Opinion
A4
Saturday, August 28, 2021
OUR VIEW
New taxes
on the
horizon
O
ut of the spotlight, a task force is crafting a
plan to make Oregon the fi rst state with a
single-payer health care system.
Remember, Oregon Democrats control the state
Legislature and the governor’s offi ce. So, at least
for now, yes this is coming. And the plan is for new
taxes to pay for it.
New payroll tax. New personal income tax. And
maybe a new sales tax.
Single payer is what some people call in short-
hand: Medicare for all. A single government agency
takes responsibility for fi nancing health care for all.
Everybody would be on the same insurance plan
and have access to the same services.
It could help fi x some problems by making
health care more equitable and accessible to more
people. There might be better cost control and lower
administrative costs. More health care dollars could
also be targeted toward preventive medicine.
Trade-off s? There would be trade-off s. In other
countries with such systems, there can be long
wait times. Some procedures that people may feel
are necessary may not be covered. And, of course,
wealthier people will still fi nd ways to get access to
care that others cannot.
Would Oregonians be happier and healthier
under single payer? Would quality of care improve?
Would it be easier to fi ght a pandemic? We hope the
answers are yes, yes and yes.
Among the challenges with creating such a
system are paying for it, uncoupling health insur-
ance from employment and getting people to sup-
port it. The Legislature just granted the task force
another year to come up with its plan. The task
force meets again this week.
We’re going to focus on the tax proposals under
consideration.
The task force’s interim report to the Legisla-
ture said it could mean additional taxes. In fact the
report says: “The Task Force recommended funding
the Plan with a combination of a new payroll tax,
an increase in the personal income tax, and the cre-
ation of a sales tax. …
“Payroll tax will apply a fl at rate on wages up
to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)
limit (currently about $138,000, subject to annual
increase), and higher rates on income over the
FICA limit.” The exact rate is not specifi ed. That
tax would be assessed on employers, though it may
have an impact on employees, of course.
The report doesn’t give a hint of how much pay-
roll taxes may go up. It does suggest the increase
would apply to households to a threshold income
of 300% of the federal poverty level. That’s about
$79,000 a year for a family of four. There may be
a new, higher tax bracket set for higher income
earners.
And the report says, if there is a determina-
tion that more revenue is needed, there would be a
sales tax on all goods and services except “essen-
tial” things such as groceries and utilities. The state
would also establish a refundable sales tax credit to
ease the burden on low-income families.
Most of us have more immediate worries than
how this single-payer plan would work. But your
government is hatching it right now.
Task force members say they are worried that
they hear from some organizations that track their
work. They say they aren’t hearing from the gen-
eral public. So the plan to fundamentally redesign
how health care works in Oregon is being designed
without input from the general public. What is the
task force going to do to change that?
LETTERS
Sheriff : I am dismayed with
your mudslinging
I was dismayed to read Union
County Sheriff Cody Bowen’s
letter to Gov. Brown.
Sheriff , I would (and I speak as
someone who supported your can-
didacy for sheriff ) say that you
have overstepped your role, and
revealed a misunderstanding of
your job by making a political and
religious statement as sheriff and
on county letterhead.
Your election most defi nitely
did not give you the right to speak
for “we the people of Union
County.” Your statements do not
refl ect my opinions, nor those of
many county residents.
You certainly have a right to
hold the opinions you express in
your screed against Gov. Brown.
But you should hold and express
those opinions as a private citizen,
not as an offi cial elected to a sup-
posedly non-political offi ce.
Finally, I resent your invoca-
tion of “God-given rights.” Such
speech is deeply problematic.
Whose God? Do other gods beside
the one you believe in have the
power to grant rights? Do people
who don’t believe in God have the
same rights as those who do? We
live in a country that expressly
separates church and state, and to
link civil rights to religious belief
is a dangerous path to start down.
Cody, there is absolutely no
reason for you to engage in this
kind of mudslinging in your role
as sheriff . Your job, at the most
basic level, is not to make policy
but to enforce the laws that express
public policy. Do your job (which
is challenging enough) and leave
the politics to the politicians.
If you ever want to have a con-
versation about this issue, I would
be happy to engage with you.
David Moyal
La Grande
Governor is sensible and
courageous
My youngest child grew up
in the age of school lockdowns.
Unarmed civilians were dropping
like fl ies in the wake of massacres
spawned by Second Amendment
extremists. Our new governor,
Kate Brown, stood up to them and
spoke out for sensible restrictions
on insanely lethal weapons in the
hands of anybody who wanted
them.
From that point on, nothing she
says or does will go uncriticized
by people without enough gump-
tion to pause and refl ect on what
life in America has become. Who
is the true courageous hero in this
bizarre new world?
Mary Cooke
Cove
Sheriff Bowen following in
questionable footsteps of his
predecessor
Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen, having won the November
2020 general election after his
only opponent withdrew due to
ethics allegations, now feels he
has a mandate to speak for all the
people of Union County. After
seven months as sheriff , he is a now
an expert on matters from public
school administration to epidemi-
ology, and a legal scholar on the
Constitution (“Bowen takes aim
at Brown, mask mandates,” The
Observer, Aug. 17).
Bowen cites “calls to his offi ce
from the community” as his reason
for writing Gov. Brown. Who
exactly were these calls from? Did
Bowen solicit any other opinions?
Did he do a county-wide survey?
For that matter, what authority does
a county sheriff have to involve
himself in matters such as public
health and school district policy?
Aside from the content, the tone
of his letter was beyond unprofes-
sional. It betrays an immaturity
that is astonishing, even given his
relative youth and inexperience.
And the fact Bowen used county
resources, and his position as a law
enforcement offi cer, to advance his
own personal political viewpoint
certainly raises ethical questions.
The obvious intent of such a letter
is to intimidate those with opposing
views; he appears to be following
in the questionable footsteps of his
predecessor.
In the future, Bowen should
spend his time focusing on law
enforcement and keep his own
political views separate from
his professional life. Union
County deserves a sheriff who is
nonpartisan.
Matt Cooper
La Grande
If you don’t like masks, get
vaccinated
Gov. Brown is not responsible for
reinstating mask requirements. We
are. Last year, masks and vaccina-
tions brought infection rates down
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
Sheriff ’s letter to governor
may warrant ethics
investigation
This letter is written about
Sheriff Bowen’s letter to Gov.
Brown. The letter he wrote to the
governor about mask-wearing man-
dates states his opinion as far as I
can tell. He is entitled to it. He does
not speak for all the citizens of
Union County. He does not speak
for me. Nor should he assume he
can do so.
In reading his job description,
which can be found in the Oregon
Public Law Statutes, it looks like
he went beyond the purview of
his job. His responsibilities are to
uphold the law. He chose to state
his opinion, infer or extend that
opinion over all the people in the
county, and use public resources
and monies to do so.
There are many legitimate con-
cerns on both sides of the mask-
wearing mandate. COVID and
mask-wearing issues concern all of
us, our families’ safety, and each of
our responsibilities to protect our-
selves and others. Plus, keeping
our health resources available to
us all and keeping businesses open
depends on mask wearing and
distancing.
That all said, the sheriff ’s
actions could be an ethics issue
to say the least, and a violation of
using public monies for personal
use. Further investigation is needed.
Joy Cleaver
La Grande
STAFF
SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
You can save up to 55% off the single-copy
price with home delivery.
Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe.
dramatically. Masks mandates
were removed. And then?
Unvaccinated populations
allowed a more transmittable
variant to evolve and spread rap-
idly, again over-running hospitals.
Now everyone must mask again.
Don’t like masks? Get
vaccinated.
Many in Union County masked
last winter, got vaccinations
and yet must mask again. Why?
Because anti-vaccers, COVID
deniers, mask phobics, individual
rights extremists and alternative
medicine advocates are COVID
vectors. It’s time for individuals to
put common good over personal
ideologies/choice.
Unvaccinated residents, not
Gov. Brown, are responsible for
forcing business closures, activity
cancellations, mask mandates, even
sickness and death.
Mary McCracken
Island City
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
(except postal holidays) by EO Media Group,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
(USPS 299-260)
The Observer retains ownership and copyright
protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising
copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may
not be reproduced without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT © 2021
Phone:
541-963-3161
Toll free (Oregon):
1-800-781-3214
Email:
news@lagrandeobserver.com
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Observer,
911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
Regional publisher. ...................... Karrine Brogoitti
Multimedia journalist.........................Alex Wittwer
Regional circulation director .................. Kelli Craft
Home delivery advisor ............... Amanda Fredrick
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ...........Juli Bloodgood
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter............................................Davis Carbaugh
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Intern ...................................................Carlos Fuentes
Page design .......................................... Martha Allen
A division of