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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2016)
The challenge for intelligent, sensitive, ethical men today is to understand how natural selection has influenced our behav- ior and to insist that our intellect and prin- ciple have ironclad veto power over our penises. I’m a carpenter and if I’ve figured this out, then a guy running for president sure-as-shit ought to exhibit behavior well above that of Donald Trump and Bill Clin- ton. Robert Bolman Eugene POOR CHOICE So that’s it. Choose one, girl Hitler or boy Genghis. I have a note written on my pocket calendar that says, “Slavery is a heartbeat away.” It can’t be any clearer to all of the sane folk. Dan Moore Springfield TRUE PROGRESSIVE Voters who have been happy with Eu- gene city government for the last quarter century can vote for Emily Semple, con- fident they will get more of the same. She is endorsed by former city councilors Paul Nicholson and Bonny Bettman and current city councilor George Brown. Together, these councilors have represented parts of south Eugene since 1991. Such voters can expect that Semple will listen to her pre- decessors and continue this long dynasty’s tradition of saying, “No, no, no.” But voters wanting positive change should join me in supporting Joshua Skov. For 15 years, he has been fighting to make our community better. His — not sitting city councilors’ — has been the loudest voice on the Budget Committee calling for greater transparency. He was one of the first chairs of the Sustainability Com- mission, working to improve how the city and our community function. He has been fighting against climate change in his pro- fessional life as a consultant to organiza- tions around the country and in his person- al life, making conscious choices to reduce his own carbon footprint. See for yourself on his website, JoshuaSkov.com. Then join me in supporting the true progressive who will move Eugene forward. Alexis J. Biddle Eugene CUT IT OUT We have a new cancer: It’s called PERS. It has unrestricted growth and it will kill us. Time to cut it out of our body and save ourselves. Philip Dietz Springfield POLITICAL NIGHTMARE I had a dream the other night about the 22nd presidential election in my lifetime. A Mr. Donald Trump stated his platform, what he expected to accomplish if elected to the presidency, what political experience he had to back it up. A Ms. Hillary Clinton stated her platform, what she expected to accomplish if elected, what political ex- perience she had behind her. I searched all through the social media, could not find any celebrity personality comments about Clinton the lying pig or about Trump the lecherous pig. Nothing about Trump be- ing ugly and fat. Nothing about Clinton being ugly and coughing a lot. I tried, but couldn’t find any jokes about Trump’s hair. Nor could I find anything about Clinton’s husband. Neither candidate was elevated to sainthood, the other to sit on the left hand of Satan. I did find a few reminders: Richard Nixon’s gruesome five-o-clock shadow, John Kennedy’s matinee-idol fea- tures, Jimmy Carter’s equine teeth, Gerald Ford’s klutziness, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wife known as La Boca Grande, Barack Obama’s questionable birthplace. Then I woke up. Jim Wood Eugene SKOV WALKS THE TALK As someone who has worked for de- cades to help build cities where kids and families regularly walk, bike and take tran- sit, I know that one of the most important factors in creating those places is leader- ship. In Eugene, for many years, we have lacked leadership in our elected officials who truly live and understand what a safe walking and biking environment looks like and how to achieve it. Josh Skov, a city council Ward 1 can- didate, is a leader who not only talks the talk but walks the walk. I see Josh out rid- ing his girls to school and have talked to him about how we can create a city that is safe for everyone, no matter how they get around. He actually understands the is- sue because he lives it. He understands it and already does work for making it better: joshuaskov.com/transportation. We need more leaders in our city work- ing to create safer streets and a more sus- tainable city for all. I know Josh will be one of those leaders because he has the ex- perience and especially because he walks the walk. Shane MacRhodes Eugene MISLEADING ADS Would you vote for a ballot measure that asks you if the state of Oregon can raise the filing fee for businesses from $10 to $150, add a 7.6 percent corporate income tax bracket for businesses earning over $1 million, but allows businesses that make $100 million to get away with a minimum tax of $100,000 (one-tenth of a percent) when they have no taxable net income? That is exactly what voters did when they passed Measures 66 and 67 because they believed misleading advertisements. Now Measure 97 is using the same tactics by telling voters that we have the lowest corporate tax rates in the United States. The Tax Foundation shows a map of the corporate tax rates across the U.S. There are 28 states that pay a lower rate than our state. So is it fair or ethical to tell voters that Oregon has the lowest corporate income tax rates in the United States by averaging in the businesses who pay the minimum tax with those who pay the full 7.6 per- cent? Wouldn’t it be fair to assess the 2.5 percent tax only on the businesses that get away with the minimum tax? Margaret Innocenti Eugene DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION BY TA D SH A NNON A ND PE TE M A NDR A PA Just Do It. Vote Yes on 97 TAX CHEATS BACK NO ON 97 A s we approach Election Day, we are being faced with his- toric decisions. The results of the presidential race will have consequences beyond the next four years. Here in Oregon, voters will have a chance to influence the future of genera- tions of children, the elderly and people with health needs. Measure 97, which would tax the largest corporations doing more than $25 million in business in Oregon, could reverse the trend of the last 25 years of disinvestment in schools, seniors and health care programs in our state. Income inequality has become one of the biggest threats to our democ- racy, and Bernie Sanders’ campaign has focused young people’s attention on the future like no other campaign has done. Young people, who have the most to gain, have supported Bernie’s call for restructuring our tax system in order to fund the neglected needs of the 99 percent. Measure 97 is putting into practice what Bernie has called for and what the Democratic Party has included in its platform. The country is watching us. Can the popular will of the majority trump corporate interests and turn the country around? Our Revolution, Bernie’s national organization, has endorsed 97 and is working hard to pass it. It’s no wonder the largest corporations in the world are pouring money into Oregon in an attempt to hoodwink voters once again into voting against their own legitimate interests. They have already raised close to $20 million to use in the campaign of lies and misinformation against Measure 97. Comcast is spending close to half a million dollars while at the same time trying to avoid paying $120 million in back taxes. It has also begun refusing to accept or to show Yes on 97 ads if they include any mention of its company. This is the same company that made $8 billion last year and that has been fined $2.3 million by the FCC for charging customers for stuff they never ordered. Wells Fargo is contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat Measure 97 just days after having been hit with a $180 million fine for cheating its customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Monsanto — remember its role in defeating the GMO-labeling initia- tive? — is also contributing large sums of money to defeat Measure 97. Monsanto’s GMO campaign was so successful that the public relations firm that helped it defeat the GMO labeling initiative is now running the No on 97 campaign. Just as Donald Trump brags about not paying taxes because it’s a good business practice, these corporations are fighting for their opportunity to pocket record profits. Their argument that this is a hidden sales tax and that the average Joe will be hurt is part of their disinformation campaign. As a matter of fact, many of these corporations support an Oregon sales tax so that the ordinary people will pay instead of them. The story of huge classes, short school years and low graduation rates parallels the fall in the share of corporate taxes sent to the state’s coffers. Oregon has the lowest business taxes in the country and it shows. A genera- tion ago, business taxes made up close to 20 percent of the state budget. Today the business sector pays only around 6 percent of the cost of public education and other state services. If we don’t turn this around, their share is projected to drop to close to 4 percent. Don’t be fooled by corporate propaganda. Just do it and Vote Yes on 97. Tad Shannon has taught in Eugene schools for 18 years. He is now serving as president of the Eugene Education Association. Pete Mandrapa has taught in Eugene schools for 36 years. He is a member of the Eugene Education Association and CAPE. The Community Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) is a coalition of parents, teachers, professors, students and community members who challenge the many assaults on public education and who believe in a strong public education as the foundation for American democracy. More at oregoncape.org. eugeneweekly.com • October 20, 2016 7
