State saves’money at its own
peril - and that of its citizens
Guest commentary
Save money? Good idea!
Let’s see, if I skip my regular car
maintenance for the rest of this year,
I can save, maybe, #60. Or how about
the roof that is starting to leak in that
one spot? Well, it’s going to stop rain
ing soon, and I can save #100 on a
patch job — next year is good
enough. Oh yes, the faucet in the
shower is leaking badly, but what the
heck, no need to call a plumber, I’ll
just close the door so I can’t hear it
and save another #80.
Sound familiar? Most of us have done
that kind of thinking at one time or an
other. But we usually find out, as the old
motor oil commercial said, that it’s,
“Pay me now or pay me (more) later.”
Many taxpayers in Oregon may
think it’s a good idea to save money by
skipping essential health services to
mentally ill individuals. But saving
money now may end up costing more
later—in dollars and human suffering.
For example: In February, the
state removed 290 people with men
tal illness from services that made it
possible for them to work, take care
of themselves and pay taxes. The var
ious programs that provided them
with employment opportunities, su
pervision, job training, on-the-job
visits, skills training and transporta
tion have ended.
Which part of our society is paying
the price while the state is saving
money? Hospitalization, homeless
ness, crime, and death exact differ
ent kinds of costs.
In February, the state also cut
medication and treatment for 3,700
children with mental illness or severe
emotional disturbance. Without the
medication and treatment, these
children are unable to function in the
community or succeed in school. In
addition, 132 non-Medicaid and 32
Medicaid Psychiatric Day Treatment
slots for children were eliminated.
All of these cuts deprived the chil
dren who were affected of access to
critical treatment in times of psychi
atric crisis. Costs will shift to
schools, the juvenile justice system
and in-patient care. The costs will
compound as these untreated chil
dren grow into adulthood.
Funding of community mental
health services for non-Medicaid
adults has been cut, denying treat
ment for 10,500 people with mental ill
ness. Most will no longer be able to
function in the community; those with
jobs are likely to be unable to keep
working and may end up being civilly
committed or may commit crimes.
That may already have happened
in some cases.
In all these instances, the state
“saved” money in the desperate at
tempt to re-balance the General
Fund budget because of decreased
tax revenues. It will continue to
“save” if the Legislature can’t find the
money pay for those services in the
coming biennium.
But at how much greater cost — to
the state and to the thousands of
mentally ill individuals who lost their
critically needed help — will those
savings come?
It’s as the commercial said: “Pay
me now or pay me later.”
State Senator Bill Morrisette,
D-Springfield, represents central Linn
and Lane counties, including the East
Campus neighborhood.
Unrealistic reality TV limits viewers
Guest commentary
Every weeknight, it’s the same
thing. I come home from classes,
search for something slightly enter
taining on television and find nothing,
much to my frustration. Instead, I find
garbage that is both despicable and in
sulting to me. How can a television
viewer not be revolted when reality TV
shows abound on network television?
It was once a clever concept, I admit.
“Survivor” was interesting enough, but
it has spawned cancerous knock-offs
like “Fear Factor” on NBC, “I’m a
Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!” on
ABC and “Scare Tactics” on Sci-Fi.
In shows like these, we watch ordi
nary people and washed-up celebri
ties be tortured mentally and physi
cally in a circus of sadism. Sorry, but I
really don’t find Robin Leech being de
prived of food or shelter in the middle
of the jungle entertaining. In the con
stant search for bigger shocks, the re
ality TV genre is on the fast track to
the deadly game show of the future
featured in the movie “RunningMan.”
Imagine turning on the television
sometime soon and finding “Gas
Chamber Challenge” or “Firing Squad
Trivia.” This trend insults the intelli
gence of the American viewer and
shows that humanity has not yet pro
gressed beyond the bloodthirsty rab
ble of the Roman coliseum.
Another branch of reality TV,
which is somewhat more sophisticat
ed but still insulting, is the “talent”
show genre, featuring shows like
“American Idol” and “Are You Hot:
The Search for America’s Sexiest
People.” To me, and perhaps others,
these “talent” shows seem more like
meat markets. The sadism of the
“Survivor”-type shows remains, but
it is mixed with dimwitted hosts, cold
judges exuding emotional cruelty
and mentally fragile but sexy con
testants. These shows are like Ed
McMahon’s (not Arsenio Hall’s) “Star
Search” turned on its head. I don’t re
call the old “Star Search” tarnishing
people’s dignity in front of millions. I
would be more sympathetic to the re
jected contestants, but these people
are usually jaded and narcissistic, so I
think they get their just desserts.
Reality TV and unimpressive sitcoms
have limited my nighttime viewing to
reruns of “The Simpsons,” some shows
of note on Comedy Central and recur
ring broadcasts of CNN. Even the usual
ly rowdy BBC coverage of the British
Parliament is more entertaining and
less predictable than reality TV!
Thanks to repugnant television, I’ve
been forced to expand my mind with
books, go out with friends more often,
and even to my surprise, study harder.
This result is perhaps the opposite of
the networks’ designs. Television was
once and could still be the technologi
cal altar of Americana, but because of
either the depravity of American view
ers or the desperation of networks, the
aura of the 20th century’s greatest in
vention has lost its former appeal.
Let’s hope that reality TV is a fad
in popular culture, like Westerns in
the ‘50s, and that we can all look back
one day and think, “Why did I watch
this crap?” Until that day comes, I
will be forced to study instead of re
laxing, and be tormented by irre
pressible catch phrases, such as
“America, you decide who makes it
to the next round” or “You have been
voted off the island!” Ironically, in
real life, one never has that option.
Steven Lockfield is a junior majoring
in history.
Letters to the editor
PPPM majors wrongly
'undeclared1 in ASUO
primary elections
The Department of Planning, Pub
lic Policy and Management, for those
of you who don’t know, is a division of
the School of Architecture and Allied
Arts and is located in Hendricks Hall. It
is a small school, with about 50 under
graduates. I represent these students,
and all AAA majors, on the ASUO Stu
dent Senate. And I feel compelled to
point out a great injustice that recently
happened to PPPM majors during the
recent ASUO primary elections.
During the primary elections that
took place April 9-11, PPPM majors, in
cluding myself, were forced to vote for
the “undeclared” seat, instead of the
AAA seat as they should have. Further
more, it appears as though this has
been a problem for a couple of years
now. A lazy elections board member a
couple of years ago decided not to both
er to look into what seat PPPM would
fit under (which would have taken min
imal effort) and decided instead just to
lump it in under “undeclared. ”
It is only a fluke that a PPPM major
even had a chance to represent AAA
this year, as I was appointed to this
seat. And I know of at least one PPPM
major who was denied that same right
for next year, as he was unable to run
an effective write-in campaign due to
the elections board mess-up. I hope
that future election boards will look
more closely when placing majors un
der senate seats so that no students
will be aggrieved like PPPM was in this
year’s ASUO primaries.
Eric Bailey
senior
PPPM and political science
Speaking out against
injustice is a duty
Early in the 19th century, abolition
ists protested contemporary thought
on race by challenging the “accepted”
practice of slavery. Some even defied
federal law and assisted fugitive slaves
in their flight to freedom along the Un
derground Railroad.
Later, men and women stood up to
the bosses, unionized, struck, faced
imprisonment and even died, with the
end result being the 40-hour work
week, minimum wage, laws prohibit
ing child labor, health care for workers
and general advancement of the con
cept that all people, not just the
wealthy, have a share in America.
In the ’50s and ‘60s, women and
men such as Rosa Parks and Martin
Luther King defied Jim Grow and the
Klan— and now, people of color, or
with Hispanic surnames, can attend
college right alongside their Anglo
counterparts.
Speaking out against perceived in
justice is not just a right, nor a mere
privilege abused by spoiled brats in the
age-old rebellion against mommy and
daddy, as some would have it; it is in
fact a duty. It can be said to be an inte
gral part of a broader humanistic cam
paign as well, and as such may thus be
far more responsible for real social
progress than any military action.
Perhaps, if either Salena De La Cruz
(“Majority Support,” ODE, March 31)
or the people in Bush’s war machine
had ever actually been in a war, they
might realize this, and thus not be so
quick to send others to die for a vague
cause — or to condemn those who
challenge the act.
Bill Smee
kiosk attendant
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