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