Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2015)
2 Wednesday, August 5, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Robert B. Reich American Voices Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not neces- sarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: I think Hayden Homes should live up to building the high-density housing they promised to build when they started their development. Sisters needs housing affordable to fami- lies with young children if we want to keep our schools open. What do we see as the future of Sisters? A retirement community where everyone who works here has to live in Redmond, or a vibrant mixed-age community with children? Bruce Berryhill s s s To the Editor: I finally have to write a letter about bike trails. I have been very disappointed in our com- munity response to this issue. Communities affected like Tollgate and Black Butte Ranch were asked to take a poll vote on the idea of a trail. It passed by a substantial majority, which seems to count for nothing due to the vociferous comments by those opposed for various reasons. The comment that the voting participa- tion did not represent many of the people doesn’t fly. If you don’t participate (or read what is going on) then it can be assumed that you don’t care. Excellent work was done to mitigate the problems expressed about the trail being too close to Tollgate properties. It seems that voting on the issue doesn’t count as much as complaining about it. See lEttErs on page 22 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday thursday Friday saturday sunday Monday Sunny Sunny Mostly sunny Partly sunny Partly sunny Mostly sunny 79/40 81/45 84/49 78/48 78/48 77/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Lisa Buckley Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $40; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2014 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. “He can’t possibly win the nomination,” is the phrase heard most often when Washington insid- ers mention either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Yet as enthusiasm for the bombastic billionaire and the socialist senior continues to build within each party, the political establishment is mystified. Political insiders don’t see that the biggest political phe- nomenon in America today is a revolt against the “ruling class” of insiders who have dominated Washington for more than three decades. What’s new is the degree of anger now focused on those who have had power over our economic and political system since the start of the 1980s. Included are presidents and congres- sional leaders from both par- ties, along with their retinues of policy advisors, political strategists and spin doctors. The other half of the ruling class comprises the corporate executives, Wall Street chiefs and multimil- lionaires who have assisted and enabled these political leaders — and for whom the politicians have provided political favors in return. America has long had a ruling class, but the public was willing to tolerate it dur- ing the three decades after World War II, when prosper- ity was widely shared and when the Soviet Union posed a palpable threat. Then, the ruling class seemed benevo- lent and wise. Yet in the last three decades the ruling class has seemed to pad its own pock- ets at the expense of the rest of America. The Supreme Court has opened the floodgates to big money in politics wider than ever. Taxes have been cut on top incomes, tax loopholes have widened, government debt has grown, public ser- vices have been cut. And not a single Wall Street execu- tive has gone to jail. The game seems rigged — riddled with abuses of power, crony capitalism and corporate welfare. In 1964, Americans agreed by a margin of 64 percent to 29 percent that government was run for the benefit of all the people. By 2012, the response had reversed, with 79 percent of voters saying that gov- ernment was “run by a few big interests looking after themselves,” according to American National Election Studies. Which has made it harder for ordinary people to get ahead. In 2001, a Gallup poll found 77 percent of Americans satisfied with opportunities to get ahead by working hard and 22 percent dissatisfied. By 2014, only 54 percent were satisfied and 45 percent dissatisfied. The resulting fury at the ruling class has taken two quite different forms. On the right are the wreckers. The Tea Party, which emerged soon after the Wall Street bailout, has been intent on stopping gov- ernment in its tracks and overthrowing a ruling class it sees as rotten to the core. Donald Trump is their human wrecking ball. The more outrageous his rants and putdowns of other poli- ticians, the more popular he becomes among this seg- ment of the public that’s thrilled by a bombastic, rac- ist billionaire who sticks it to the ruling class. On the left are the rebuild- ers. The Occupy movement, which also emerged from the Wall Street bailout, was intent on displacing the rul- ing class and rebuilding our political-economic system from the ground up. Bernie Sanders personi- fies this group. The more he advocates a fundamental retooling of our economy and democracy in favor of average working people, the more popular he becomes among those who no longer trust the ruling class to bring about necessary change. Yet despite the grow- ing revolt against the ruling class, it seems likely that the presidential nominees in 2016 will be Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. After all, the ruling class still controls America. But the revolt against the ruling class won’t end with the 2016 election, regardless. Which means the ruling class will have to change the way it rules America. Or it won’t rule too much longer. © 2015 By Robert Reich; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.