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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1991)
EDITORIAL Make term limitation nationwide, not local When Washington voters decide whether to limit the terms of their state and national government, they'd better make sure all their bases are covered. The limitation measure coming before the voters in November would cut the number of terms congression al as well as state legislative members could serve. California. Colorado and Oklahoma passed term limiting legislation last year, and supporters are now pushing for statewide referondums in most of the west ern United States. ii comes <ls no sur prise that the primary funders of this move ment are Republicans and that they are target ing the western region. Fed up with lawmakers who can't seem to hold their weight against the “special-interest" groups of the area, they want to see a change. However, allowing this measure to pass would mean a loss of state power at the na tional level. Tom Foley The idea has potential. Term limitations would ideally put government buck into the hands of its citi zens by forcing career politicians out of office, making room for fresh faces. The only way it could work is if the entire nation agreed on such u plan. Should Washington or any oth er state limit the terms of its congressional and senate delegation, it would undermine that state’s ability to effectively represent itself. To get anything done through the Capitol's politi cal power structure, members of Congress need seniori ty. This status buys committee appointments, "friends” with whom one can trade the passage of state-relevant mcusurcs, and your basic skinny on who is who and how things work. Unless everyone at the national level was on the same term-limitation time schedule, the new kids on the block would be at the mercy of the veteran legisla tors. Washington can’t afford that. The Northwest can’t afford it. Controversy the region is currently experienc ing, specifically the spotted owl-timber workers strife, wouldn't have a chance of being resolved in a way con sistent with area concerns without potent Northwest ern representation. Approval of the measure would dilute this neces sary power. Should it pass, the state's congressional delegation would have to leave office in 1994 if they met or surpassed the new limits. This stipulation would force House Speaker Thomas Foley to abandon his post, a loss of political might Washington cannot afford. The state should think twice before handing over its bargaining control; state and regional interests should be protected by retaining the necessary influ ence' in D.C.'s power puzzle. COMMENTARY POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commen taries from the public concerning topics of interest to the University community. Commentaries should be between 750 and 1,000 words, legible and signed, and the identification of tin; writer must be verified upon submission. The Emerald reserves the right to edit for grammar, style and length if necessary. _ Step COftiV "4X5 >.1?.' CC OPINION Solution is one voters don t want to near THE FINE PRINT BY DON PETERS This state needs a sulos tax. There, I've said it And won der of wonders, tho sky didn't fall in. the ground didn't quake, and I wasn't slonixl to death by an angry mob At least not yet Mention the words "sales tux" anywhere in Oregon and voters immediately find 67 dif ferent reasons not to huvo one. If a politician were to even sug gest implementing u sales tax, you can lx: sure it would txi the political equivalent of lobbing themselves off the top of PLC. OK, so maybe I exaggerate, but just a little. Despite all the possible bene fits, and all the arguments made in favor ol a sales tax, Or egon voters refuse to oven con sider the possibility. Sure there ure some benefits to living in a state without a sales tax Because 1 am still an official California resident. I don’t file an Oregon income tax return Anil when 1 get my Whopper and fries, S3.Q9 means S'i l)<), so by all means refrain from instituting a sales lax. But if Oregon voters want to solve the fiscal problems of this state, a sales tax Is the best an swer. The idea behind Measure 5 was a goixi one, but it didn't go far enough Yes, something needed to be done to slash the property tux rates. Asking homeowners to pay huge amounts in property tax to n nnnee the: state public educa tion system was unfair. So in that respect. Measure 5 did what it set out to do. But in taking schools off the property tax system, and not coming up with any replace ment revenue, Measure 5 put Oregon in its present financial position, which tain best be de scribed as precarious. The state has to come up with money to fund the school system. Pretty soon, the state's reserves will be used up, and there won’t be any more money to fund the system. Then the schools close. End of story. Using Measure 5 to change the tax system was kind of like using a flamethrower to light a cigarette — it works, but you tend to burn a lot more than you intended to. It was a short-term solution with bitter ramifications for the future. The Oregon voting pop ulation seems to want it both ways: social programs without any way to fund them. Measure 5 decimated this state. Some of the stop-gap solutions politi cians have come up with are g<x)d ones — trimming the stato bureaucracy, cutting out un needed and bloated programs, etc. — but they do nothing to solve the problem permanently. With a 5 percent sales tux, things will bo much belter By 1995, Measure 5 will cost this state S2.9 billion in replace ment revenue, or about 40 per cent of the current budget. While the politicians skip around the issues, offering con fusing, half-baked solutions, no one is looking at what needs to tie done to permanently solve the problem. 1 h«; whole point behind Measure 5 seemed to be "let's get those lousy so-and-sos up in Salem to get off their butts and do something." A noble idea, but slashing property tuxes without replacing the lost funds is short-sightedness at its worst. With the threat of school clo sures, public outcry has finally reached the governor's office in Salem. Cov. Barbara Koborts' whistle-stop tour of the state was an interesting idea. It was a rebirth of old-time politics, actually going out to the voters to get their opinions on an is sue. But Roberts — at least for the moment — seems to have dropped the idea of the sales tax. Where is the replacement revenue going to come from' blither Roberts is uxpecting to win the lottery, or there Is a money tree outside the Capitol building she hasn’t told us about yet. People who voted in favor of Measure 5 argue thut it will force lawmakers to come up with solutions. For years, these people have asked for property tax reform, only to have thoir requests ignored. Now those same voters are demanding im mediate action from a notori ously slow Salem process lo me, that shows an extraordi nary (and unwarranted) faith in the Oregon legislature. Both sides — politicians and votors — must accept equal blame for the Measure 5 deba cle; but you ran be sun: that when the schools start closing and the financial situation worsens, the fingers will be pointed anywhere but at them selves. Don Peters is an Emerald edi torial editor. bombing liberate. Kuwait.'. __ V parades'. recession unemployment no more parades what, to do? BOMB IRAQ! _A