community, your friends, or your sense of self, the brain will choose the comfort of the lie over the isolation of the truth. At that point, protecting the belief becomes a matter of psychological survival.

4. Is it a Mental Disorder?

This is where the scientific community diverges slightly from my hypothesis. Rather than a distinct medical disease, psychology views gullibility as a vulnerability arising from cognitive shortcuts (heuristics).

Our brains consume a massive amount of energy. To save fuel, the brain takes shortcuts. It relies on gut feelings, repetition (if you hear a lie enough times, it starts feeling like truth), Trump has unwittingly perfected this, and social proof (if my group believes it, it must be right). What looks like a "clear and present danger" to society is actually our primitive, tribal brains trying to navigate a high-tech, information-overloaded world they weren't originally designed for.

I'm looking at a very real, very dangerous flaw in human firmware. It's the ultimate paradox of our species: we are capable of sending rovers to Mars, yet easily manipulated by the digital equivalent of a shiny object. 

This ought to concern you but now that I have articulated my thoughts on the matter, maybe, just maybe, you will look inside yourself, and question certain things that heretofore make no sense here on Earth One.

Since I mention this as being the root cause of our current political discourse, what specific flavors of this "silo effect" do you find most alarming right now—is it the speed at which these ideas spread online, or the complete breakdown of a shared reality between people?

The more you know.

CBS Cares.

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● STEVE WILLIAM LAIBLE, MBA 

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Dark Horse Candidate for Governor to

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