4
Clackamas Print
Student
Pott:
Students
react to
Special
Edition
Face Off:
Measures 41/48
‘Rainy Day’ Amendment Measures could ‘rain’ on
may have bright spots Oregon tax-payers’ paradé
Elizabeth Hitz
The Clackamas Print
“I’m shocked
... I feel lucky
to know these
things are
going on.”
Kimberley Maier
“Why is he
still being
asked to
step down
when he
was proven
innocent?
If he’s not
guilty, why
is he so
defensive?”
Jonathon King
“It sounds
overly
negative,
and it sounds
like it’s all
rumors, and
no one really
knows what’s
going on,
including the
faculty.”
Mike Riehl
“His answers
were pretty
damn unclear.
It doesn’t come
across as clean.
He seemed
avoidant,
which is not a
good thing.”
Measure 41 and 48 have visible
benefits.
For instance, Measure 48 has been
nicknamed in supporting circles as
the “Rainy Day Amendment’ for
its ability to limit state government
funding and provide a buffer in case
of an economic depression.
According to the US Census
Bureau,
“Oregon
state & local
governments
spending
(per-capita) is
among the top
15 states in the
nation.” And
based on a
biennial report
by the Department
of Administrative
Service in December,
2003, “the state budget has had
double-digit growth (+13%) on
average for the past 25 years.”
We have a problem, and Measure
48 offers a solution by putting clear
limits on Oregon’s current and past
spending.
The measure would ensure no new
or increased real estate taxes or state
income taxes, and would also require
voter approval on tax increases.
The bill also offers safeguards in the
case of another economic depression,
with permanent cuts to government
services during recessions.
Opposition to the bill howls about
cuts to education, health care, public
safety and senior services.
These cuts could be taken care
of by citizens on their own, with
things like home schooling, health
insurance, neighborhood watches,
- and more family involvement in the
care of seniors.
Yes, decreases in the budget can be
dealt with, but can debt? Do we really
want to land our state more in the red
than we already are? Do we want to
make our children and grandchildren
pay for our excesses?
Measure 41 would allow
taxpayers to “claim a stale income tax
deduction equal
to their federal
exemptions
deduction as a
substitutefortheir
state exemption
credit”
This statement
seems
slightly
confusing. But
as stated by Oregon’s
secretary of state, “The
measure would change
the ‘personal exemption’
credit to a tax deduction.
A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar
reduction in the amount of tax due. A
tax deduction reduces the amount of
income that is used to calculate the tax
due. Jh 2005, the personal exemption
tax credit was $154 for each personal
exemption on an Oregon tax return.
The tax deduction would have
been $3,200 for each exemption if
the measure applied in 2005. Most
taxpayers will pay less state income
tax under measure.”
The measure would also limit state
revenue, and thus state spending.
As Oregon citizens, we need to be
fiscally responsible and vote yes on
measures 41 and 48.
Ted Bieber
w
r
“I thought
you guys
meant the
president
of student
government.”
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Brittany Gardner
“I was
surprised
at the
interview
because he
was avoiding
any question.
Why
couldn’t
he just talk
about it?”
9/11 conspiracies are
completely unfounded
f
Allison Blazo
This week’s poll compiled
by Alexandria Vallelunga
and Jeff Sorensen
Commentary!
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006
Conspiracy theories have piqued the
interest of millions of people across the
globe because most of them contain some
truth. A lot of these conspiracy theories,
if proven true, could also drastically
change the world.
Personally, I believe that the vast
majority of conspiracy theories are false.
However, like most people, I do find
them interesting, and I plan on informing
Clackamas Community College about
them. For the first edition of “Conspiracy
Comer,” I’m tackling a more recent
theory: 9/11 was an inside job.
Avid Web-surfers and MySpace
addicts have probably come across Web
Tayo Stalnaker
The Clackamas Print
If measures 41 and 48 pass in
November, college students, low-
income families and seniors will
be in a world of hurt.
Measure 41, if passed, would
let Oregonians “claim a state
income tax deduction equal
to their federal exemptions
deduction as a substitute for
their state exemption
credit.” Yeah,
I didn’t get it
either when I
first read it.
After doing
some digging,
I found that
what
that
political
psycho-babble
translates into
is the average
tax payer making
an extra $18 a month, some
even less. Honestly, what’s
18 bucks these days? That’s not
even enough for a lap dance.
Pretty much, it’s a slap in the face
to low-income families, college
students and single moms living
from paycheck to paycheck,
trying to make ends meet. Not to
mention this bill would be taking
more money out of our state
coffers ($151 million this budget
year and increasing to as much
as $430 million by year 2010)
that should be going to things
like education, health care, public
safety and human services.
I guess measure 41 wasn’t bad
sites and groups called “Loose Change
9/11,” “9/11 Truth” or “Let’s Roll 9/11.”
Along with these sites, there’s also
a plethora of propaganda videos put
together by these conspiracy nuts trying
to show the public that what happened
on Sept. 11, 2001 was planned out by
the American government, not Islamic
fundamentalists.
The March 2005 issue of “Popular
Mechanics” looked at 16 claims that
9/11 was a hoax and proved them wrong.
I’m not going to write about all of them,
just the ones that I find to be the most
ridiculous.
The first claim presented by 9/11
conspiracy junkies is that American
Airlines flight 77 did not hit the
Pentagon; a satellite-guided missile
did. Of course they are only assuming,
because they don’t have any proof.
However, they claim that the two holes
left in the side of the Pentagon are too
small for a Boeing 757 to make, and
there should’ve been an outline of the
plane’s wings. Actually, according to
“Popular Mechanics,” what was left of
the plane when it struck the side of the
Pentagon was something more liquid
than mass, and both wings were sheared
off before contact with the concrete
structure.
This next myth is, at best, laughable.
“Let’s Roll 9/11” (among others)
claims that the World Trade Center’s
towers one and two were destroyed
by controlled demolitions. Again, there
is no proof of this, but these rabid
conspiracy hounds claim that there are
minor- explosions clearly visible in the
video footage of the planes hitting the
towers. “Popular Mechanics” found that
these are not explosions but an example
enough for law makers, so they]
decided to throw in measure 48
alongside it. Measure 48 would]
put a cap on state spending
and would only increase wit!
population and interest. Coloradfl
has a similar plan called TABOR
(Taxpayer Bill of Rights) that!
has been a miserable failure eva
since it was implemented in ths
1990s.
Colorado’s job markethas befl
horrible since this bill pass®
many businesses
have had Ito
pack up and
leave the state!
Job growtl
virtual]
non-existent, and
the
numBert
of uninsured
people
lias
doubled. Whai’i
even worse is that
their public schools)
the!
especially
__ colleges, have been! hit]
hard with budget cuts and risi
tuition. There’s also less mol
being spent on public roa
transportation and safety.
What this would mean
Oregon is a cut of nearly S1-.1B
billion a year, turning us int®
another Colorado. If you court®
this with measure 41, it gets eve®
uglier. These services that woul®
be gutted are already struggling®
and we can’t afford to make ihen®
worse.
As a college student at®
Oregon taxpayer, I urge everyon®
to vote a resounding “No" o®
measures 41 and 48.
|
of “pancaking.”
“Once each tower began to collapse,I
the weight of all the floors above
the collapsed zone bore down with]
pulverizing force on the highest intact I
floor,” said “Popular Mechanics.”!
“Unable to absorb the massive energy,]
that floor would fail, transmitting the]
forces to the floor below, allowing the]
collapse to progress downward through]
the building in a chain reaction.” Well,]
so much for that theory.
For this last claim, I encourage]
everyone to put on a tinfoil hat.
One of the basest and most insidious]
claims about 9/11 is that the America»
government knew about it before hand]
and, in fact, planned it out themselves!
This claim is, of course, without merit,!
and there’s stacks of evidence proving]
it false, such as the “9/11 Commission!
Report.”
The 9/11 Commission found that]
Bin Ladin did indeed set up and give]
the orders for the attacks on Sept. 11,1
2001 by working with al Qaeda. The!
9/11 Commission obtained most of their]
information from one of the masterminds!
behind 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed!
Furthermore, both al Qaeda and Bin]
Ladin have said repeatedly that they!
were behind the attacks on the World!
Trade Center.
I was a little appalled by the!
allegations of these conspiracy theorists,]
but I was not surprised. We live in al
paranoid society, and it’s just human]
nature to believe that there’s a cover-up j
behind everything, and nothing is what ]
it seems.
This is Tayo Stalnaker reminding]
everyone to throw out their tinfoil hats]
and just relax.
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