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DECEMBER 15, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Not all Oregonians treated fairly with new taxes As we are midway through De- paycheck to fund transit in what cember and Christmas is upon us, I amounts to a handful of cities that wanted to write a few things prepar- have transit systems. Again, that’s great if you live in a metro area like ing you for what’s coming in 2018. First, I have to give a huge shout Salem-Keizer but imagine if you live out to Danielle Bethell and the Keiz- in Scio. You get nothing for that tax. er Chamber of Commerce for an- Remember that payroll tax is on all employees everywhere other outstanding Holiday in Oregon; and to make Lights Parade! Our city is matters worse, a poten- served well by our Cham- tial $250 fi ne to employ- ber and the great business ers per employee if they owners that work tirelessly don’t take that tax out to make Keizer a great place of the employee’s pay- to live. checks. Neither of these I want you to be aware taxes will benefi t the vast of what is coming in regards majority of Oregonians. to the transportation pack- Let’s not forget there age and how it is going to will be fairly heavy in- cost all of us some pretty from the creased DMV fees and substantial money. Starting increase in the truck in January not only will you capitol an weight/mileage fees be paying more for fuel, but (which means though there will be other taxes and By BILL POST you and I may not be fees that I don’t think are paying that tax directly, helpful to the vast majority we will pay more for the of residents in Oregon. For instance: the .05 percent ve- goods delivered by truck). So, while we all want better roads hicle privilege tax on all new vehicles sold in Oregon. Now if you are the and bridges and more safety on those Ford dealership in Keizer, you will roads and bridges, be prepared for certainly not “eat that.” You’ll have more money out of your pocket and to pass it on to the consumer. The to not see much difference in our problem is not just in the tax, it’s roads and bridges in our area. There where that money goes, not to roads has to be a more equitable way to and bridges but in the form of a “tax fund our transportation across the credit” to those who purchase elec- entire state. Looking ahead to 2018, I am anx- tric vehicles. Therefore if you are buying a vehicle and live in Mitch- ious to serve you in the short session ell, Oregon, where it might be 100 in February as I have two potential miles from your home to the nearest bills that I am working on. One is to larger city, you’ve just paid $300-600 protect seed farmers and another to for basically nothing. An electric car protect teachers from misinterpret- is something that rural Oregon has ed law on mandatory reporting of no need for. If you live in a large sexual activity amongst high school metro area, it might be a good thing students. I hope to continue to fi ght for less as you might be inclined to purchase an electric vehicle with its limitations and smarter government. I want to on distance it will travel between wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year as well. charges. (Bill Post represents House Dis- Later in July, all employees in Or- egon, no matter where they live, will trict 25. He can be reached at 503- have .01 percent taken out of their 986-1425 or via email at rep.bilpost@ oregonlegislature.gov.) Keizer comes through again ing something new—es- pecially those who now have a warm jacket. You are wonderful people, and the rewards you re- ceived on delivery day, will carry you through the season. We appre- ciate those near and far who have supported us—from peanut butter locally and jelly from out of state, potatoes and tortillas, wrapping and delivery…we hope to see you again next year. Thank you! Audrey Butler Keizer Network of Women letters To the Editor: Dear Keizer: Keizer Network of Women (KNOW) helped feed and clothe 387 children this year, all made possible with your donations, your shopping skills, and especially your time. It is heart-warming to know these children will have gifts on Christmas morning. It’s great knowing these children will cele- brate, then go back to school, wear- Films shows leader can change history By MICHAEL GERSON The Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour is a movie that should be seen, but not entirely believed. Gary Oldman’s alternately fi erce and vulnerable Churchill is a tri- umph of both acting and the cos- metician’s art. Just hearing him de- liver snippets of Churchill’s speeches is worth the ticket price. (Am I the only one who tears up at the words “We shall fi ght on the beaches”? My wife: “Probably.”) But the central conceit of the fi lm—that a de- fl ated, defeated Churchill required bucking up by average Brits —is a fi ction. Very nearly the opposite was true. The policy of appeasement was broadly popular in Britain during the early to mid-1930s. In 1938, a majority supported Neville Chamberlain’s deal at Munich (which ceded much of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Ger- many in return for ... nothing). It is more accurate to say that Churchill summoned British courage and de- fi ance by his intense idealization of British character. He saw heroic traits in his countrymen that even they, for a time, could not see. This is not to say that May and June of 1940 weren’t dark times, even for Churchill. As resistance in France collapsed and Italy seemed destined to enter the war on Ger- many’s side, Churchill asked his chiefs of staff if it were possible to continue the war at all (they gave a conditional “yes”). The despair im- plied in that question still startles. But on June 3, even as Brit- ish troops were being evacuated at Dunkirk, Churchill’s private sec- retary Jock Colville wrote in his diary: “Winston is tired of our al- ways being on the defensive and is contemplating raids on the enemy. ‘How wonderful it would be,’ he writes to [Gen. Hastings] Ismay, ‘if the Germans could be made to wonder where they were going to be struck next instead of forcing us to try to wall in the Island and roof it over.’” In the midst of catas- trophe, Churchill was dreaming of Normandy (and North Africa, and Italy). Not the thoughts of a defeated man. Where Darkest Hour shines is in presenting the alarming, inspiring contingency of great events. In the spring of 1940, Europe was being shaken by massive, im- personal, world-historic forces—the apparent failure of liberal democra- cy and free markets, the rise of com- munism and fascism, the unleashing of anti-Semitism. Millions marched, line by line, to the “Horst Wessel” song or the “Internationale.” And yet, in saving the remnants of the British Army at Dunkirk, it fell to 665 private British boats (along with 222 British warships) to rescue their country from (likely) capitu- lation or invasion. All the powerful, impersonal forces funneled down and down to 665 volunteer captains in pleasure craft and fi shing trawlers. The future of freedom was deter- mined by the choices and courage of a few hundred free people. And, of course, the choices and courage of one man. A New York Times review of Darkest Hour sneered at the movie’s “great man fetish.” But is there really any doubt that history would be darker if Churchill had truly lost his nerve, other voices or had died when hit by a car in New York in December of 1931 (he escaped with two cracked ribs and a severe scalp wound)? History can hinge on a single life. From Churchill, we learn to resist pessimistic extrapolation. May 1940 was terrible, but not permanent. We learn the power of unreasonable op- timism—the value of planning for revival in the midst of defeat. We see the possibility of leadership that can not only ride the tide but summon it. Many of us view this example, not only with appreciation, but with longing. The problem of our time is not only arrogance without accom- plishment or swagger without suc- cess. These are common enough in politics. Rather, it is the arrival of leadership that survives by feeding resentment, hatred and disorient- ing fl ux. Leadership urging us—at angry rallies, in ethnic stereotyping, through religious bigotry—to for- get who we really are as a people. Leadership that has ceased to be- lieve in the miracle at our country’s heart—the inclusive, unifying pow- er of American ideals. But the moment is not perma- nent. Many are looking for a place to invest their hope. And some lead- er, we trust, will rise who calls his countrymen to choose decency and civic friendship above the destruc- tive pleasures of hatred and blame. Who can see and summon the best in American character, even if, for the moment, it is hidden. In the meantime, we shall fi ght on the beaches. (Washington Group) Post Writers Classless society? Not so much anymore Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, Oregon 97303 Phone: 503.390.1051 www.keizertimes.com • kt@keizertimes.com MANAGING EDITOR SUBSCRIPTIONS Eric A. Howald editor@keizertimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Derek Wiley news@keizertimes.com One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY ADVERTISING Publication No: USPS 679-430 Paula Moseley advertising@keizertimes.com POSTMASTER Send address changes to: PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew Jackson graphics@keizertimes.com LEGAL NOTICES Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 legals@keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER Laurie Painter billing@keizertimes.com Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon RECEPTION Lori Beyeler INTERN Random Pendragon facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes By GENE H. McINTYRE Income inequality, and its corol- lary, much more for the few and much less for the many in access to goods, services and even educational opportunity, has of late become a concern again. Some conservatives argue that this kind of talk is un- wise as it will do harm to economic growth. These Americans, seeking the matter muted, want us to ignore the growing disparities, viewing such discussions as un-American. For them, it’s a no-no to sug- gest that some people con- trol too large a share of the nation’s wealth, possessing inordinate power and per- manency by it, keeping ev- ery cent of it for their heirs. Of course, then, no true conservative American would ever say this: “The absence of effective state, and, espe- cially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men whose chief objective is to hold and increase their power” and not call, as a result, for “a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, increasing rap- idly in amount with the size of the estate.” Who was this “threat” to those who believe it an American right to greedily own and control forev- er, everything in sight? Why it was none other than a conservative Re- publican former President Theo- dore Roosevelt, in a speech on the “New Nationalism, “ he delivered in 1910. Fact of matter is, in the early part of the last century, a number of lead- ing Americans warned about the dangers of extreme wealth concen- tration being passed along untouched and supported tax policy used to limit the growth of big fortunes. An- other example from the time came from noted economist Irving Fisher in 1918 to warn against the effects of “an undemocratic distribution of wealth” and spoke in favor of ways to limit inherited wealth through ef- fective taxation of estates. Economist Thomas Piketty said that taxation to reduce income and wealth disparities was an “American invention.” Back another 100 years, this “American invention” had its roots in the Jeffersonian vision of an egalitarian society of small farmers. At the time Teddy Roosevelt gave his speech, thoughtful Ameri- cans realized that extreme inequality was making a mockery out of Jef- ferson’s dream while the U.S. was in considerable danger of turning into a society dominated by huge fortunes and hereditary wealth. Their view: that this relatively new nation, the United States of America, was at high risk of becoming decadent, corrupt, self-indulging, and rotten-to-its-core, like Old Europe. Taking notice of current data, it is interesting to look at the Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans and, by a somewhat rough count, to be aware of the top inherited large fortunes that about a third of them are inher- ited. Another third are 65 or older, so they will likely leave large fortunes to their heirs. The bottom line is that we are closing in on becoming an ar- guest column istocracy of hereditary wealth. Hence, criticizing our fel- low Americans who talk about the dangers of concentrated wealth in a very few hands misleads the pub- lic into ignoring the consequenc- es from history where nations with concentrated wealth led to decadent, corrupt, self-indulging, rotten-to- the-core cultures. It should be very American to be concerned and to do whatever’s possible to replace those members of Congress who are busy now with a new taxation scheme making sure that the wealthy can ag- grandize excessively and keep it all for those they have sired. Masterpiece Theatre presentations such as Upstairs, Downstairs and Down- ton Abbey glorifi ed and celebrated domestic service in the England of near yesteryear. However, that work in reality meant totally surrender- ing one’s freedom, being at the beck and call of inherited wealth and fac- ing loss of employment for the most petty of infractions. In Merry Ole England, if you were not born rich, then you served the rich, for all in- tents and purposes you gave up your citizenship to the rich, you dug coal to keep the rich warm or you starved and no one gave a damn and a class society ruled. Is this what Americans want for their progeny? (Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.) Share your opinion Email a letter to the editor (300 words) by noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com
