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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2015)
OPINION 6A T HE D AILY A STORIAN Founded in 1873 STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager SAMANTHA MCLAREN, Circulation Manager Building community through service P George and Ford awards highlight the best among us eople say the old adage, “George will do it,” characterizes the difference between those who talk and those who act. And that’s why the George Award is the name of Astoria- Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce’s top accolade. Last weekend, insurance executive David Reid was honored for his volunteer service for more than a decade to the Regatta, Rotary, Camp Kiwanilong, the Historical Society and the Astor Street Opry Company. He also has dedicated himself to the chamber itself, serving as president this past year and volunteering in other capacities. Warrenton’s Richard Ford Distinguished Service Award is presented to people who best exemplify the spirit of Ford, a — while keeping up the same pace of volunteering — was heartening. And lest anyone think we’re forgetting that “other” George winner, let’s conclude with another shout-out to Willis Van Dusen, recently retired longtime mayor of Astoria. Van Dusen has presided over the most exciting and most positive era in Astoria’s recent growth. He has repeatedly said it has been a “team effort,” but every successful team needs a visionary who can coordinate their efforts. Van Dusen has already earned the George Award in prior years, This year’s recipients were Carl and Dianne Burkhart, whose work organizing a free community Thanksgiving dinner and their service to Warrenton sports, scholarships and parks was highlighted. Their continued dedication in overcoming personal obstacles this past year it again as he steps aside for a new era of leadership. We join the 600 chamber members in saluting this year’s George and Ford award winners. Their common belief in building community through service is an inspiration to all who call the North Coast their home. Tax tale of two states A Oregon mostly gets it right lthough you’d never guess based on the complaining, top 1 percent — residents who Oregon lawmakers and voters have done quite a good job of designing a tax system that of income on taxes, 6.5 percent. meets fundamental measures of In Washington state, which fairness. according to this analysis has the nation’s least-fair taxation, the state does pretty much everything wrong, according to the Institute whopping 16.8 percent on state on Taxation and Economic Policy. and local taxes — more than There are other ways to assess twice as much as their peers in tax systems, but among the most Oregon. Middle-earners pay 10.1 basic is whether burdens are percent, while the wealthiest 1 based on the ability to pay. This percent pay 2.4 percent. There are means people who make the wealthier people in Washington least money ought to be taxed than in Oregon, with an annual less, so they can meet their own personal expenses. Rich people needed to be in Washington’s top can afford to pay more taxes and 1 percent club. still have plenty of money to live Washington’s horrendous tax well. Based on these principles, system generates relatively little the post-World War II generation griping by citizens, while some built one of the greatest national Oregon counties routinely tie success stories ever known. themselves up into knots, unable In Oregon, as in all other 50 to agree to even fund adequate states, incomes are less equal after law enforcement and jails. This state and local taxes than before. is a reminder of the importance But only California and Delaware, of psychology in taxation — plus the District of Columbia, are Washington depends on sales slightly more fair than Oregon. taxes that are paid a little bit at a time, while Oregon relies has a tax inequality index of on highly visible income and minus 1.3 percent — meaningless property taxes. in itself, except when compared to The takeaway from all this is other states such as Washington, that Oregon can stand to make which has an index rating nearly incremental improvements — 10 times worse. particularly to pay for maintaining Total tax collections are infrastructure — but shouldn’t be remarkably consistent across the tempted to make major changes. board in Oregon, with the lowest- Washington, on the other hand, has a seriously troubled situation paying 8.1 percent of income on that is almost certain to get worse state and local taxes, the next as the state wrestles with how to pay with court- and citizen- mandated hikes in K-12 education the second-highest income one- funding. THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 The dark side of Gearhart I n his impassioned speech at a recent Gearhart City Council meeting, Councilor Dan Jesse got it right: The city of Gearhart is being torn apart by the acrimony between Mayor Dianne Widdop and those who are seeking her recall. For months now, or even years, depending on the issue before the council, the accusations, suspicions and shouting matches have made the monthly meetings nearly unbearable. If the City Council hopes to en- courage community involvement, this is, I guess, one way to do that. The small council chambers al- ways overflows to standing room only. In order to comply with fire marshal regulations, the doors to the exit have to be unlocked, if not open, in case the crowd needs to leave in a hurry. Some might say those doors would also make for a quick get- away for anyone wishing to es- cape the tension contained in the room. There are few “neutral” par- ties: People are either applauding those who read lists of accusations about the mayor’s lack of respect for the constitutional right of free speech, her disdain for council- ors and residents who don’t agree with her and her intention to fol- low her own agenda without con- sulting anyone. Then there are the mayor’s supporters who defend Widdop’s right to offer personal opin- ions, who remember what they call her “courage” on past issues and who congratulate her on her “forthrightness.” However, the supporters often find themselves being personally grilled by sharp- tongued opponents. In a quiet town where “livabil- ity” and residential character are emphasized, the turbulent City Council meetings have been the community’s dirty little secret. Only, with recall signs posted on fences and a camera and mo- tion sensor trained on the signs to discourage anyone from removing them, that turbulence has literally spilled over into the streets. Add to that recall petitions mailed to Gearhart’s registered voters and a website that lists all of the mayor’s public discretions, and it is apparent that this quiet little town has a dark side. NANCY MCCARTHY — EO Media Group After someone removed the recall signs posted on a fence next to the post office in downtown Gearhart, they were reposted, this time with a camera and motion sensor to monitor them. Recall leader Harold Gable has since removed the signs and monitoring devices. The signs were posted elsewhere in town. I MPRESSIONS B Y N ANCY M C C ARTHY The spark of annoyance that started so long ago has erupted into that is spreading to all parts of the community. Widdop, too, has fueled the flames of discontent. Her com- plaint to the Secretary of State’s office that the recall petition con- tained “inaccurate, misleading and untruthful statements” has done nothing to change attitudes. Widdop said this week that she has been told by state officials that her complaint cannot be validated. An official report from the Secre- tary of State’s Office will be re- leased in a few days. But the acrimony isn’t con- tained to just the pro- and an- ti-Widdop camps. It has leached out to other city issues and touched other residents. Whether the issue is about fences or RVs or short-term rentals, there’s a fair amount of anger. One resident, who owns an RV and is concerned about a proposed zoning ordinance that spells out how long he can park an RV at his residence, told Widdop at a City Council meeting that he was glad she was the target of a recall effort. “I hope it’s successful,” he said. Another resident, who recently expressed a worry that his short- term rental will be affected by a possible ordinance regulating rentals, brought a Christmas card he received to the last council meeting. On the front of the card was a peaceful photo of the beach. In- side the card was a harsh, anon- ymous “greeting” that criticized him for his “incessant bleating ramblings.” It was apparent that the man and his wife felt like they had been stalked. The spark of annoyance that started so long ago has erupted into a fire of animosity that is spreading to all parts of the com- munity. Dan Jesse said that Gearhart has become a “laughingstock” of Clatsop County, but has it grown into more than that? Just who’s laughing anyway? Nancy McCarthy covers South County for The Daily Astorian and is the editor of the Seaside Signal and the Cannon Beach Gazette. Her column appears every two weeks. For the love of the element carbon and should take its place. ernment spends comes at the expense of the private That’s why a great major- sector suddenly begin ity of economists believe talking about all the jobs t should come as no surprise that the Obama stimulus that will be destroyed. did, in fact, reduce the They even begin talking unemployment rate com- the new Republican Senate is pared with what it would about the multiplier ef- an attempt to push President have been without that fect, as reduced spending by defense workers leads stimulus. Barack Obama into approving to job losses in other in- From the beginning, the Keystone XL pipeline, dustries. This is the phe- however, Republican Paul which would carry oil from leaders have held the op- nomenon former Rep. Krugman Canadian tar sands. Barney Frank dubbed posite view, insisting that “weaponized Keynesian- After all, debts must be paid, and we should slash public ism.” spending in the face of high unem- the oil and gas industry — which And the argument being made for ployment. And they’ve gotten their way: The years after 2010, when Re- Keystone XL is very similar; call it contributions to the GOP — expects publicans took control of the House, “carbonized Keynesianism.” Yes, ap- to be rewarded for its support. were marked by an unprecedented proving the pipeline would mobilize But why is this environmentally decline in real government spending some money that would otherwise troubling project an urgent priority per capita, which leveled off only in have sat idle, and in so doing create in a time of plunging world oil pric- 2014. some jobs — 42,000 during the con- es? Well, the party line, from peo- The evidence overwhelming- struction phase, according to the most widely cited estimate. (Once com- ple like Mitch McConnell, the new Senate majority leader, is that it’s all austerity in a depressed economy is pleted, the pipeline would employ about jobs. And it’s true: Building destructive; if the economic news only a few dozen workers.) But gov- Keystone XL could has been better late- ernment spending on roads, bridges slightly increase ly, it’s probably in and schools would do the same thing. Why not And the job gains from the pipe- U.S. employment. In part because of the line would, as I said, be only a tiny fact, it might replace fact that federal, state support a push and local govern- fraction — less than 5 percent — of almost 5 percent of the job losses from sequestration, the jobs America has to upgrade lost because of de- stopped cutting. And which in turn are only part of the America’s structive cuts in fed- spending cuts have, damage done by spending cuts in eral spending, which in particular, cost general. If McConnell and compa- crumbling were in turn the di- a lot of jobs. When ny really believe that we need more spending to create jobs, why not rect result of Repub- infrastructure? the Congressional support a push to upgrade America’s lican blackmail over the debt ceiling. asked how many jobs crumbling infrastructure? So what should be done about Oh, and don’t tell me that the would be lost because of the seques- cases are completely different. You ter — the big cuts in federal spend- Keystone XL? If you believe that it can’t consistently claim that pipeline ing that Republicans extracted in would be environmentally damag- spending creates jobs while govern- 2011 by threatening to push America ing — which I do — then you should ment spending doesn’t. into default — its best estimate was be against it, and you should ignore Let’s back up for a minute and 900,000. And that’s only part of the the claims about job creation. The numbers being thrown around are discuss economic principles. total loss. For more than seven years — Needless to say, the guilty par- tiny compared with the country’s ever since the Bush-era housing ties here will never admit that they overall work force. And in any case, and debt bubbles burst — the U.S. were wrong. But if you look at their the jobs argument for the pipeline is economy has suffered from inade- behavior closely, you see clear signs basically a sick joke coming from quate demand. Total spending just that they don’t really believe in their people who have done all they can to destroy American jobs — and are hasn’t been enough to fully employ own doctrine. the nation’s resources. In such an Consider, for example, the now employing the very arguments environment, anything that increas- case of military spending. When it they used to ridicule government job es spending creates jobs. And if pri- comes to possible cuts in defense programs to justify a big giveaway vate spending is depressed, a tem- contracts, politicians who loudly to their friends in the fossil fuel in- porary rise in public spending can proclaim that every dollar the gov- dustry. By PAUL KRUGMAN New York Times News Service I