Applegater Spring 2014
21
MY OPINION FROM BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR
Money talks
by CHRIS bRATT
I hate to put a wet blanket on anyone’s
future lifestyle, but let’s face it, most of
you have it too good. If you or others you
know have lost a job, seen reductions in
pension benefits, felt the crunch of expired
unemployment benefits, or experienced
declining “entitlements,” be prepared for
more of the same. Undoubtedly, people are
going to have to lower their expectations
about what they’re going to get in this life
because we must reduce the budget deficit.
The above heartless nonsense
represents the views being portrayed and
talked about by our country’s wealthiest
one percent. They are also having their
lobbyists push for significant cuts to poor
people’s welfare benefits in the halls of
Congress. Recent new reports, studies
and accounts show that this small number
of greedy, super-rich people and large
corporations with unparalleled wealth
are tampering with our environment and
the well-being and livelihood of everyone
across the globe.
About 100 corporate CEOs (the
same unethical CEOs who brought on the
economic downturn of the past six years)
are now calling for cuts to our earned and
welfare benefit programs. These very, very
rich CEOs (each of these folks will average
$65,000 per month for the rest of their
lives after retiring at age 65) have formed
a corporate-funded lobbying group called
“Fix the Debt.” This group’s real objective
is to campaign for massive new corporate
tax cuts for the large corporations they
represent. They expect to “Fix the Debt” by
reduced spending on benefits and pensions
for millions of workers, retirees and people
who really need financial assistance and
jobs with decent wages. Their contention
is that the burden of fixing our growing
economic problems should rest on the
shoulders of the middle and lower classes
and not the billionaires.
What is happening to our hard won
living wages and benefits working people
struggled for over the past century? Are we
going to go back to a 12-hour workday,
child labor in our factories, and no health
or safety insurance? I hope not. And what
about our opportunities for achieving
the promises of the American Dream
for our middle and lower classes? Those
dreams—of prosperity, fairness and a better
future for our kids and grandkids as the
reward to anyone who works hard—have
become nightmares. The American Dream
is an illusion now that an upper class is
running the show by exploiting the poor
and shifting the focus of government from
the will of the people to the will of the
moneyed.
We are repeating the depression-
era (1930s and early 1940s) income
disparities and joblessness. Again we are
allowing the super-rich to frame the future
of our society while few of us know or
understand the true wealth and power these
rich people and corporations possess. They
can poison our community’s water supply
(as they did with the recent chemical spill
in West Virginia), endanger the health
of workers and consumers, and corrupt
our political system with big campaign
contributions.
They can conduct
these operations
with little or no
Chris Bratt
accountability to
the public.
As a partial solution to our social and
economic woes caused by this top-heavy
wealth distribution, I suggest we begin
to reform our financial system through
restrictions on how much the mega-rich
can accumulate. We need to know when
enough is enough for the realities of life.
Rather than further income tax cuts
for the richest people and corporations
(remember, “corporations are people,
too”), I recommend much higher income
taxes. It’s only fair that they make a greater
contribution to the general welfare of the
country that allowed them to become rich
in the first place. Also, this will be a good
start at equalizing the power that these
super-rich exercise over all our lives.
Let me know if you’ve had enough.
Chris Bratt • 541-846-6988
Applegate Valley
Community Grange news
More about the
Medford Food Project
by JANIS mOHR-TIpTON
by ARLENE AND CLAUDE ARON
Wonderful news! Mark your calendar
for an Upper Applegate Grange favorite
tradition being revived. Clue number 1:
It is a community dinner that was held
in March for many, many years by the
members of the Upper Applegate Grange.
Guessed yet? Clue number 2: Wear Green!
YES, the St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef
Dinner will be happening in 2014 on
Sunday, March 16, from 11 am to 2 pm.
Bring your appetite, family, and friends to
3901 Upper Applegate Road to join with
the Applegate Valley Community Grange
(AVCG) members to celebrate. Wear some
green and enjoy food from the menu of
corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage,
drinks and dessert. Much of the food will
be local and organically or naturally grown.
Many hands will help plan and put
this meal together, including members
of AVCG and volunteers from the
community. Anyone wishing to help
support or lend a hand for a Grange event
should make contact with a member (see
last paragraph).
Proceeds from this and other
fundraisers help the AVCG with the
community service projects it supports, the
public meetings it sponsors, the programs
it presents, and upkeep on the Grange
building. The Grange is currently using
some of those designated funds to reroof
the entry area and the restrooms.
For more updates about this
great event, more information about
the Grange or about renting space, or
browsing for upcoming happenings,
go to our website at www.grange.org/
applegatevalleycommunityor839. Put
this address in your favorites list and
stay current with us year-round. Under
“Events,” you will find upcoming activities
and events lists as soon as Grange members
get a date set and planning is under way.
Watch for information about ping-pong
practices for a tournament at the Grange
hall this spring.
Do you remember when there were
play performances at the Grange hall in
the past years? Well, there is a very local,
active theater group looking for a place to
perform on stage, so the hall will soon be
filled again with the sounds of rehearsals.
Watch for the posting of a play at the
Grange this year and find out the name of
this local spirited group.
Hope to see you soon at the Applegate
Valley Community Grange where new
activities keep happening and the
membership keeps growing. Contacts
for the Grange are President Paul Tipton
at applegategrange@gmail.com or 541-
846-7501; Secretary Connie Murphy at
applegategrangesecretary@gmail.com; and
Membership/Hall Rental Representative
Janis Mohr-Tipton at janismohrtipton48@
frontier.com or 541-846-7501.
Janis Mohr-Tipton
541-846-7501
janismohrtipton48@frontier.com
Pacifica needs Activity Coordinator
Pacifica wishes to make better use of its facilities in 2014, so is looking for
someone to coordinate activities. Weddings, concerts, reunions are some of the
events that occur regularly, though sporadically. Ideally the coordinator would
live fairly close to the Williams Valley and have experience in supervising and
facilitating such events. Compensation and duties can be negotiated. With
wedding season close at hand, we’d like someone to come on board soon. Please
call 541-846-1100 or send email to peg@pacificagarden.org.
Pacifica would also like to add a few energetic folks to its working
board. Contact us by phone or write to ray@pacificagarden.org if you’re
interested. For more information, go to www.pacificagarden.org.
We mentioned in the last issue of
the Applegater that we were working on
a way for the Applegate community to
participate in the Medford Food Project
(medfordfoodproject.com). We’re now
ready to go!
The Medford Food Project serves all
of Jackson County. Our own Applegate
Food Pantry, which operates at Ruch
School, has received thousands of pounds
of food through our participation in this
project. We hope that those of you who can
afford to do so will join in this worthwhile
community effort—you will be helping
your neighbors who are struggling with
hunger and you will feel better for it!
How you can participate
Starting in early February, pick up a
green canvas bag at one of these locations:
Applegate Fire Station (1085 Upper
Applegate Road), Tiffany’s Outpost, or
Ruch Country Store.
Whenever you shop for food, buy one
extra item and put it in the bag.
Every two months, on a designated
Friday, drop your bag at any of the above
locations and pick up a new one for the
next cycle.
Drop-off dates in 2014 (all Fridays):
April 11, June 13, August 8, October 10,
and December 12. Please drop bags off
on these designated dates only, as these
locations can’t store them for extended
periods of time.
One of our volunteers will pick up
the food at each of these locations on the
day after the drop-off date and deliver it
to the distribution site in Medford. This
is an easy way to help your neighbors in
need and the Applegate Food Pantry hopes
you’ll choose to participate. Let’s show the
rest of Jackson County that we Applegaters
are part of the solution to solving hunger
in our communities!
Questions? Contact Arlene or Claude
Aron at 541-951-6707.
A big thank you to Tiffany
and all who made contributions
to Divide Camp
on the Donation Tree at the Outpost!
Julie Wheeler, Divide Camp
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