4 Commentary_________ w.dc„vl.2M6____________
Clackamas Pri
Raise tab on beer, wine tax
Frank Jordan
I I. The Clackamas Print
A person sits at his or her
local watering hole on any
given day or night and enjoys
a nice glass of beer or wine
to wind down from a long day
or night. That glass of suds
is available at a decent price
almost anywhere in the state of
Oregon, and that price has not
changed much in the last few
years.
But have you ever wondered,
in this day and age of tax hikes
and fee hikes and the govern
ment trying to gouge the con
sumer of every last nickel and
dime, how much tax one pays
on a glass of beer or wine? We
are fortunate that in the state
of Oregon, a 16-ounce glass of
beer is taxed only one penny.
How can this be? Easy.
The beer and wine industries
have a very large stranglehold
on the lawmakers in this state, coverage of uninsured children
even going as far as paying in our state. This is a good idea
the costs of lawmakers making and all, but why not raise the
trips to Hawaii and other locales tax on beer and wine to help pay
around the country, in
for some of these programs?
order to have those
Smokers have been gouged by
lawmakers vote on
the state for years for their legal
bills in the legislature
habit, yet Rinkers of alcoholic
that would be advan
beverages keep paying ridicu
tageous to the beer
lously low taxes to partake in
and wine industries.
their legal activity.
This is not very good
The current tax on a gallon
public policy, and
of beer in Oregon is eight cents,
poor tax-planning
-making it the third-lowest tax
on the part of our
rate in the nation, while wine
legislators.
is taxed at 28 cents per gallon,
Governor Ted
making it the fifth-lowest rate
Kulongoski has
in the U.S. Doubling or tri
proposed raising
pling the beer tax in Oregon
the cigarette tax
would
(again) another
raise
85 cents per
mil
pack, in order
lions
to help pay for
of dol-
parts of the
1 a r s
Oregon Health
for the
Plan that per
Oregon
tain to the health
Health
boozt
Plan and spare smokers another
outrageous tax hike. What is
paying another quarter for a
beer?
The beer and wine indus
tries have helped to shoot down
more than a dozen bills over the
years in the Oregon Legislature,
which would have raised taxes
on their products. Those indus
tries have very powerful lob
bies in Salem, and our elected
officials have been more than
happy to kowtow to these lob
byists.
Whoever the next governor
shall be Nov. 7 should make
it part of his agenda to take a
stand against the beer and wine
industries and raise the tax on
their products. It is way overdue
(the beer tax was last raised in
1978, and the wine tax was last
raised in 1982) and would send
a message to the legislature that
all ways to raise money through
taxes and fees are -on the table.
Lobbyists be damned!
Have bad credit? Then vote YES on Measure 42
Rev. Sam Krause
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Bill Sizemore is back ... and
he’s making sense?
I’ve never liked Sizemore.
Many Oregonians have a rea
son to hate Sizemore, from cap
ping property taxes to crazy (and
questionable) methods of signa
ture gathering.
This time, though, he might be
on to something.
Measure 42 would keep insur
ance companies from using credit
ratings when determining premi
ums.
That makes sense. In Oregon,
insurance companies can only
use credit information when a
consumer initially purchases
insurance, and to determine
if a consumer is more
likely to file a claim.
At this point, the Oregon leg
islature has passed, laws restrict
ing insurance companies from
using credit scores to raise rates
or drop someone from their pol
icy. Is there any reason voters
can’t take this a step further?
Right now, an Oregonian’s
credit score is a factor in apply
ing for a loan and insurance. In
an editorial supporting the mea
sure, The Oregonian cited a study
stating that people who have a
low-income are more likely to
have a low credit score.
Oregonians Against
Insurance Rate
Increases,
who
are against Measure 42, noted a
study that found a relationship
between low credit and a greater
probability of making a claim.
If you’re poor, you have bad
credit, which increases your insur
ance rates. When you get in an
accident, you have to go to your
insurance company for financial
support because you can’t afford
to fix whatever you broke, which
increases your interest rates.
Opponents say that, if the
measure passes, those with good
credit will subsi
dize insurance
for people
with
bad credit. They neglect to men
tion that people with good credit
can have abysmal driving records,
while people with bad credit can
have a superb driving record.
I think a better question is
why someone with bad credit and
a good driving record should pick
up the slack for a person with
good credit who got trashed and
crashed his or her car.
Here’s an example: You go
to the bar, and only three drinks
gets you drunk, but your buddy
needs about nine drinks to feel
anything. When it comes time to
pay the tab, your buddy suggests
splitting it evenly on the basis
that he tips the bartender better
than you.
Whether you prefer beer
or lower insurance
rates, vote yes on
Measure 42.
Photo Illustrations by Adam J. Manley Clackamas Print
Letters to the editor
A note from the ASG prez Dean applauds ‘Diversity’
Fellow Students:
I want you to understand one
thing; if you don’t vote, you’ll
have to live with the consequences.
Democracy is not a spectator sport
I have had the pleasure of working
on numerous political campaigns in
the past few years. All I’ve come
to know is that each politician run
ning for office works tirelessly
every day for votes. All the money
they can raise is just to get votes,
nothing more. I come to you as a
student wife an understanding feat
our political system is not flawed;
but politicians aren’t looking out
for students' concerns because we
don’t vote. According to the Center
for Information and Research on
Civic Learning and Engagement
there are over 517,000 18to 19year
olds eligible to vote in Oregon. Yet,
some young people are apathetic,
and they just don’t care. Only 42
percent of 18 to 24 - year- olds vote.
When you compare feat to other
ages and their percent voting: 25 to
34,56 percent; 35 to 44,64 percent;
45 to 54, 69 percent; 55 to 64, 73
percent 65 to 74, 73 percent 75+,
69 percent With the average of all
voting being 64 percent students
wonder why it is so expensive to
go to school. It’s because politicians
won’t fond something they aren’t
getting personal benefit from. If we
weren’t funding them into office (or
out), why would feey go out of then
way’to fond something feat doesn’t
help them? At the federal level,
we have such important things as
social security for our retired, the
new Prescription Drag Plan that
President Bush signed into law, and
Medicare. All of these programs
are aimed to benefit older people.
The surprising and upsetting tact
is how bad tuitiofi and the cost
of education have increased in fee
last few years. Tuition at Oregon
community colleges lias increased
by 63 percent since fee Fall of
2000. It’s the highest of the western
15 states. Overall, 12.5 percent of
course selections have been elimi
nated at Oregon community col
leges. We also happen to be the 26th
in fee nation for funding per student.
These are alarming facts. We as
young people, as students, need to
do something about it We need
to make our voices heard through
contacting our elected officials and,
most importantly, voting.
Tim Lussier, ASG president
The views expressed by the
two students in the recent article on
college diversity were thoughtful,
yet limited in their scope of how
diversity is defined. The college’s
Diversity Committee commends
these students for defining then-
issues and expressing them so open
ly and publicly, and we commend
fee Clackamas Print for providing
fee foram.
The committee is also very
impressed wife fee work towards
awareness that has been demon
strated by fee recent student postings
in fee Community Center, express
ing personal views on diversity. It is
through such dialogue that mutual
understanding and appreciation of
all forms of diversity can develop,
and we encourage others to par
ticipate.
Clackarqas Community College
is committed to building awareness
of cultural diversity on our campus
and in our community. This focus
includes the right of all persons
to live wife dignity and freedom,
and to freely express themselves
through their various cultural norms
without fear of restricted access to
the opportunities available.
The college, through its Diversity
Committee and through personal
commitment by its staff, promotes
communication and understanding
among people of differing beliefs,
color, gender, cultures, lifestyles,
age and backgrounds in order to
foster and develop a climate of tol
erance.
Such a climate only develops
through ongoing, concerted and
systematic efforts to create the
opportunities that foster understand
ing of and between different people.
It is our belief that providing a
forum for this type of open dialog
presents opportunities for each of
us to hear a multitude of voices
and experiences, and through feat
process perhaps change some of our
conceptions and our fears.
This approach greatly expands
fee concept of diversity beyond
simply race tolerance into fee much
broader arena that recognizes all
people have a basic right to be
treated with dignity and respect
Bill Leach,
Dean of Campus Services
Send letters to the editor to
chiefed@clackamas.edu
by Tayoh Stalnaker
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