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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1996)
\ MONDAY: Opinion TUESDAY: Politics WEDNESDAY: Opinion THURSDAY: Politics FRIDAY: Opinion a voter’s guide to the 1996 election and life on the campaign trail Do you think minor party candidates should be excluded from televised debates? Let us know. ISSUE: WORK INCENTIVE Question: Do you favor providing tax incen tives for companies to hire and train home less people who want to work? “By creating partner ships between the fed eral government and lo cal communities, small businesses and ordi nary citizens, we can re new economic activity in our disadvantaged ”—“ urban and rural areas. My empowerment zone initiative offers $3.5 billion in tax incentives and flexible block grants to encourage new private investment in 104 economically distressed communities across America." —President Bill Clinton Democratic candidate “The fundamental fo cus of welfare reform must be the promotion of work and personal responsibility. State governments, local communities, churches and charitable organiza — tions can often be effec tive in addressing the poverty problem. The federal government must give these institu tions the tools they need to get the jobs done." —Bob Dole Republican candidate "The tax code shouldn't be filled with provisions for every different cause. Businesses should recruit and train the homeless who are I capable of work. This should be part of a laroe movement of business es moving into the inner cities and offering new opportunities to the urban poor." —Ross Perot Reform Party candidate SOURCE: Associated Press The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Fri day during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with of fices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. Editor-In-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor Jennifer Carter Night Editor Jennifer Carter Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Jean Bond Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger. editor Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Kristine Sohnrey. editor. Tamyra Howser, m depth. Beniamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Brian Diamond. Larry Haftl, Sonja Sherwood Politics: Shana Cohn, editor Doug Irving Special Projects: Tiffany Smith Student Activities: Kristin Bailey, editor Angie Suchy. Tom Potter Sports: Mark McTyre, editor. Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen. Ryan Frank. Ryan Haivorsen Copy Desk: Thom Schoenbom. copy chief Trevor Kearney. Sarah Kickier. Mike Schmierbach. Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Cosmos Corbin, Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bunik. Amanda Enckson, Sean Harding. Shannon Kilduff. Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler. direc tor General Manager. Judy Riedl Advertising Becky Merchant, director. Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Marco Ching. Yujin Chi. Matt Johnson, Anne Miller. Tnna Shana man, Rose Soil. Matt Solomon. Greg Walsh Classified: Tara Sloan, manager Natasha Lumpkin. Debbie Levy, Heather Moye Production: Michele Ross, manager. Ingrid White, coordinator. Shawna Abeie. Laura Daniel. Susan Head.Trevor Kearney,Tara Knight. Meiissa Lebahn, Mnlly McCanta, Allison Stormo, Mike Young Business: Kathy Carbone, supervisor Judy Connolly Distribution: John Long, David Lee Newsroom.(541)346-5511 Display Advertising.(541) 346-3712 BpstepstOffice,....(5*1) 346 55V . Classified Advertising...(541)346-4343 History professor runs for U.S. Senate ■ ELECTION: The Socialist believes in putting dignity and democracy over profit By Doug Irving Politics Reporter The Socialist Party of Oregon needed an articulate candidate fortheU.S. Senate. So they chose University his tory Professor Christopher Phelps. “They wanted somebody who would be able to speak clearly and persuasively in the debates up against the major candidates,” he said. "1 am pret ty established in the progressive activist circles." Phelps, 31, has been political ly active since his undergradu ate days at Reed College in Port land, where he helped organize anti-Apartheid protests. In the course of that work he came to see himself as a Socialist. “I realized that a social sys tem that puts profit above hu man dignity, racial equality, democracy and those sorts of things were not attractive to me,” he said. “That’s what made me a critic of capitalism. ” Phelps said a Socialist ad ministration would help stu dents by improving their quali ty of life outside the University. Students in the job market would find more and better em ployment under a Socialist sys tem, he said. The future of students is bound up with the future of the rest of the population, he said. “We see the problems that the University faces... as connected NORMAN MESMAN/Emerald Socialist history Professor Chris Phelps is a critic of capitalism. to larger social questions,” he said. “(We want] a society in which decent employment is guaranteed.” Socialism would also offer Oregonians something more de mocratic than anything now in place, he said. “What you have now is gov ernment of, by and for the rich, and it’s literally run by rich peo ple,” he said. “And that has a distorting effect on all sorts of policy questions.” For example. Phelps said the national deficit is “totally artifi cial.” It could be solved within a year by cutting the military bud get, removing corporate tax loopholes and increasing tax rates on the rich to the levels they were at in the 1950s, he ex plained. Despite his strong beliefs, Phelps realizes his election chances are slim. “We don’t have much of a chance of winning,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the qual ity of our thoughts or values. It has everything to do with the distribution of power in this so ciety.” Phelps said his campaign has faced opposition because of bi ases and assumptions about the Socialist Party. He was disap pointed to discover he wouldn’t be included in the Senatorial debates with Democratic candi date Tom Bruggere and Repub lican Gordon Smith. “Unless our campaign to get them to change their disposi tion succeeds, we’ll be out,” he said. “We won’t be included. Neither myself nor the Libertar ians, nor the Reform Party can didate, nor the Pacific Party. ” As a University professor, Phelps said he sees himself more as an intellectual than a politician. While at the Univer sity, he wrote his master’s the sis about Sidney Hook, a New York intellectual and pragma tist philosopher. In the 1930s, Hook was a Marxist philoso pher, but became an anti-Com munist during the Cold War. “There have been a lot of So cialist historians,” Phelps said. “A lot of those people made the mistake of trying to derive sim ple examples from history to fit their political needs. I take a lot of the lessons about how to do good history into politics. The world complicates your thoughts frequently and you need to adjust your thinking to meet it.” A look at some of the 26 ballot measures in this November's election THE MEASURE 37 WHAT IT WOULD DO Under current law, consumers and dealers pay deposits and receive refunds on all beer and car bonated beverage containers. The measure would broaden the law to include a deposit on any liquid drink intended for humans, with the exception of dairy products or substitutes, dis tilled spirits or liquor or wine with over 8 percent alcohol. Measure requires refunds for containers of: ■ Beer, malt beverages or carbonated drinks of any size. ■ Non-carbonated drinks, other than water, from six ounces to one liter. ■ Water, up to two liters. ARGUMENTS FOR Sales of new beverages not cov ered under the current Bottle Bill, such as Snapple and Fruitopia, are growing by 30 percent each year. These containers represent a waste of resources and landfill space. The first Bottle Bill enacted in 1971 reduced roadside litter by over 80 percent. Glass bottles cov ered under the Bottle Bill are recy cled at a rate of 93 percent, while only 28 percent of non-deposit containers are. ARGUMENTS AGAINST The measure would result in added labeling, handling and regulatory costs and impose millions of dollars in higher costs on manufacturers, retail ers and eventually consumers. It would undermine the cur rent deposit-and-return sys tem and Oregon’s recycling programs. Other arguments: Wouldn’t significantly increase recycling; curbside programs are more convenient for con sumers; and could cause legal problems for store owners and restaurants. THE MEASURE WHAT IT WOULD DO Would prohibit livestock in certain waters in Oregon, and on adjacent land, until the state de velops permanent plans to clean up each river. Livestock wouldn't be allowed in waters that don’t meet state water quality standards and where they would contribute to poor water quality. Measure applies to state, federal and private waters and land. Would possibly impact 10 to 15 percent of Oregon’s 114,000 miles of streams, rivers and lake shoreline. On private lands, the law would be phased in over 10 years depending on land ownership and type of habi tat affected ARGUMENTS FOR Livestock grazing is a major source of water pollution and damage to streamsides. Measure would help clean up polluted water and restore streams and salmon habitats. People need clean streams for a safe, healthy water supply and for recreation such as swimming and boating. ARGUMENTS AGAINST The measure would be costly for ranchers and dairy farm ers. Grazing helps stream bank vegetation growth, which in turn reduces soil erosion. Vol untary measures are already effective. . . . SOUBCtS TiifcWawtm CotUoi tat PuMc Uadt mdttourt Rwoutok, Oreyw Sale Public IntourtfiMwmv&pw, Aimrtaasintii.. tnrimon-.., rw-,. r,m
