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JANUARY 12, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Measure 101 is not the answer We salute offi cials and legislators who endeavor to solve problems, and there are plenty of areas that have issues. The Oregon legislature passed House Bill 2391 in 2017 that im- poses temporary assessments on premiums charged by health insur- ance companies as well as an assess- ment on large hospitals to help pay healthcare for Oregon’s low-income individuals and families. This month’s one-ques- tion special election for Measure 101 is asking Oregon residents to vote whether to keep HB 2391 as is or reject it. The problem is that HB 2391 creates prob- lems also. There is noth- ing in the bill or the ballot measure that guarantees that money collect- ed is earmarked exclusively for the healthcare costs of Oregon’s needi- est patients. Money collected could easily be diverted into other areas of government operation—that is not something Oregon voters can knowingly support. The other glaring problem with Measure 101 is that it is uneven in whom it collects from. Large com- panies will not be taxed, though large public service organizations— such as public school districts—will. Measure 101 is trying to smooth over problems in Oregon and on the federal level. Medicaid payments are less than in previous years. One bil- lion fewer Medicaid dollars would fl ow into Oregon. Measure 101 is really just a ban- dage. We think the measure should go down in defeat. We think this will force the legislature to address Or- egon’s healthcare and tax issues head on. The measure is fl awed. Orego- nians are in no mood to approve any new taxes or fees, regardless of what supporters call it. The state’s general operating budget is almost $40 billion per year and Oregon lawmakers fi ght over pennies when it comes to funding education and healthcare. What is needed is leadership on taxing and spending issues. Every bit of spending leg- islation is picked apart by interests—exemptions and waivers become part of a spending package. Most people would agree that enough money is collected in taxes, fees, licenses and other sources to fund what the people want to fund. At the same time most people are generous and want to watch out for their fel- low man. While Measure 101 aims to help pay for the healthcare costs of those less fortunate, a hopscotch taxing scheme is not the answer. Democrats and Republicans need to act in the name of all their con- stituents, not the just the fi nancial donors. In politics winning is ev- erything, but in governing quality of life for all is everything. We call on legislators of every ideology and political party to fi x the healthcare fi nancing problem at its next session without raising new sources of rev- enue. Government’s number one job is to protect its citizens. Nothing defi nes that job more than keeping citizens healthy. —LAZ our opinion It sounds interesting... After Sunday nights’ broadcast of the Golden Globes there was much chatter on Facebook and news sites about the speech Oprah Winfrey gave when she was presented with a lifetime achievement award. Monday morning dawned with people calling for Oprah to run for president. Her clarion call about a new day on the horizon in which women are treated and paid equal to men and harassment is no longer part of the discourse. She received three standing ovations. Yes, Oprah can speak and she can hold an audi- ence. But that is not a reason to trip all over ourselves to crown her the next president of the United States. There is a lot to like and admire about one of America’s most popu- lar people. It was 14 months ago the nation voted in a media star with no politi- cal or governmental service experi- ence. Oprah has no governmental experience. Those hoping for an Oprah can- didacy should stop for a few mo- ments and think about where she stands on the major issues. That will be a long moment because aside from her humanitarianism no one knows her position on taxes, infra- structure, North Korea, Russia and other hot topics. Hopefully the voters of the Unit- ed States have learned that vetting a candidate’s positions is more impor- tant than applause lines. “You get a car and you get a car and you get a car,” is lovely and makes a great TV moment but it doesn’t show what kind of a presi- dent Winfrey would be. —LAZ In Iran today, information is ammunition By MICHAEL GERSON Though events in Iran are murky, their direction is historic. The Iranian regime—‚which has made a project of destabilizing oth- ers through terrorism and regional adventurism—has been revealed as deeply unstable. Many Iranian citizens thought that the election of the “moderate” Hassan Rouhani as presi- dent would bring more sensible and effective gov- ernance. Those hopes have fi zzled. Many Iranians thought that the nuclear deal’s sanctions relief and unfrozen assets would improve their lives. For the most part, they haven’t. The result—put in terms Presi- dent Trump would appreciate—has been a broad revolt against the Ira- nian political establishment. The Iranian government’s problem is no longer a matter of performance but of legitimacy. Routine corruption, vicious oppression and economic mismanagement are increasingly seen as essential to the regime itself. The breadth of this sentiment is what distinguishes the current re- volt from the Green Movement of 2009. Instead of mainly involving the upper middle class, discontent has taken root in the lower middle class -- in the labor movement and among the unemployed. Instead of being concentrated in Tehran and a few other cities, current unrest can be found across the country in smaller cities and rural areas. (If it comes to it, this would compli- cate the imposition of martial law, because the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps would need to be de- ployed more thinly.) “In 100 years,” Iranian dissident Mohsen Sazegara told me, “we’ve never had such a movement all around the country.” The geograph- ic and demographic scope of the protests is what makes them so re- markable -- and so damaging to the long-term prospects of the regime. The short-term prospects are a different matter. Those who hope that the Iranian national revolution will succeed in a single, big push -- like the crowd turning against the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaus- escu in Palace Square -- are likely to be disap- pointed. In most civil re- sistance movements, the purpose of mass protest is not to overthrow the gov- ernment directly. It is to convince observers -- and especially elements of the police and army -- that they can turn against the regime without imprisonment or death. Protests act as a signal to potential defectors that their risk is reasonable. If enough people join them, the chance of violence diminishes. This depends on the protesters rejecting violence themselves. In a study of civil resistance campaigns between 1900 and 2006, research- ers Maria Stephan and Erica Che- noweth found that nonviolent ef- forts succeeded 53 percent of the time, compared with 26 percent for violent campaigns. And nonviolent approaches generally succeeded in less than half the time (an average of about three years). Why this dif- ference? Because violence reduces public participation, which makes defections less likely. With this in mind, what should America be doing? U.S. policy has generally had two objectives: lengthen the Iranian regime’s nu- clear timeline and shorten Iran’s democratization timeline. Nuclear proliferation isn’t particularly good anywhere. But such weapons are far less dangerous in the hands of dem- other voices ocratic governments. For proof, just compare India to North Korea. There is signifi cant disagree- ment on the best way to lengthen the Iranian nuclear timeline. In the 2015 Iran nuclear framework, the Obama administration made huge concessions to buy some delay. But whatever your view on that agree- ment, the matter at hand is support- ing democratic change. And since direct meddling in Iranian affairs by America is toxic, this task requires some creativity. If the objective is to give the Iranian opposition the time and space to encourage recruits and defections, then the Trump admin- istration needs to increase the cost to the regime of a comprehensive crackdown. This would need to be done in concert with the Europe- ans, making clear that repression will bring a return to economic isolation and sanctions. An effective U.S. response would also attempt to increase the access of Iranian citi- zens to the internet and social me- dia -- which is effectively blocked -- through public pressure or (some have suggested) satellite internet ac- cess. This would permit the spread of information about the regime -- how about better publicizing the cost of Iranian interventions in Leb- anon, Syria and Gaza? -- and reveal regime violence to the world in real time. In a struggle like this one, in- formation is ammunition. Implicit in all this is something often dismissed and completely un- deniable: the strategic value of de- mocracy promotion in a strong for- eign policy. Much about the future of the Middle East, and the nature of the nuclear threat, now depends on it. (Washington Group) Post Writers Trump’s drug price promises unmet Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.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 EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 legals@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 President Donald Trump has ful- fi lled few of his campaign promises. One in mind that he could already have done something about is when he announced well over a year ago that, “I’m going to bring down drug prices. I don’t like what’s happened with drug prices.” In Febru- ary 2016, he went so far as to promote the idea of the government using its market strength to reduce drug prices. “I said to myself, wow, let me do some numbers. If we com- petitively bid drugs in the United States, we can save as much as $300 billion a year.” That statement was an ambitious one even for Don- ald Trump, who views himself as a master dealmaker. American drug buyers spent $450 billion on pre- scriptions in 2016. Hence, Trump was fi guring he could twist drug company arms into huge price cuts. You may remember that as re- cent as last October he once again promised to reduce drug prices for Americans. He said at that time, as he did earlier, that drug companies are “frankly getting away with murder” and further that his administration is “going to get prescription drug pric- es way down.” Recently, Trump was provided help from the National Academy of Sciences (NAC) that gave him a realistic road map to em- brace his goal regarding drug prices. The NAC provided guidance by its report, Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative. Appearing in The Oregonian last month was a column by David Laza- rus who wrote under the title, A road map to cutting drug prices Trump should follow. Having an interest in this subject parallel to my own, Lazarus contacted the White House to in- quire when Trump will announce his advocacy for the common sense ideas in the NAC’s report and fulfi ll his vow to make medi- cations more available and afford- able. Lazarus reports that he was unable to get a White House answer but instead was directed to what has become a dead end source, the now- nearly defunct and out-of-order U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). So, there’s only a dark hole be- tween what have been Trump pledg- es on drug prices and what’s be- come of his many pledges when he’s said he was bound and determined to do something about those deplor- able drug prices. The truth is that he’s done nothing, period. Mean- while, as for his promise also to drain the “swamp,” he has nominated a former drug-company executive, Alex Azar, to serve as HHS secretary. Hence, we may see pigs fl y before Azar tackles drug prices. If it’s diffi cult for you to guess guest column where this matter will go from here, let’s recognize what happens if Azar passes muster with Congress and is appointed to secretary of health. You see, while Azar was head of U.S. operations for Eli Lilly & Co., among many outrages, the company more than doubled the price of insu- lin, a life-saving medication for mil- lions of people with diabetes. Meanwhile, the pharmaceuti- cal industry is helping Republican members of Congress and has al- ready contributed nearly $13 million to GOP politicians for 2018 congres- sional elections. The top recipient, re- ceiving $313,000, is Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R/Utah), a voting member of the Senate Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Hatch promises not to run for re-election; nevertheless, one can be assured that he will help them as long as he’s there. Of note regarding the Trump ad- ministration and GOP members of Congress on America’s health and human services: they were active in the tax bill to eliminate a provi- sion in the Affordable Care Act that would have retained many Ameri- cans with health insurance. How- ever, even though a specifi c amend- ment was on the U.S. Senate fl oor to control drug prices, our “repre- sentatives” chose instead to do noth- ing about what are viewed by many as highway robbery costs: U.S. pre- scription drug, prices. (Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.)
