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Struggling to sell out America
(Wwkfi'txm
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
■ uUR OPINION: The only budget battle
actually fought this year was to see which
party could do more to help corporations
Isn’t imagery fun? Words like “battle,” “war,”
“trenches” and “attacks” have dominated dis
cussion of the latest round of federal budget
negotiations, both in the press and in Con
gress. Our brave legislators, along with President
Clinton, have been fighting the good fight, stand
ing up for what they believe in and finally coming
up with a wonderful compromise.
It sounds a little too good to be true. In this
case, it isn’t, and that is the really scary thing.
Clinton and the vast majority of Congress, espe
cially GOP leaders, have indeed been fighting the
good fight — in their little world. This is the prob
lem. Despite all the war imagery, Clinton and Re
publican leaders are pretty much in agreement
about where this country should be going. Unfor
tunately, they all have us heading in the wrong di
rection.
The Congressional budget battle has been more
of a Congressional budget back massage, with
Clinton rubbing a few of the right spots on the Re
publican agenda and GOP members returning the
favor. Clinton got what he wanted — a tax break
for college tuition — and Congress got their capi
tal gains tax cut. Political treats for which both
groups can claim credit.
Both groups strove to achieve essentially the
same thing: a balanced budget that helped busi
ness leaders, increased military spending, ignored
the needs of the poor and provided inadequate
funding for needed social services. And they got
it.
A lot has been written about Clinton’s shift to
the right and the abandonment of liberal values
by most Democrats. This is certainly a concern,
and it is certainly true. Equally notable, Republi
cans seem to have abandoned both their staunch
social conservativism and libertarian economic
stances in favor of a corporate welfare approach to
politics.
What the great budget battle really came down
to was a race by both parties to see who could lick
corporate America’s boots the cleanest. Capital
gains cuts benefit only those who have money to
invest in the first place. Tuition credits are only
useful to those who have the social and financial
security to send their children to college in the
first place. And very few people in America will
inherit estates worth between $600,000 and $1
million, now exempt from taxes.
Rhetoric about budget battles and hard-fought
negotiations only served to mask the reality of the
sellout taking place in Washington. Corporations
paid heavily to have a share of the political
process during the 1996 elections, and now they
are reaping the rewards.
Military spending is up at a time when the Pen
tagon has enough spare time to concoct impossi
ble scenarios involving fighting two separate wars
at once. Spending on science, infrastructure, envi
ronmental protection and welfare is being cut or
left at inadequate levels.
Why? Because military spending represents the
single greatest source of corporate welfare in exis
tence. Defense contractors regularly cheat the gov
ernment out of millions, make billions more man
ufacturing weapons and then make still more
billions with overseas sales of weapons designed
with U.S. money.
The consistent pattern of spending and tax cuts
established by both sides of the budget deal indi
cates who the real adversaries in this battle.are:
corporations and the American people.
Corporations, with deeper pockets and more
political savvy, clearly won this unspoken battle.
While Clinton, Congress and the press were busy
making a wrestling match out of an orgy, corpo
rate America was quietly beating the people into
submission.
Until ideas that might truly benefit the average
citizen are brought to the table, the budget making
process will continue to be little more than a
“thank you” feast held by the government to hon
or their corporate sponsors.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emer
ald editorial board. Responses may be sent to
ode@oregon. uoregon. edu.
LETTERS
Abuse can be prevented
During the Lane County Domestic
Violence Council’s last meeting,
members discussed ways of prevent
ing the tragic death of Tessalyn
O’Cull. When a child dies, the whole
community mourns, especially if the
death is due to senseless violence.
The question everyone asks now is
“Could this death have been prevent
ed?” Sadly, the answer is yes.
Research shows that in most cases
of domestic violence, child abuse is
also occurring. The Domestic Vio
lence Council believes that earlier re
porting and more thorough investiga
tions could prevent tragedies like
Tessalyn’s murder.
There was evidence that Stella
Ann Kiser, Tessalyn’s mother, had
been a victim of abuse by Compton.
On May 30 the police responded to a
call from Kiser’s brother that he sus
pected abuse of his sister due to sev
eral bruises and hair pulled out. The
police found no evidence of abuse.
Within a week, Tessalyn was dead. A
restraining order taken out by Comp
ton’s previous girlfriend is further ev
idence of his violence. It said that
Compton threw heavy objects at the
girlfriend while she was holding her
child and spanked the child when he
was upset with the mother. We must
find a way to put these seemingly
disconnected pieces of evidence to
gether to form a picture of a child’s
level of danger.
Domestic violence is a crime
which hurts the woman, her chil
dren, and all members of the commu
nity. The Domestic Violence Council
encourages members of the commu
nity to report suspected domestic vi
olence to the police or to call Wom
enspace’s crisis line (485-6513) for
more information. That one call
could save the life of the next child.
Evelyn Anderson
Womenspace Executive Director
on behalf of the 40 members of the Lane
County Domestic Violence Council
Ill IMS
To Governor
Kitzhaber:
The governor
took a strong
stand in favor of
assisted suicide j
legislation. Not
only is it ad
mirable to see a
politician taking a j
stance on a con
troversial political i
issue, but it’s also I
nice to see
Kitzhaber rejecting j
the Legislative
trend of sending
such issues back j
to the voters. We
know what we
voted on, and if
we didn’t, we
aren't going to
learn.
To the Rocky
Mountain Colle
gian:
Despite a flash
flood in Fort
Collins, the Col
orado State Uni
versity paper still
managed to put
out a four-page is
sue mere days af- j
ter the flood. The
paper’s entire fa
cilities were de
stroyed in the
rushing waters,
and the staff is
now publishing
out of a trailer.
To Hyundai:
Even though the
agreement be
tween Lane County j
and Eugene to only j
charge the compa- j
ny $19 million de- j
mands far too little l
of Hyundai, the
company is still
suing to avoid pay- j
ing.
To the cigarette
girls at “The Big
Stink”:
Not only did the
94.7 concert in Es
tacada feature too j
much heat and too
few songs by the
rare good band,
but it also blatantly )
exploited several
women. Dressed
in bizarre, shiny,
short skirts and
tiny, tight dresses, j
these poor wage
slaves were busy
pitching cigarettes
at a concert domi- j
nated by high
school students.