slant
It’s TAX TIME
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• It’s time to stop this odd connection between the exclusion zone and the
shortage of jail beds. Deciding between safety and the Fourth Amendment is a
false choice. The council vote this week to extend the Downtown Public Safety
Zone (aka exclusion zone) until November isn’t as bad as it could have been, but
seven more months of an unconstitutional lack of due process is four years too
long. Kudos to Councilors Betty Taylor and George Brown for their no votes.
• The February endorsements by the Democratic Party of Lane County are still
generating partisan bickering and angry letters to editors of local papers. The
routine DPLC meeting is usually a low-key affair with candidates making short
speeches and getting rubber-stamp endorsements, but passions are running high
in our polarized political environment, blowing issues out of proportion and
creating conflict out of unwarranted assumptions.
One DPLC endorsement that hasn’t gotten much attention is for Eugene City
Councilor George Brown, who replaced the fiery Bonny Bettman in 2009 and is
up for re-election in May. Brown started off as a quiet observer of city
government and has grown to become an exceptionally knowledgeable, dedicated
and thoughtful voice of reason on the council.
Another candidate enthusiastically endorsed by the DPLC was Commissioner
Rob Handy, and we hear this week that Mike Clark has dropped out of the race
against Handy, leaving Pat Farr and Nadia Sindi as his challengers in the May
primary. Clark, who has never really had to campaign for office, would have been
a long shot.
• The new OPB program on the life of Sen. Wayne Morse premiered Feb. 21, but
if you missed it, you can watch it anytime online at wkly.ws/17c and it’s worth the
time. A lot of familiar people are interviewed in the documentary: Margaret
Hallock, Ron Abell (who just died), Bob Packwood, Ed Fadeley, R.P. Joe Smith, Art
Pearl, Gena Hardin and Morse’s granddaughter Melanie Lee. Morse embraced the
“liberal” label proudly and fought for issues that are still with us today: labor
rights, civil rights, education funding, getting out of unjust wars, ending unfair tax
breaks for big corporations and stopping log exports. “Our national forests are
turning into Japanese tree farms,” he once said, decrying the exporting of U.S.
jobs — still happening today from private timberlands. Morse is also credited with
stopping legislation that would have made the UO just a branch of OSU. It’s all
inspiring, relevant history with strong Eugene ties.
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• The Public Interest Environmental Conference is happening this weekend
with some amazing speakers and workshops. It’s a little odd that most Eugene
media got excited about loggers and chainsaw sculptures but will likely ignore a
world-renowned law conference. Looks like our timber roots still run deep.
Coming up next week is International Women’s Day and another great conference
at UO, a symposium on “Gender Equity and Capitalism” March 8 that will include
economist Nancy Folbre as keynote speaker. Check our Calendar this week and
next week for details on all the events surrounding International Women’s Day.
• The same question always comes up when Oregon’s political leadership talks
about education. Ben Cannon, smart young Portland middle-school teacher
turned legislator, recently turned education policy adviser to Gov. Kitzhaber,
asked the City Club of Eugene Feb. 24 what it will take to make education great in
Oregon. His first answer: increased funding. So where will that come from? Not
one suggestion in Cannon’s speech. Maybe the strategy is to wait for an improved
economy with more tax revenue, or maybe a massive restructuring of education
will persuade conservatives to restructure taxes. Or maybe the leadership is
watching Curry County to see what happens to its sales tax proposal. Like
Oregon’s kids, we can hardly wait to find out.
• Half of Americans don’t pay any taxes? You’ve probably heard that claim, or
some variation, perpetrated by right-wingers at all levels, including Republican
presidential candidates. It’s silly, of course. People who pay rent cover their
landlords’ property taxes. Every gallon of gas, bag of carrots, quart of milk and
bottle of beer has taxes and fees calculated into its price tag, directly or
indirectly. Some people on the bottom of the economic ladder pay no income
taxes and might even be a net burden on the tax system, but they are nowhere
near half of Americans. According to the IRS, only about 18 percent of working
age people pay no income tax or payroll tax, and most of them are retired or
unemployed. Nothing is certain but death and taxes — and propaganda.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard
any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
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EUGENE WEEKLY MARCH 1, 2012 9