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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Offshore drilling here? Absolutely not
I
n view of all the other
environmental rollbacks of the
past year, it is unsurprising and yet
still somehow shocking that the Trump
administration would move toward
opening the West Coast to petroleum
exploration.
Perhaps best viewed as a middle-fin-
ger salute by the president to the three
mainland Pacific states that voted for
his opponent, the immediate conse-
quences of the oil-leasing plan are likely
to be few — at least off Washington and
Oregon. Not only will the administra-
tion’s action be tied up in political wran-
gling and lawsuits for years, there is
substantial room to doubt whether there
actually is an economic quantity of fos-
sil fuel to be found here. Past onshore
drilling on the Pacific Northwest coast
hasn’t proven successful and there is
reason to suspect that eons of subduc-
tion zone earthquakes have rendered our
geology unconducive to the formation
of hydrocarbon deposits.
No matter what the prospects for
future exploration and exploitation of oil
may be in our waters, the governors of
Washington, Oregon and California are
absolutely right to mount a unified front
of opposition to the very notion of drill-
ing. They deserve our ongoing encour-
agement and support in blocking this
blockheaded proposal.
Time after time we have seen hor-
rific environmental costs from oil devel-
opment and transportation. From the
Associated Press
The oil drilling rig Polar Pioneer is towed toward a dock in Elliott Bay in Seattle in 2015. Work-
ing to dismantle his predecessor’s environmental legacy, President Donald Trump is hoping
to open the entire West Coast and other offshore waters to oil exploration and exploitation.
Exxon Valdez disaster to the BP blow-
out in the Gulf of Mexico, the giant cor-
porations that run this industry and the
undermanned agencies that police it have
shown themselves incapable of guaran-
teeing there will not be horrific, negli-
gent incidents for which they are loath to
take responsibility. Any such “accident”
here would have the distinct potential of
killing several crucial industries — tour-
ism, oystering, crabbing and fishing.
As the governors asserted last week
in a joint statement, the administration
has “chosen to forget the utter devasta-
tion of past offshore oil spills to wildlife
and to the fishing, recreation and tour-
ism industries in our states. They’ve cho-
sen to ignore the science that tells us our
climate is changing and we must reduce
our dependence on fossil fuels. But we
won’t forget history or ignore science.
“For more than 30 years, our shared
coastline has been protected from fur-
ther federal drilling and we’ll do what-
ever it takes to stop this reckless, short-
sighted action.”
Even the somewhat more modest
exploratory activities associated with
identifying oil deposits in the first place
have the potential of harming rockfish
habitat, interfering with whale migra-
tions and feeding, and increasing ves-
sel traffic and noise in areas essential
to endangered species from Chinook
salmon to orcas.
Those who oppose offshore oil and
gas exploration in Pacific Northwest
and Alaskan waters have been painted
as obstructionist worrywarts, more con-
cerned with sea otters and kelp than
with energy independence. In fact, few
Americans of any political persuasion
dispute that, for now, we continue to
need fossil fuels to power our vehicles
and help warm our homes. But there
currently is no shortage of oil that could
possibly justify placing the West Coast
at risk. Gasoline prices remain stable.
Adjusted for inflation, they are about
what they were 90 years ago and are
less than they were 10 years ago.
Opening the West Coast to drilling is
about greed and politics, not about need
for energy. It should be stopped dead in
its tracks.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why wouldn’t you vote
‘yes’ on Measure 101?
hy wouldn’t you vote “yes” on Mea-
sure 101? I can think of many valid and
important reasons to do so, but, quite frankly,
I have yet to find one good reason to vote
“no.”
CAROLYN EADY
Astoria
W
Vote ‘no’ on Measure 101
ote ‘no’ on Measure 101. Health care is a
benefit we all need however, exempting
corporations, unions, and insurance compa-
nies themselves from having to shoulder any
of the burden of a basic need like health care
is just appalling.
This leaves only individuals and fami-
lies who private pay for their insurance, who
have struggled most with rising premiums and
eye-popping deductibles, with the responsibil-
ity of funding the health care services of our
most vulnerable populations. Highly unfair,
egregious and inequitable.
Gov. Kate Brown made sure that health
care special interests and big corporations
don’t pay this tax. She also carved out unions
and the insurance companies. Private pay
individuals have already realized double digit
rate increases in their insurance costs.
Oregon’s middle and lower class can no
longer shoulder the additional cost so corpo-
rations, unions and insurance companies can
get a free pass. Doctors, nurses, hospitals and
other health care special interests will just
pass their burden onto ratepayers, so no sur-
prise they’re endorsing this measure.
The governor and legislature can fix this
without a bailout. A billion health care dol-
lars already blown through by the state — the
Cover Oregon website, Medicaid overpay-
ments, etc. — and rather than correct their
wasteful spending pattern, they give them-
selves a pass and provide a massive bailout to
special interest. Unacceptable.
Legislators need to go back to the table
and create appropriate funding to ensure the
needs of students, poor and elderly are met.
If we truly believe in equity, then everyone
should have skin in the game.
STEPHEN MALKOWSKI
Seaside
V
Health care is a
basic human right
am a physician, and I believe everyone
should have access to health care as a basic
human right. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of
the developed world, the U.S. has relied on
insurance as the way to finance health care,
and traditionally, that insurance is provided by
employers.
Children, seniors, people with disabilities,
and many adults in low wage jobs don’t get
health insurance through an employer, so we
I
have Medicaid to provide them with the cov-
erage they need. Medicaid is under threat, and
Measure 101 is needed to continue to provide
Medicaid to those who need it, and to stabilize
the insurance market for individuals who pur-
chase their own insurance.
Physicians like me, our fellow health care
providers, and the hospitals we work in, all
support Measure 101, even though it taxes us
directly. Opponents object to Measure 101
because it will raise taxes, but the costs are
even more for all of us if we don’t pass it.
Taxes are what we pay to live in a just
society, and providing health care for all our
citizens is part of how we “promote the gen-
eral welfare, and secure the blessings of lib-
erty to ourselves and our posterity” (U.S.
Constitution Preamble).
For some vulnerable citizens, the cost of
not passing Measure 101 will be paid for with
their health, and possibly even their lives.
Please join me in voting for Measure 101.
LAURA GORDON, M.D.
Seaside
No health care sales tax
regon voters beware. The Measure 101
sales tax on health care will not lower
health insurance, nor will it improve health
care for Oregon families. However, it is
expected that pro-tax bureaucrats in Salem
will keep raising this tax, just as most sales
taxes around the nation are continually raised.
These are some of those who will be hard-
est hit:
1. Medicaid providers themselves will be
taxed under this new plan, potentially reduc-
ing payments to doctors and nurses who
already work at cost to help
Oregon’s neediest citizens.
2. Thousands of college students attending
Oregon’s universities and community colleges
will be forced to pay higher tuition because
of the schools’ having to pay the health care
sales tax.
3. Oregon school districts in the large
group market will be hit, causing an expected
$25 million to be sucked out of our local
schools.
4. The Public Employee Benefit Board
(PEBB) plan will be taxed, pulling $12 mil-
lion from our General Fund.
5. Patients in hospitals whose net reve-
nue will have a hard sales tax imposed, and
will pass in on to the patients’ health insur-
ance costs.
6. Small businesses (under 50 employees)
who cover their employees’ health care will
pay the sales tax.
Large corporations, unions, and the insur-
ance companies themselves are exempt from
the law. Oregon is already the sixth biggest
tax and spend state in the nation, at $9,070 per
person.
Please vote “no” on Measure 101 by Jan.
23. It is bad policy for all Oregon families.
CHRIS BRIDGENS
Warrenton
O
Measure 101 is good for all
e have an opportunity to do something
good for our community by voting
“yes” on Measure 101. It will continue health
care funding for the working families, chil-
dren, seniors and disabled who count on Med-
icaid. That is coverage for about 25 percent of
our state — perhaps including you, your rela-
tives or your friends.
The illness of an adult or child can cost
someone their job because of time away from
work. If that is one of your coworkers or
employees, it can possibly jeopardize your
own business or job security. The health care
providers in Oregon have endorsed Measure
101 because they know a doctor visit to pre-
vent sickness is more effective for a stable
society than an emergency room visit after an
illness has taken hold.
But there is a minority opposed to Measure
101 because they don’t like how our state has
addressed Medicaid funding. Is the Oregon
budget an example of perfection? Of course
not, but to punish 25 percent of our citizens
just to prove a point is not good government
either. It is cruel.
One in four Oregonians need the health
care coverage that will come from passing
Measure 101. And you need them to have it,
too. I encourage you to vote “yes” on Mea-
sure 101.
BRYAN KIDDER
Astoria
W
Clarification on
voters’ pamphlet
n response to a letter to the editor from
Diane Amos, “Special election concerns,”
printed in the Cannon Beach Gazette, please
I
see the below quote taken from a message
posted by Secretary of State Dennis Richard-
son to our website on Dec. 27. It addresses Ms.
Amos’ concern.
“As you read your Oregon Voters’ Pam-
phlet, you will see arguments submitted in
favor and in opposition of the measure to be
voted on. Sometimes authors purposely sub-
mit ‘Yes’ arguments in the ‘No’ column and
‘No’ arguments in the ‘Yes’ column. Oregon
law requires the Elections Division to place
arguments as submitted. If you notice argu-
ments that seem to be in the wrong column,
please be aware that this was not an error; it
was the desire of the author who submitted the
argument.”
Secretary Richardson’s entire message and
attached a letter from the office of Oregon’s
Attorney General with statutes, and a legal
opinion regarding this matter, can be found at
bit.ly/2COTpl4
I hope you will print this information for the
benefit of Ms. Amos and your other readers.
DEBRA ROYAL
Chief of Staff, Oregon Secretary of State
Salem
Measure 101 protects
health care for families
’m voting “yes” on Measure 101. I’m voting
yes to ensure that the most vulnerable Ore-
gonians — children and seniors — continue to
get the health care they need. I’m voting yes to
ensure that the health care markets remain sta-
ble and viable to those who need to buy their
own insurance. Measure 101 protects access to
health care for Oregon families. Taking health
care away from children and seniors is cruel.
BEATRICE “BEBE” MICHEL
Gearhart
I