PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 28, 2020
Opinion
Let the people decide
Once again proposed cap-and-
trade legislation has led to a walk-
out and no-show of Republican
legislators, denying a quorum in
both the state Senate and the House
of Representatives.
These legislators mostly repre-
sent the rural areas of
Oregon, whose resi-
dents say they and their
businesses will be hurt
by the proposed legis-
lation.
Senate Bill 1530
would set limits and
shrink the state’s green-
house gas emissions in a
move to address global
climate change. Some reports say
that Oregon contributes a very
small percentage of emissions, mak-
ing the current proposal inconse-
quential in the overall aim of reduc-
ing greenhouse gases.
Opponents of the bill say it
doesn’t make sense to disrupt life as
rural Oregon knows it so that resi-
dents of the state’s largest cities can
feel good about doing something
about the environment. As is gener-
ally the case, rural Oregon and city
Oregon are talking past each other.
City Oregon has a population that
is more liberal than their fellow
state residents. Oregon’s large cit-
ies elect the Democratic legislators
that comprise supermajorities in
the Senate and the House.
Until Republicans can capture
some of those city and suburban
seats and get past this suspermajori-
ty era in the legislature, the Demo-
crats will continue to push through
bills that are anathama to rural Or-
egon.
The tactic of denying a quorum
in either of the legislative cham-
bers has been used before here
and in other states. It worked last
year when Republican Senators
walked out over cap-and-trade in
2019. They used the only weapon
in their arsenal. It is politics, but it
is this kind of politics that
make many citizens dislike
offi cerholders.
The main problem for
the short legislative ses-
sion (which is mandated
for 35 days only) is that
other important issues will
not get the hearings they
need, including providing
emergency relief funds for
victims of the recent fl ooding in
Umatilla County.
The best course of action is to
drop the cap-and-trade bill for now,
address it again in 2021 when there
is time to hear from proponents and
opponents alike and then recom-
mend the issue to the voters.
Cap-and-trade is too conten-
tious of an issue and a potential
disaster for rural Oregon not to let
the voters make the fi nal decision.
Waiting to let voters to decide the
issue in the November 2022 gener-
al election is not too much to ask.
Debating a re-introduced cap-
and-trade bill in January 2021,
hearing the same arguments pro
and con doesnt’ matter. Yes, legisla-
tors are elected to do the people’s
business. Some issues—such as cap-
and-trade—are so big and complex
and affects so many lives, that get-
ting assent from the governed is
warranted.
Let the people decide.
—LAZ
editorial
More than cap-and-trade
As of Wednesday, Feb. 19, the leg- voices are heard and the best possi-
islature is over half way through the ble legislation moves forward.
Not all bills have been controver-
2020 short session. I’m sure you’ve
read about the fi reworks happening sial and complicated. My two bills,
at the Capitol, including the House HB 4013 (relating to kratom) and
HB 4014 (relating to land
Republicans
decid-
use) have both moved
ing not to prolong the
forward to the Senate side
day fl oor session into
with unanimous support.
a night fl oor session
On Feb. 20, the Senate
on earlier in the week.
Committee on Judiciary
The intention being to
held a public hearing and
slow down the pace of
possible work session on
the session, allow time
HB 4013, and the Sen-
to fully vet legislation,
ate Committee on En-
and ensure Oregonians
vironment and Natural
are able to be a part of
will be having
the process. Clearly, the
from the Resources
a public hearing and pos-
largest point of conten-
sible work session on HB
tion is the Cap-and-
capitol
4014. I really hope to see
Trade bills, SB 1530
By BILL POST
both bills move forward
(the Senate version),
as they are small fi xes
SB 1574 (the Gover-
with unanimous bi-parti-
nor’s version), HB 4159
san support.
(House version), and
The rest of the session remains
HB 4169 (Speaker Tina Kotek’s
version). Earlier this session, both unknown. As of now, the House
proponents and opponents each had Republican caucus will continue
rallies at the Capitol. The opposi- to not suspend the House Rules,
tion to these bills has been astonish- which means each bill must be read
ing. Never in my life have I seen a section by section (as specifi ed in
grass roots group come together so the Oregon Constitution). At any
quickly. Truckers from all over the moment, it feels the tension in this
state circled the Capitol for a full building is so thin, we’re just hang-
day. Both opponents and propo- ing on by a thread. The great thing
nents have been extremely respect- about this process, is every legislator
ful at both rallies and have done a is doing what they believe is best to
great job sharing their passions in a represent their district.
(Bill Post represents House Dis-
respectful way. This is what the po-
litical process is all about. It is im- trict 25. He can be reached at 503-
portant the legislature continues to 986- 1425 or via email at rep.bill-
post@ oregonlegislature.gov.)
take the necessary time to ensure all
Keizertimes
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Trump’s own criminal justice reform
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
For decades, a small cadre of re-
formers pushed whichever president
occupied the Oval Offi ce to use his
pardon power more frequently and
put a lid on draconian federal sen-
tences that put low-level and midlevel
offenders away for decades,
even life.
The problem they face on
the week President Donald
Trump issued pardons and
commutations to 11 nonvio-
lent offenders is that they got
their wish—except for the
Trump part.
It’s odd because, in his fashion,
Trump relates to the prison commu-
nity, as was clear when the president
presided over a graduation ceremony
for 29 ex-offenders who participated
in the Hope for Prisoners program in
Las Vegas last week.
He didn’t speak down to the gradu-
ates, as politicians have been known to
do. Trump spoke as if they were in the
same boat: “To every returning citizen
here today, I know that there are some
in our society who want to tell you
what you can’t do. They’re going to
tell you what you can’t do. It’s one of
the reasons I wanted to be here.”
Trump has a healthy distrust of
federal prosecutors. Of course, most
want to lock up bad guys to protect
the public, for which voters should be
grateful. But they often do so with a
chilling ruthlessness.
They’ve been known to put away
low-level nonviolent drug offenders
for decades, even life without parole,
while giving deals to kingpins who
knew how to game the system. I’ve
talked to career prosecutors
who defended putting away
nonviolent drug offenders for
life in prison—because bad
laws said they could.
No doubt Trump’s dis-
trust of the criminal justice
system has been stoked by
special counsel Robert Mueller’s Rus-
sia probe, which, after more than two
years, found no coordination between
the Kremlin and Trump Tower. The
investigation dragged on far beyond
the point when Mueller and company
should have realized they didn’t have
the goods they sought.
It was deliciously ironic to
hear former FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe complain after he
learned the government would not
charge him for making inaccurate
statements to the FBI, “it is an absolute
disgrace that they took two years and
put my family through this experience
for two years before they fi nally drew
the obvious conclusion and one they
could have drawn a long, long time
ago.”
If only Mueller’s team thought two
other
opinions
years was too long for the country to
wait for its probe to end.
A true criminal justice re-
former would call for an end to crim-
inalizing politics and disagreements.
Trump embraces criminal justice re-
form, and then grins at rallies when
his base chants, “Lock her up.”
The New York Times re-
ported that all 11 Trump pardon re-
cipients had connections with Trump
or Fox News. Former Illinois Gov.
Rod Blagojevich was a contestant on
“Celebrity Apprentice.” Former New
York City Police Commissioner Ber-
nard Kerik had friends on Fox News.
The family of Texas businessman Paul
Pogue had contributed more than
$200,000 to reelect Trump.
I perused the list and didn’t
see any miscarriage of justice, per se.
It’s refreshing to see a president who
is not afraid to recognize people who
have served their time and turned their
lives around or to reduce draconian
sentences for nonviolent offenders.
This is what criminal justice reformers
have wanted for decades.
But there’s no path for
14,000 applicants who have asked for
clemency the old-fashioned way. And
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s more
about Trump and his feelings and who
he likes than justice.
(Creators Syndicate)
Proposed budget cuts will hurt economy
Monday, Feb. 24, the Dow began
the week down 800 points. Mean-
while, the S&P slid 2.7 percent and the
Nasdaq sank 3.2 percent. The low for
the day was down 997 points.
This is fearsome stuff that we
haven’t seen for a while. What’s
going on?
Coronavirus is already
making itself fi nancially felt
throughout most of the globe.
First reported in China, where
it orginated, it’s now in plac-
es as far-fl ung as South Korea,
Iran and Italy. Deaths attributed to the
virus are common and exponential-
ly-growing in number.
Also underway is President Trump’s
proposed 2021 budget, already receiv-
ing negative reactions because it is full
of outdated plans that would add to
the Coronavirus’ fi nancial impact as it
will weaken the economy and under-
mine our nation’s ability to grow and
prosper. Ultimately, by analysis, it will
result, if implemented, in a national
calamity.
What’s so threatening about it? For
openers, it proposes massive and im-
mediate cuts to the kinds of public
services, protections and health care
that help to strengthen short-term
economic growth. According to a
report by the Brookings Institution’s
Hutchins Center Fiscal Impact Mea-
sure, government investment has been
directly supporting overall economic
growth for the past two years. Our
federal government was contributing
the most to the na-
tion’s Gross National
Product (GNP) over
the past two years
while to reverse that
impact means to fur-
ther limit growth that
has recently slowed.
The
proposed
Trump administration
cuts are so deep, so signifi cant and so
destructively targeted that they could
be large enough to push the U.S. into
serious recession. Programs such as
Medicaid, food stamps and tax credits
for low income families tend to have a
positive impact throughout local econ-
omies while those are the main victims
of President Trump’s budget: It seeks
to cut or eliminate around $335 bil-
lion in the next four years. These cuts
would effectively reduce economic
activity and push growth potential for
America to well under 1 percent over
the next year and longer through pain-
ful economic contractions.
A key to economic prosperity is
improving opportunities, as workers
and consumers drive growth and pros-
perity. When those who work have
the support to do their best, they have
proven themselves able to innovate,
create and improve everything around
them. Trump’s budget wrecks havoc
with the foundations of our society:
education, health care, research and
development.
Disappointing to an overwhelming
majority of U.S. citizens and helping
the wealthiest Americans, Trump’s
budget includes an extension of the
one-sided tax cuts. If extended, the
richest 0.1 percent of Americans
would receive additional tax cuts of
about $100,000 per year. Meanwhile,
cuts to public services for all who need
help, would simply add signifi cantly to
the inequalities of the current Amer-
ican way of conducting the nation’s
business: bad for our economics and
our efforts to raise morale and op-
portunity among those left out of the
American dream. Extreme inequality
pulls the economy down and limits
consumer buying to the few who can
afford it.
What’s the bottom line on the con-
sequences of Trump’s proposed bud-
get? In all likelihood, Trump’s budget
would yield the opposite of what so
many of us want and need as it will
produce less and weaken the U.S.
economy overall.
Where are you
America?
fed up with both parties?
People don’t have to as-
cribe to the ideas of either
of these parties to be great
candidates and exceptional
leaders. In fact, I don’t think
either of these parties re-
semble anything near what
they represented in the beginning. We
need at least four or fi ve political par-
ties that all have the chance to nom-
inate, support, have debates and vote
for primaries as well. What about a Tea
Party, Libertarian, Independent and,
yea, even a Socialist party? At least we
would know who or what we were
voting for. My personal feeling is that
the president of the United States
should not belong to any political par-
ty at all. That would be new and differ-
ent, don’t you think?
By the way, coming from some-
one who was around before dial tele-
phones, do you really want America to
become a socialist country? Do you
have any idea what that is? Study it.
Do you really want the government
taking over your life and telling you
what you can and can’t do, can or can’t
buy or own, and worse yet, what you
can believe? Check it out. What has
happened to education in this coun-
try? I guess it has gone the way of all
good and noble things like truth, man-
ners, respect, kindness, etc.
I don’t know how things work in
big government, but it seems to me
like there are those out there who do
know how to get things like this done.
Where are you?
Judy Chappell
Libertytown, MD
gene h.
mcintyre
letters
To the Editor:
I, for one, have been
asking why we have to be
a registered Republican or
Democrat to have our voice
heard around this country?
Oh sure, you can register as an
“independent” or as they like to call
it “unaffi liated” voter, but who real-
ly cares besides you? Your candidate
will never have a primary or join in
any debate or win an election. That
is why many in power today started
out as independent thinking people
but switched to one of the two parties
because they knew they didn’t stand a
chance. Why?
What about those of us who are
(Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.
He shares his opinion frequently in the
Keizertimes.)