VIEWPOINTS
t PIT ORIAL S OPINIO MS IfTTfRS TO THE EDITOR
Folks in nursing home?
You might have to pay
■ uUH OPINION: After we
failed to help defray
Med»ca«d costs, a new taw
just might make us pay up
(kiod 'ol Mom and Dad.
For the firm IS years of
your life, they fed. court
wiled and clothed ymi They
changed your diapers and
mentTed your ikinnnd knees
when you hit the ground.
They taught you the wisdom
of the work ethic, but gave
you an allowance anyway.
They showed you how to
ride a bicycle and dried
your tear* after your first
crash without the training
wheel* They survived the
stress of teaching you how
to navigate the highways in
Ihe family sedan and for
gave you when you bai k<*d
into the mailbox
Someday, you'd like 10 be
able to pay them back for ail
their love, devotion and
financial support
That day may come soon
er than you think.
After the years have taken
their toll and Mom or Dad is
in a nursing home, you
might just get an official
request from the state asking
you to help pay for your
parents’ health care.
A provision within the
Republican seven-year bal
a mod budget plan that over
hauls Medicaid would give
states the |>ower to require
adult children of nursing
home fiat tents on Medicaid
lo help cover the cost of
their parents' care
The pay-for-care proposal
is aimed specifically at mid
dle Income ami wealthier
Americans or any adult
child earning more than the
slate median household
income.
It shouldn't require a law
to forc e us to subsidize our
parents' lives It should be a
moral obligation to taka cam
of our pamnu after ihey’v*
passed through their
healthy, independent year*.
After alt, for many of us.
Mom and Dad paid for the
fir*t 18 year* of our live* -
why ahouidn't we pay for
the lati 18 year* of their*?
It used to be that one or
more of the aging patent*
would move into their chil*
dren's home* for together
neaa. health or safety
mason*
Norman Rockwell paint
ing* and Thr Waltons aside,
extended or immediate-fam
ily living arrangements like
this often contributed to a
"sense of belonging'* for the
parent, and brought in an
additional income source
(parent's Social Security
check! for the adult child
Hut that was then and tins
is now
Today, for example, peo
ple live longer Thanks to
modem medicine, the elder
ly can live on despite linger
ing or debilitating illnesses.
This arguably can pul a
financial burden on a family
that could otherwise survive
»ls monetary' pressures In
addition, many adult chil
dren of nursing-home
hound parents do not have
the necessary living space,
let alone medical expertise,
lo accommodate a health
care-needy parent within
the home
Hut warm luxate* and
monetary realities will
always fall victim lo the
human trend of bending (he
rules.
Proponents say the Med
icaid plan would allow
states lo curtail the practice
of wealthy individuals
transferring their assets lo
their children in order lo
qualify lor Medicaid
Didn't we learn to play
fair when we were children?
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UTTERS
Wasting resources
I would tike to encourage all
student* to become a warn of the
amount of paper product* we
wa*l« mich day
Specifically, I've observed
many time* that after people
wash their hand* in the bath
room* they tend to automati
cally — that >a. without thinking
— pull the paper towel lever
three or more time* Absent
mlndediy cranking out two feel
of paper to dry on# pair of hand*
is incredibly wasteful
We live in a society of wealth
and abundance, but that does
not mean that we should remain
oblivious when we are consum
ing more than we need
In addition to tmnlimiting the
amount of paper towel* land
napkin*) we use. we can also
bring out own paper, plastic, or
cloth grocery bag* to the store,
again practicing awareness of
our consumption
In my experience, once a per
*on gets used to reusing and
recycling materials, it tee time*
a natural and easy way of life
Student*, let's plana* be aware
of our consumption!
Dorothy Gppenbetmef
EngfUh
Ait?
After exiling lb# University's
Muwum of Fine Art a* rapidly
and a* pissed off as I could get .
I mil down with eeveral friend*
and triad to discuss the exhibit
I trustingly stumbled across
Somewhere on the upper lev
el* of the museum are several
glass-encased display* of over
used tampons ever-so-needy laid
out on white pillows with a
typed letter in a font so small
you have to put your face next
to the "art" to read it.
Pardon me if I leh the message
was not worth reading
Why is this kind of display
«omuiered art. and what kind of
message is being sent? Why on
««*rth did the artist wanna be fust
not crap on a pillow and name
it "injustice of humanity”?
It may have related to a larger
audience. Obviously, anal abun
dance is one of her more distinct
(rail* III worn her acquaintance.
I would avoid sharing any
went*.
Why don* the artist think thal
exposing a vitual image that
turn* oil more than il turn* on
will send a positive or support
ing message about the tribula
Hon* women deal with7
My family wa* coming to vis
it, and one of our stop* was
going to be the museum Not
anymore I am embarrassed lor
my culture
Valerie Stilwetl
vtoomaliam
Feeling puckish
When I left my home to Cana
da. I assumed that the transition
to American culture would be
smooth, and lor the most part it
was
tHiring my I'irsl American
autumn. I ncperuei: ed only mild
palpitation* caused bv cultural
ankiety Alter all, 1 had to adjust
to watered down beer and tile
without Ike kitty Night — a Sat
urday night Canadian institu
tion
Not uniil mid January did I
experience my fire! real shocker
of cultural difference* Lo and
behold, it happened on a Satur
day night, watching hockey on
Fox television
I betaine t*ary-«yed with no*
talgia. as Fox was showing the
NHL all star game
The event is popular and
entertaining in spite of its goofy
celebrity context (i.*. hockey
players do not respond well to
questions by awkward sports
festers who attempt to be funny
while displaying an obvioua lack
of knowledge about the game).
My rapture was quickly rup
tured though, when I saw that
there was a large purple glowing
diac in the place where the puck
used to be.
If someone fired a shot or
mad# a pass, the disc trans
formed into a long, red comet.
I blinked hard, but it didn’t go
away Fox was using new tech
nology — a computer chip
inside (he puck — to enhance
viewer pleasure of the world’s
fastest game
Well, I watched the game; I
watched a native of Quebec,
Raymond Bourque, acore the
game winner in hit “home
town" of Hutton
Soon I will go home and tit
around with my friends on a Sat
urday night, clutching strong
beer and watching Hockey
Night
I hiring intermission (we don't
talk while the game ia under
way!. one of them might ask me
what it's like to live in the States
and I will tell them about the
mysterious purple disc and
enchanting red comet that Fox
t elevision is using to attract new
fans to hockey in America
They will say: "If it takes stu
pid tricks like that to promote
the game, then maybe it's time
to send it back to where it is
appreciated, eh!"
Kristian Olsen
Graduate Journalism
Questionable politics
The Oregon Supreme Court
should he applauded fee it* unan
imous din ision Jan !», which
derailed the legislature's S750
million funding tall that includ
ed Portland's latest light mil bid
By doing so, the court upheld
the integrity of the Oregon Con
stitution and allowed us time to
review less costly transportation
options for our state
The bill was unconstitutional
because It violated the "single
subject" rule
That rule protects us from the
kind of horse trading for votes
that apparently went on in
Salem last summer. Pesticide
laws, shooting-range noise, cor
morant protection end other
related sublets were “log
rolled" into one bill with trans
portation funding.
What came io be known as the
"Christmas tree bill" was, in real
ity. politics at its moot crass. The
court, to its credit, put a stop to
it The rule will make for clean
er politics in a stale that pndes
Itself on such things.
Steve Bucks tern
President. Cascade
Pokey Institute
Portland