Opinion
A4
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
OUR VIEW
We can fi x
food insecurity
M
ore people across the region and
locally are utilizing food banks and
that means those facilities need as
much help as they can get from area residents.
The average number of people who accessed
fresh food services jumped by 28% in April and
May, and there was a 23% increase in fresh food
box demand across Baker, Grant, Union and
Wallowa counties.
While statistics tell only part of the story, the
tale they do reveal is troubling. The apparent
causes of the rise in services are infl ation and the
sudden evaporation of federal COVID-19 relief
funds.
Finding the cause, though, is only the fi rst step.
The next move is to discover how to alleviate the
need. Regional food banks receive regular ship-
ments from the Oregon Food Bank along with
local donations. The state food bank deliveries
are supplemented by fresh produce donations
from local stores and farmers.
Citizens and residents who can, though, need
to do more to help. That means fi nding ways to
donate more food on a regular basis to area food
banks.
We’ve lamented food insecurity on a regular
basis on this page — in a nation as rich as ours
we believe no one should go hungry. We also
believe that local problems are best solved at the
local level. We have a great capacity locally to fi x
even the most complex problems, to overcome
even the most diffi cult problems.
Our region is rich in people who care about
one another and we should be able to address the
rise in the need for food in a proactive way.
That means all of us can do our part. A simple
donation, if possible, to a local food bank can
make a diff erence to a family or individual who is
food insecure.
Volunteering to assist a local food bank or
some other organization that is working to alle-
viate food insecurity is another good way to help
make a diff erence.
We can all work together to support our local
and regional food banks and to lend a helping
hand.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the
opinion of The Observer editorial
board. Other columns, letters and
cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of The Observer.
LETTERS
• The Observer welcomes letters
to the editor. We edit letters for
brevity, grammar, taste and legal
reasons. We will not publish con-
sumer complaints against busi-
nesses, personal attacks against
private individuals or comments
that can incite violence. We also
discourage thank-you letters.
• Letters should be no longer than
350 words and must be signed and
carry the author’s name, address
and phone number (for verifi -
cation only). We will not publish
anonymous letters.
• Letter writers are limited to one
letter every two weeks.
• Longer community comment
columns, such as Other Views,
must be no more than 700 words.
Writers must provide a recent
headshot and a one-sentence
biography. Like letters to the
editor, columns must refrain from
complaints against businesses or
personal attacks against private
individuals. Submissions must
carry the author’s name, address
and phone number.
• Submission does not guarantee
publication, which is at the discre-
tion of the editor.
SEND LETTERS TO:
letters@lagrandeobserver.com
or via mail to Editor, 911 Jeff erson
Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
YOUR VIEWS
Medical debt is leading
cause of personal
bankruptcy in the USA
Thank you for opening a con-
versation about universal health
care for all Oregonians (“Being
up-front about cost of uni-
versal health care,” June 23, The
Observer).
As you stated, the benefi ts are
many: freedom from medical debt
and bankruptcy, lower overall
costs, inclusion of vision, hearing,
and dental care, freedom to choose
any provider, freedom from insur-
ance hassles, and freedom from
health care access worries. The
question of how we pay for all
of this is a good and important
question.
First, let’s look at what the
costs are now. Recent data (2020)
showed that health care cost per
capita in the USA was $12,000; the
average cost for comparable coun-
tries was $5,800. We are already
spending more money than any
other country, and it’s not because
we are getting twice as much
health care.
Most of us know someone who
cannot aff ord needed health care
or prescription medications, or are
uninsured due to high insurance
premiums. Most Americans (93%)
do not believe they are getting
good value for all this spending,
and an estimated 44% of American
adults struggle to pay for health
care (West Health/Gallup poll,
March 31,2022).
Medical debt is the leading
cause of personal bankruptcy in
the USA, while health insurance
corporations are making billions in
profi ts, with an increasing share of
those profi ts coming from our tax
dollars.
This fragmented, broken system
is unsustainable and big change
is needed. The Joint Task Force
on Universal Health Care has
been working on developing the
Health Care for All Oregon Plan
since 2019. This group continues
to listen to public input to develop
a plan that will be aff ordable
while providing health care to all
Oregonians.
The proposed tax structures
are progressive, ensuring much
greater equity in health care costs.
Increases in income tax are very
unlikely to even come close to the
high costs that families are now
paying.
Universal health care will pro-
vide many freedoms, and all free-
doms have costs. I believe Ore-
gonians will agree and take a
leadership role once again. Join
us at Health Care for All Oregon,
www.hcao.org.
Cheryl Campbell
Imbler
Prove citizenship to vote
in this country
Voting is central to a healthy
democracy. I believe voting is not
only a right, but the duty of every
citizen. Common sense tells me we
must require all citizens to show
proof of citizenship before they
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
STATE SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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.
are allowed to cast their ballot.
Furthermore, they must show
proof that they live where they are
voting. Common sense also tells
me this must not be an onerous or
restrictive process. Voter and elec-
tion fraud are already serious crim-
inal off enses. Making it onerous for
citizens to provide the necessary
proof required for voting must also
be prosecuted as serious off enses.
We can get next-day delivery
of almost anything we want to
buy. We can put men on the moon.
Surely we can make a simple,
quick and effi cient way for any cit-
izen to provide the proof necessary
for voting. This is the challenge,
but we can solve it. This is where
our focus needs to be. Avoiding the
problem is not the solution.
Some would argue that if people
pay taxes then they should be
allowed to vote. I disagree. People
who live in this country already
get the services (police, fi re, roads,
schools, etc.) that they paid for
with their taxes. Citizenship and
voting are separate issues.
Citizenship is about defi ning
the country that we belong to,
not simply living in that country.
That’s why we let citizens living
abroad vote, because they belong
to this country. That’s the diff er-
ence. You must belong to vote.
Let’s face it, unions would not
want nonunion workers to vote in
their union elections. It’s the same
thing. You must be a citizen to vote
in this country.
James P. Elliott
Bend
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 © 2022
Phone:
541-963-3161
Regional publisher ....................... Karrine Brogoitti
Home delivery adviser.......... Amanda Turkington
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ..................... Kelli Craft
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter...........................................Isabella Crowley
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Reporter..........................................Shannon Golden
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
A division of