Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2017)
The Shedd Institute www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000 Keep Your Sunny Side Up! The music of De Sylva, Brown & Henderson Thu, November 2, 7:30 pm - cabaret seating Sun, November 5, 3:00 pm - concert seating Free Jazz tickets for Students program Saturday Nov 4 bad language, fighting. They scare her so much she is thinking of moving. Councilor Greg Evans spoke of similar problems at a park near where he lives, which he said are the worst he has seen in the over 30 years he’s lived in Eugene. This is great. The profoundly alien- ated surplus people that middle-class so- ciety literally has no use for can drive the middle-classers out of their homes, lower property values, de-gentrify neighbor- hoods and make houses available to be subdivided into cheap apartments. In the absence of any coherent mili- tant leadership among the advocates, the “thugs” will lead the way. When creation fails, it’s time for destruction. “Just trying to prove, that your conclu- sions, should be more drastic” — Bob Dylan. Lynn Porter Eugene BAD BONDS An apology: In the recent voters’ pam- phlet, I opposed the bond measure “Bonds to Fix Streets and Fund Bicycle and Pedes- trian Projects.” I did so on the grounds that the 9-1 spending on paving streets to alter- native transportation infrastructure was not enough. It isn’t. But I went on to say, “This isn’t the right bond for Eugene.” And for that I apologize. Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, a New York group that manages Oregon Municipal Bonds, identify the Oregon Mu- nicipal Bond Investor as “Oregon taxpay- ers who can benefit from income that is ex- empt from federal and state income taxes.” The logic is this: Lacking tax money for basic services, the city taxes us to buy a bond that will provide tax-free income to the richest Oregonians? Outcomes aside, any bond measure im- poverishes the community. The $3.8-tril- lion bond market uses local governments to funnel money upward to the very people who then (Citizens United v. FEC) control our government from the top down. That is oligarchy, not democracy. I want separated bicycle lanes, but I cannot support any bond measure. The oth- er day, at the City Club of Eugene, I asked myself, “Who am I? Why am I here?” That was a difficult question. I realized afterward that maybe we should all ask ourselves the same question. “Who are we? Why are we here?” Try not to leap to an answer. Sit with it. Then look at this bond measure again. Otis Haschemeyer Eugene THE BOND SCAM The question on the ballot in Measure 20-275 is not whether we should fix our streets, but whether we should buy a bond to do so. I don’t support the bond measure for several reasons. A relatively peevish one: I resent the city hiring California strate- gists (the Strategy Research Institute) to tell them how to message the bond mea- sure such that it might pass. The strategists were clear: Passage would require city agents (some official, some not) aggres- sively promoting the bond. We’ve seen the city insiders coming out in letters, talks on social media. I find the overlap of scripted terms — “necessary,” “successful,” “accountability,” “respon- sibility” — and threats of a dark future, such as “if allowed to sunset, streets will begin to deteriorate, immediately!” All too Matrix-y. But, again, the measure is not about whether we should fix our streets. It is about whether we should buy a bond to do so. The bond market is a trillion dollar in- dustry profiting the top-half of the wealthy one percent. Local governments can stop buying bonds. The money comes from us. It can stay with us. No need to pay what would in this case be $2.5 million-plus to billion- aires like Uncle Phil. It’s okay, everyone. We can find an- other way. The city will find another way. No need to be taking our dollars and giving them to the top. There are many dire things in the world, but this is not one of them. Zondie Zinke Eugene Ehud Asherie Hilary Gardner The Late Set Con & Mary Sheffer sponsor Shedd Classical 2017-18 Th ursday Nov 9 Robert Ashens conductor Siri Vik soprano Nathalie Fortin piano Mike & Nancy Oft Rose Siri Vik sponsor Sure On Th is Shining Night Vocal & chamber works by Samuel Barber & Aaron Copland Nov 11 Alejandro Escovedo Burn Something Beautiful eugeneweekly.com • November 2, 2017 5
