letters
TO THE EDITOR
PEOPLE OR PROFITS?
rates by half, prevails in Salem. Greedy
demands to cut capital gains tax rates are
holding hostage attempts to reform our
state’s taxation system. Who will rule:
people or profi ts?
David Ivan Piccioni
Eugene
perpetrates in the name of democracy,
freedom, and fi ghting terrorism, abroad
and also on our own soil, are not acts of
civilized humanity.
There are good uses for our taxes, and
we should not allow there to be too great a
disparity in the wealth of our population.
Capital gains taxes are one of the best
ways to apply the principles of progressive
taxation — wherein the more you have,
the more money of yours is thrown into
the common pot for health care, schools,
care of the elderly, and plant-based organic
food.
Federal capital gains tax rates are at a
historic low. I hope opposition to SB 883,
which would cut Oregon’s capital gains
A large percentage of our tax revenue
is misused, as with bank bailouts, the
huge military budget, and subsidies for
mega corporations. Those who care about
the whole would like society to be more
equitable.
It is wrong and should be fought
against that corporations destroy forests,
pollute our rivers, oceans, soil, and air with
toxic chemicals and other poisons, like
manure from Controlled Animal Feeding
Operations. They cage and confi ne our
brother and sister animals, with whom we
share most of our DNA, in inhumane and
abhorrent conditions that we do not allow
for pets. Likewise, the evils our military
COPS BAD EXAMPLE
I wasn’t surprised to hear recently that
Eugene and Springfi eld are risky places for
pedestrians. I also wasn’t surprised to see
that none of the TV or newspaper articles
talked about Oregon’s pedestrian laws.
Under Oregon law there is a crosswalk
at every intersection and if there is a
pedestrian waiting to cross you must
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stop your vehicle. I rarely see cars stop
for pedestrians at crosswalks in Eugene-
Springfi eld. When I stop I’m frequently
honked or yelled at and occasionally get
the digitus medius.
The other day a policeman blew by
me while I was stopped on a two-lane,
one-way street in Eugene waiting for a
pedestrian. Fortunately he didn’t run over
the person passing in front of my car into
his lane; presumably that would have been
an inconvenience for him. Not only do
some of our hardworking police fail to set
the example of good driving, I’m guessing
they will tell you that budget cuts prevent
them from enforcing the law.
The state and others need to make a
greater effort to remind drivers of the rules.
The UO could start by setting the example.
Around many campuses across the country
you can fi nd signs reminding motorists that
is the law to stop for pedestrians and that
failure to stop could result in a large fi ne,
but no such signs exist around UO. Maybe
a little funding for pedestrian safety signs
could be tacked on to the next lavish UO
building budget.
Eric T Jones
Eugene
EW’S TWO MISTAKES
It’s seems to me that the editorial staff
made two mistakes in their endorsements
of the West Eugene EmX line, and of Rich
Cunningham when he ran several times
for political offi ce, latest being EWEB
commissioner.
Regarding the EmX line, $100 million
can go a long way in increasing LTD bus
service system wide, even if it were spread
out over a 20 year period. The argument
that the money can only be used for capital
projects is true; but Congress can re-
authorize it for use for operating expenses
if it chose to. What would be needed is
some intense lobbying on the part of city
and county offi cials and Congressman
Defazio, even splitting the funding 50-
50, half for road maintenance and the
remainder for LTD.
As for Cunningham, the Weekly
happily endorsed this guy for various posts
in the past. Now that he’s elected to the
EWEB Board he now has permission to
censor another board member, Joann Ernst,
who, as a private citizen demonstrated
against Seneca Jones and it’s proposal to
clear-cut old growth trees in the McKenzie
watershed. You guys, it seems, endorsed
a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You defi nitely
have to do a better job in vetting prospective
political candidates in the future. Just
having an “I’m a Progressive” sign around
one’s neck doesn’t cut it any more.
Lou Andrews
Newport
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 9, 2011 7