Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2006)
Think Again • EE R F By Tim Nesbitt Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication The ABCs of our health care crisis W e have more jobs in Oregon than ever before. We also have more Oregonians without health in- surance than ever before. Maybe this is why pollsters report that health care has supplanted jobs and education as the Number One concern of Oregonians. Our health care crisis is two-fold. Too many people don’t have insur- ance, and those who have it are pay- ing more than they can afford in pre- miums, co-pays and deductibles. These two problems are connected, and they’re both problems that our government is going to have to solve. The jobs problem was different. Three years ago, politicians argued over the best ways to grow jobs and help Oregon climb out of the reces- sion, even though there was not a lot that the state could do to accelerate the pace of economic recovery in the short term. Some efforts helped at the margins. Gov. Kulongoski’s trans- portation package is producing the jobs that he promised. But, we gained jobs largely because of forces beyond the control of state government. Yet, the same market forces that produced most of the new jobs during the past three years encouraged em- ployers to strip those jobs of health benefits or shift more of their health care costs to their workers. Employ- ers like Wal-Mart gain an economic advantage over their competitors, like Fred Meyer and Safeway, by chisel- ing on health benefits. The market is rewarding bad employers for doing the wrong thing and penalizing good employers for doing the right thing. This is why, for the almost two mil- lion Oregonians who get their health care from a job, the trends are not our friends. And this is why we need our government to step in. Look at how our population is di- vided by health care coverage. For every 100 Oregonians: A Rewarding Job Serving Working Families in Oregon Union Plus Mortgage is HIRING! 503.449.6994 Korean War Veterans organization is looking for new members. The group meets the 4th Tuesday each month (March 28), at noon at Milwaukie Elks Lodge, 13121 SE McLoughlin Blvd. For more information, call Max Loucks at 503-286-1464 PAGE 10 52 get their health care coverage from their jobs or a family member’s job. 17 have no health insurance. 11 are disabled or poor enough to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan. 15 are seniors covered by Medicare. 5 pay for their own health insur- ance. Category A is shrinking and Cate- gory B is growing as employers aban- don or reduce their support for health insurance. More than half of all Ore- gonians without health insurance come from households with a full- time worker. But Category C is shrinking too, because government is running out of money. And, as we pour more of our tax dollars into Cat- egory C, we tend to create more in- centives for employers to abandon their health plans and tell their work- ers to sign up for government bene- fits. This is why some Category C so- lutions are not sustainable. Gov- ernment pays more, employers pay less, and then government has to pay more again to make up for declining employer support. Given this scenario, we need to fo- cus on boosting employer coverage in Category A, which could potentially cut in half the number of uninsured in Category B. One way to do that is to require that all employers above a cer- tain size provide health care for their workers or pay into a state fund for health care. Another way: Govern- ment can help employers who provide good benefits by offering re-insurance against extraordinary catastrophic costs. But government needs to supple- ment employer efforts as well. We just need to be smarter about how we use our tax dollars in Category C. We could expand coverage for children, more than 100,000 of whom are with- out insurance from their working par- ents, by raising cigarette taxes to Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call broaden the Oregon Health Plan. Still, this idea, embraced by Kulon- goski and a number of state lawmak- ers, could encourage more employers and workers to abandon health insur- ance for children, which is why it’s at best a temporary safety net. California Congressman Pete Stark has a better idea: Expand Medicare (Category D, above) to cover all children. We could do this by increasing the Medicare payroll tax paid by employers and workers by one percent each. This would also help good employers who pay for full family coverage and reduce costs for working families who have to pay high premiums to cover their kids. If the federal government doesn’t do this, states can do it on their own. The Oregon AFL-CIO drafted such a plan three years ago, estimat- ing that a payroll tax of less two per- cent shared by employers and work- ers could guarantee health coverage for every child in Oregon. These are just steps on the road to universal health care. But they are fea- sible and effective in the short term, and they will prove that government can help solve our health care crisis. Plus, these steps lead logically to a more sustainable health care system in which employers finance health care for all working people and gov- ernment provides health care through Medicare-style programs for the non- working population of seniors, chil- dren, the disabled and the unem- ployed. Such a system will be cheaper (by reducing administrative costs), fairer (by requiring equal support from all employers) and better (by covering everyone). The only other alternative is Cate- gory E above: Pay for your own health insurance. Tim Nesbitt is a former president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Southgate Mobile & RV Park Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Send to: NW Labor Press, PO Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 503-288-5537 Spaces Available up to 35’ 503-771-5262 BUREAU OF LABOR & INDUSTRIES Principal Executive/Manager C Apprenticeship & Training Division Operations Manager Apprenticeship & Training Council and to various state, federal, and local governments. This person is also re- sponsible for establishing statewide industrial com- mittees as directed. Salary is $3,287-$4,840/month. For Announcement #LE060080 and to obtain an ap- plication packet, call 971-673-0783 (Portland) or visit www.oregonjobs.org. Closing date for all applications is March 20, 2006. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS • 15 words or less • Include address label from front page and telephone number • Sorry, we cannot accept ads over the telephone • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • Type or print legibly Classified ads MUST include area code on all phone numbers or they will not be published Automotive ’96 HONDA ODYSSEY EX, leather seats, 6 pass van, no sliding doors, sun roof, new tires, muffler & timing belt regularly maintained w/records, 209k miles, runs wonderfully, $4,900. 503 350- 0613 ’87 FORD BRONCO II, 4wd, as is, parts or you repair, $250. 503 629-5956 ’98 EXPLORER BLUE, XLT, 57k miles, $8,500; ’79 Tahiti, 454 Berkeley Jet, project, $3,500. 503 771-8823 FIBERGLASS TRUCK canopy, sliding windows, color match Chevrolet Indigo Blue, 58” x 75”, $325. 503 642-7627 MECHANIC SPECIAL, ’89 Ford Aerostar van, needs fuel pump, $450 OBO. 503 287-9788 ’76 JEEP J10 truck, 4x4, inline 6 cyl, nice runs good, $2,000 OBO. 503 231-1208 Housing OCEANFRONT VACATION rental, Rockaway Oregon, 3 bed, sleeps 8, all amenities, $175 night. 503 842-9607 MF HOME, Milwaukie, nice clean, dbl wide, 2 bed, 2 bath, low rent, quiet, 55+ park, $15,000. 503 654-5871 SEASIDE 2BED 1 bath, 1.5 blocks to ocean, sleeps 6, no smoking, no pets, available Spring Break, $95 nite. 503 667-4097 Wanted OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, levels, chisels, folding rules, handsaws, spoke shaves, slicks, adzes, tool chests. 503 659-0009 OLD LOGGING cross cut saws, old axes, wood- working hand tools, hammers. 503 819-3736 19’ FORD SPOKE wheels, must be straight. 503 762-3280 WOODEN CAROUSEL horse, call after 3 p.m., 7 days a week. 360 256-7810 matching chairs, ex shape, $135. 503 775-0379 Sporting Goods ’90 HERITAGE SOFTAIL, S & S carb – Python pipes, Crane Hi-4 Ing, Andrews EV-27 cam, nice bike. 503 257-7390 (leave message) RIGHT HANDED golf clubs, steel, reg flex, Hogan Apex H40 3-P, Cleveland TA5 3-5, $150 each. 503 259-2586 ’89 WINNEBAGO, 24’, good cond, 33k miles, new batteries/tires, $10,000 OBO. 503 648-5921 or email bob4bus@aol.com. ’84 BP 4 HORSE trailer, good cond, new tires, $3,500. 541 447-0409 ’85 HONDA ODYSSEY dune buggy, fully re- stored, dirt, sand tires, $2,995 or trade. 503 925- 1586 ’04 KAWASAKI 700V, 697cc automatic w/re- verse, must sell to buy new toy, $5,500. 503 774- 6289 Miscellaneous OLD BOOKS 1917 – 1900. 503 657-7058 CLOSED SHOP, Whitney Model 630 single sta- tion punch w/tooling, $8000; Cobra Alum weld- ing machine, w/or w/o Linde Power Souvie. 503 254-1087 RAT-A-POO puppies, ready 3/10, small & cud- dly, tri-colored, $350 each. 360 606-4775 EIGHT BUCKSKIN tanned deer hides, $10 each, all for $75. 503 598-8994 ORDER NOW, 2 m mini uncut Pigmy goats, ready 3/27/06, u-c $100 each, we cut, $245 each. 503 695-5819 PORTABLE BASKETBALL hoop, $75, resin table w/4 chairs, $25; 2 35 gal new plastic cans w/lids, $5 each. 503 653-1289 ELECTRIC HYDRAULIC press, $15. 503 252- 4151 12” RADIAL ARM saw, have extra blades, $250. 503 693-0694 DSS SATELLITE DISH, box and remote, make offer, Troutdale. 503-669-5324 For the Home LOVELY WING-BACK damask green chair, $35; white marble-top coffee table, $40. 503 665-5292 HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, 53h 55w up to 32” TV, call for description, $75. 360 254- 0368 NEW/USED FIBERGLASS insulation, R19, ap- prox 800 sf, take it all for $50 OBO. 503 629-0564 DINING TABLE, glass and brass, pedestal, 42”, 4 7911 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, Oregon 1638 NE Broadway, Portland The Portland office has an opening for an Operations Manager who will provide leadership to a team of pro- fessional Apprenticeship Representatives and motivate, coach, counsel, train, evaluate, and manage their per- formance. The Operations Manager is also responsible for supporting apprenticeship committees that oversee registered apprenticeship programs and providing technical support and education to the Oregon State BARGAIN COUNTER IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for...years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Retiring? Have questions? Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent/Tax Practitioner 503-697-7757 L EGAL P ROBLEMS ?? For $16 a month coverage includes: ❖ Unlimited toll-free phone consultation with attorneys. ❖ A comprehensive will with yearly updates is included. ❖ Representation for traffic tickets, accidents, criminal, and civil suits. ❖ Coverage on IRS tax audits. ❖ Divorce, child custody, bank- ruptcy and many more benefits.* THESE LEGAL SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY THE VERY BEST LAW FIRMS IN OREGON & WASHINGTON. * Some services not 100% covered For more information, call 503-760-2456 or toll-free at (888) 252-7930 www.prepaidlegal.com/info/randallnix MARCH 3, 2006
