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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
Letters 2 WEÓNEsdAy, N ovemòer 1, 2000 Opinion All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less anJ considered for publication if submitted by I pm the Friday publication. Letters to the Editor are subject to editing. We re. right to not publish any letter. Major differences in presidential electio “Republicans buy Nader TV ads” was one headline on the front page of The Oregonian last Sat urday. If there if any doubt in your mind that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, fnese ads, produced by the Republican Leadership Coun cil, might cause you to re-think your choice of Nader, who ac knowledges he cannot win the 2000 presidential election. The race in Oregon is too close to call. The headline to con tinue the story was “Ads show attack on Gore while omitting (Nader’s) criticisms of Bush,” such as Nader’s statement that Bush is “a big corpora tion running for presi dent disguised as a per son.” Give The Oregonian credit for its straightforward headlines that reveal the open, unapologetic dis tortion of truth by the Republican campaign. Last week, Oregon’s largest daily newspaper gave Bush its nod. I reacted as did Carl Ehrman, of Lincoln City, who said, “So.....we should vote for George W. because he wasn’t as bad as expected, right?” I believe The Oregonian has chosen stylé over substance. I be lieve George W. is a good old boy like other Republicans already in Washington, D.C., the ones who have kept out of sight during the campaign and at the Republican convention, lest the public be re- waste of interest on debt? Bush would bestow a $1.3 trillion tax cut that would benefit the wealthiest Americans. With all the tax ben efits and loopholes available to the rich, I just don’t buy that they pay, proportionate to their real in come, the most taxes. During such unequalled pros perity in America, is this not the time to catch up with social ser- ices, especially education, that have been stalled and sacrificed to get the boom going? Even business is now paying the price for all the cuts to Sandy Lupo education. Opinion Editor Bush’s environ mental record in ing too much of their income to Texas has been abysmal, and the country, with tax loopholes and Houston has become the smoggi- special interest lobbying and pork est large city in America during barrel spending in Congress. It is Bush’s leadership. Gore exposed the middle class that needs some that Bush “appointed a lobbyist breaks. The parents struggling to from the chemical industry to en send their kids to college would force the environmental laws in receive tax credits under Gore’s Texas.” Isn’t that the proverbial budget plan. The parents who can fox in the henhouse? Global warm not afford private schools for their ing was stage center again this children would benefit from Gore’s week, when a scientists’ report out plan to spend $ 115 billion on edu of the United Nations concluded the cation, as opposed to Bush’s $48 Earth would get hotter than pre billion. Families who cannot afford dicted, with man-made pollution a health insurance, or care for their major factor. children and aging parents would Bush tries to frame his differ get help under Gore’s plan. Gore ences with Gore merely as a differ would eliminate the national debt ence in philosophy. Indeed, Bush is by 2012. Is there anyone who has for the rich getting richer, while the not felt the insidiousness and poor get poorer. Bush declares the minded that these are the national leaders who were totally against a Patients’ Bill of Rights six months ago; lest the public be reminded that these are the men who wish, like George W., to continue the practice of trickle-down econom ics, which have widened the gap between the rich and the poor, leav ing most of the people behind. Business and the rich are well protected from contribut- ReaAListen.ThinkJ Write. presidential race is a matter of values. Indeed, I value that Gore has spent 25 years in public service, while Bush has spent five. I value that Gore has stud ied long and hard to know the issues while Bush relies on scripted an swers to any ques tion. With so little knowledge and experience, I fear Bush will be just a pawn of the narrow minded, cold- hearted special interest Republican congress. If I must choose between the insufferable and the insufficient give me insufferable knowledge, please, over insufficient diligence. I value that Gore has been on the fore front of environmental and technol ogy issues. If Bush has increased business productivity In Texas, it has been at the cost of fairness to the people and responsibility to the Earth. His record there on educa tion, health care and a woman’s choice has been disgraceful. I value that Gore would protect a women’s right to choose. Like the right to have money of their own rather than be property, as they once were in America; like the right to vote, which finally gave women a voice in this country; like the right to birth control, which slowed the deaths of women forced toi child after child, or to turn to I to abort a child who would a wise be bom into poverty or al and even prevented some lovl marriages and abandonment I the right to equal pay for m work; the right to choice overPa own bodies was a hard-won 0 of women in this country, andl against any law that disadp tages an entire class of peowr not an entire class, I guess-vn women would still have the pas to choose. The next presidon appointment to the US Supro Court will determine soL progressfor decades to coil pray we do not choose Bush|U regression. Live, and choose by your ln light, but read, listen, think, p ptease vote. I ■| Halloween’s not over yet; Measures 8 and 93, trick or treat! 'la TAM OLIVER Feature Co-Editor Two more Constitutional amend ments might also come back to haunt us. Measure 8 has a unique way of delivering its knockout punch, as can be expected from the people who, in 1990, gave us Ballot Measure 5. This is the measure that created a lot of work for our legislators after it passed. It’s also the one that spent a lot of our tax dollars because itwas so poorly written that no one could figure out how to implement it. This is the one that had to be “fixed” sev eral times over the years to get it to work. Since it was a Constitutional amendment, every fix had to be voted on. Anyway, Measure 8 works by re stricting the amount of money the state can spend in its entire biennial budget to 15percent of the income Oregonians made in the last two years. In other words, no matter what the rate of inflation is, the state of Oregon is not going to keep up withit And the insidious part of the mea sure is that even though the amount the state government spends in- cludes money from the federal gov ernment, money from the upcoming tobacco settlement, federal univer sity grants for research, state fees and investments, Measure 8 figures the amount of all state spending on the income of Oregonians. So what might look like a small cut in the bud get is much larger. It would cut state funding by almost 20%, about 4.8 billion dollars in the 2001 -2003 bien nium. Additionally, it doesn’t spell out which services will receive the deep est cuts. It doesn’t cut income taxes. It does, however, put Oregon in the position of having to turn away hun dreds of millions of federal dollars without reducing federal taxes. There is already a law in place that limits the amount of growth of appropriations for the General Fund to the income of Oregonians in the preceding biennium. Measure 8 isn’t necessary, and it isn’t good for Oregonians. Vote no on 8. Measure 93, yet another Consti tutional amendment, requires voter approval for most new or raised tax fees on both state and local levels. If it passes, it is estimated that the general election ¿November 2002 will cost the state an additional 8.6 million dollars. After that, the cost of additional general elections is estimated to be an additional 26.4 million dollars after adjusting for in flation. In addition, total costs to local governments for the general elections are estimated to be 26.4 million dollars. Each year after that it’s estimated that local governments will spendatotal sum of 13.2 million after adjusting for inflation. For all this money, Oregonians will be given the privilege of voting on fees for dog obedience classes, quilt ing classes and using the local swim ming pool. Oregonians will be able to determine how much to charge to be a ginseng dealer, to dispose of a dead animal and to slaughter poul try and rabbits. If you think your Voter Pamphlet was big this year, just wait. But there’s even more, as there should be for so much money. Or egonians can also look forward to having to vote again on already ap proved school and library levies if they were approved after Dec. 6, 1998. Taxes and fee increases greater than 3 % that occurred after Dec. 6, 1998 will also have to go before the voters. If they don’t pass, everyone that paid them is entitled to a refund. Editor-in-Chief: There’s no mention of where the money will come from to carry this out. Legislation like this will do little to encourage voter turnout. It’s go ing to be rough enough this elec tion forthose who believe in under standing what they are voting on. This measure will spend your money on elections and your time on is sues that you either don’t care about or issues of which you have no knowledge Finally, the really scary part of this issue is that it eliminates ma jority rule. Even if the rest of the measure were peachy-keen, which it isn’t, this one aspect is enough to make you vote no. If it passes, all measures to be voted on under this measure will have to have the same Toni Krummenacker, YPOP Instructor Jim Spickelmier Staff: Amanda Gosser Chris Lundgren Corinne Rupp Dana Palmer Elena Boryska Jenny Chavez Liesl Muggli Matt Shempert Michael Choe Shannon Recabaren Wes Fawcett Tam Oliver A & E Editor: Mandy Good * Sandy Lupo Sports Editor: Jason Lingel News Editor Steve Nielsen Secretary: MikePollbck JoAnne Gale Advisor: Business Manager: Scott Creson (x2578) I I gram (YPOP), "didn't fit" in a traditional high school. Actually they II fit in a traditional high school, but most of them have CHOSEN NO1 ir] continue in a traditional high school setting and they sought outic alternative program like ours to fit their needs. I Web Master: Photo Editor: allow this to happen. Please vote* 1 on Measure 93. b That was a nice article that you wrote on the cooking class. I have ji one tiny problem: you commented that I said that the girls in our pl Maggie Jirasek Copy/Opinion Editor: groups to take over the decisijlj making. Oregonians simply cal To the Print, Feature Co-Editor: sprin/i f jl, rnt-ht with lor. 7 election next week vote for Hi sure 93, then all measures in that ture (and the ones within the ar two years that are in question)® raise taxes, fees or charges moreta three percent, will have to reel 75 percentof the vote to pass. I Essentially, this can produl situation where 25 percent ofl voters can tell the other 75 perl0 what to do. By eliminating mal ity rule, the playing field will bel wide-open for special intel Letter to the Editor Diana Scrivner (x2447) Feature Co-Editor: percentage of votes as Measuilq wins by to be passed. For exanll if 75 percent of the voters in the ii Linda Vogt (x2310) ir 1 The Clackamas Print aims to report the nevy in an honest, unbiased, professional manne). The opinions expressed in The Clackami1 Print do not necessarily reflect those of thl student body, college administration, its fa ulty, or The Clackamas Print advertiser^ Products and services advertised in Th« Clackamas Print are not neccesarily endorse! by anyone associated with The Clackamsl Print The advertising rate is $4.75 per coll umn inch. The Clackamas Print is a weekhl publication and is distributed every Wednesf day except during Finals week. The ClackamJ Print Copyright 2000.________________ I
