Portland Observer, January 7,1962 Page 5
Dick Bogle
A recent Associated Press story
out o f Salem indicates some tighten
ing up in Oregon’s early release pro
gram is needed. That’s the program
that allows Oregon State prison in
mates to get out early In search for
jobs and living quarters.
This program replaces the work
release program and is in effect in
part because o f an earlier court de
cision branding the prison o ve r
crowded. M o re than 600 inmates
were out at one time on temporary
leaves. That was when the state was
struggling last w inter to meet the
federal ju d g e ’ s deadline for re
ducing the overcrowded conditions.
The pressure is o ff somewhat now,
since the U .S . Supreme C o u rt
stayed that order.
The problem is that about 24 per
cent of the inmates granted early re
leases escape, commit new offenses
or fail because o f other violations.
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty district a t
torney Michael Schrunk says, “ It's
not w orking, a 24 per cent failure
rate is about one fourth, is that what
we want? We are putting individuals
back on the street and they are back
committing crimes.**
He says it's undermining the cred
ibility o f the system.
Corrections divisions statistics re
port that between September, 1980
and Septem ber, 1981, tem porary
leaves were granted to 2,362 in
mates. O f those, 59 were sent back
to prison for technical violations
and 519 escaped or were charged
with new crimes.
Oregon is not alone in the dilem
ma o f prison overcrowding. Some
most interesting statistics have come
to light. One out o f every 659 Amer
icans is behind bars serving sen
tences o f varying length. The U .S.
prison population is growing nearly
15 times faster than that o f the na
tion as a whole.
It’s not only because o f increasing
crime but also stiffer sentences. But
some states, 36 to be exact, have
com pleted new facilities to house
22,823 inm ates. Oregon is not
among those.
Quarters for another 26,538 are
Representative
Wally Priestley
under construction in 39 states, at a
cost o f $865.9 million and Oregon is
not among those either.
N a tio n a lly , the num ber o f in
mates in federal and state correc-
tiuonal institutions increased from
328,695 to 349,118 during the first
six months o f 1981, according to the
Bureau o f Justice Statistics o f the
U .S . D epartm ent o f Justice. This
6.2 per cent increase compares with
a nationwide growth in population
o f 0 .43 per cent over the same
period.
It looks as though Oregonians are
simply going to have to face up the
fact that it costs money to have an
effective criminal justice system and
that a good portion o f those funds
are going to come from you and me.
There was some hope that the
proposed C rim in a l Justice C o n
struction Reform Act now pending
in Congress w ould pump $6.5
m illio n into new prison construc
tio n . But that b ill, sponsored by
Kansas senator Robert Dole appears
now to be facing rough times.
Special Legislative Report
and Questionnaire
January, 1982
’ Bankroll politics’ is bankrupting Oregon. Tax giveaways to the rich
are the result. Now with a downturn in the economy they are asking
w o rk in g people, car owners, senior citizens, women w ith needy
children and students to sacrifice and to balance the budget. W ith the
support o f the governor, the legislature has:
•eliminated the tax on business inventories
• allowed trucking companies to crowd and overload our highways:
they are not asked to pay their share o f higway costs
• phased out the inheritance tax, which only hit those with estates
over a quarter million dollars
•given an income tax break that only goes to those with incomes
over $35,000 per year (cost $22 m illion last year, more next)
Budget cuts impact counties
•allowed the percentage o f corporation taxes to drop as the per
centage o f personal income taxes rise in the states general fund
by Don Clark,
Multnomah County Executive
O regon’s state and local govern
ments have reached their most crit
ical juncture in decades. The New
Year either means cutting further
into the meat and bone o f vital pro
grams, or it means the unpopular
prospect o f increasing taxes.
Whichever course is chosen, the
fiscal waters are fraught with prob
lems. I f services continue to be cut,
who w ill be asked to suffer the
most? W ill we be jeopardizing the
basic qualities o f life we enjoy in
Oregon? If new revenues arc found,
how do we make certain that the tax
load is distributed fairlly?
U nder a plan proposed by the
Governor, Oregon would cut an ad-
ditinal $147 million out o f state pro
grams— including $68 million from
Human Resources and a combined
$65 million from education— during
the current biennium.
For M ultnom ah County, the im
pact o f these cuts will be great. For
the past several budget periods, the
C o u n ty’ s services to the poor, the
old, the handicapped have suffered
more under the fiscal scalpel than
other program s. E arlier this year,
cuts at the state and federal level
further eroded the C o u n ty ’ s com
mitment to the “ have nots."
We have now reached the distres
sing point where O regon's bleak
econom ic o u tlo o k has created
unemployment, devastated key Ore
gon industries and created whole
new groups o f poor people— and yet
state government is cutting the very
services our citizens now desperately
need.
W hen the C o u n ty first exper
ienced tight fiscal tim es— back in
1975 — we prepared ourselves to
maintain our basic services in spite
o f cutbacks and in flatio n . W e im
plemented m illions o f dollars o f
productivity savings, trim m ed our
bureaucracy and found new rev
enues the public could support.
We survived by careful, conscien
tious managem ent. O u r basic ser
vices survived; our clients— young,
old, poor— got served.
This m onth's special legislative
session, called for January 18, may
be the most important in Oregon’ s
recent h istory. It is a session in
which the Legislature must some
how resolve the tremendous deficit
with which the state— by failing to
p erfo rm sound long-range fiscal
planning— must now contend.
The State Department o f Human
Resources, under the G o vern o r's
proposal, would be cut by almost 10
per cent. A reduction that deep is
• finally granted the people’s demands for property tax relief, only
to give the largest benefits to those with homes valued over $130,
000 (1979) and to include suburban acreage.
critical to the County because many
o f those dollars are passed on to
local governments to pay for direct
services.
The County’s Department o f H u
man Services lost almost $2 million
due to the earlier cuts. A dditional
reductions w ill require us to cut
more services— and once again the
poor will be made to pay the great
est price fo r poor fiscal planning
and a dismal economy.
‘ Bankroll politics!’ Spend unlimited money in political campaigns.
Spend this money to elect governors and most legislators w hile
w orking people struggle to earn a liv in g and feed the ir fam ilies.
That’ s how working people take a beating.
Please return the below Questionnaire or write to me your thoughts.
This w ill, help me know you care and to continue fighting fo r your
views. Quickly! The special legislative session begins next week.
I am reminded o f my budget mes
sage last M arch to the Board o f
C ounty Commissioners in which I
said:
“ I do not believe that the full bur
den for the County’s fiscal problems
should fall upon any one group— es
pecially the poor. I also do not think
that the n ear-p oo r in our com
m unity— those who have paid their
dues and haven’t expected many ser
vices from governm ent — should
find themselves, because o f our eco
nomic con d itio n s, w ith o u t a jo b ,
without resources and without as
sistance from local, state or federal
government.”
Rep. Wally Priestley
QUESTIONNAIRE
C u t th e B u dget $250 M illio n or raise Taxes?
How would you cut the budget?
1. Would you cut school support? Which?
Universities and colleges .
Local school districts □
Community colleges O
State aid to private universities (like the University o f Portland, Concordia.
Reed, Lewis A C Iark, and Willamette University)
□
2. Which state human resource budgets would you cut?
Needy children □
Senior citizens □
Prison funds □
Job finding services □
Public health and sanitation
Mental health □
Vocational rehabilitation □
Other ___________ ___ ______________________________
Ten months later— at the begin
ning o f a new y ea r— we face the
same uncom fortable dilem m a. We
mest resolve it in favor o f our citi
zens.
Would you cut:
State police □
Land use planning □
National guard □
Parks □
Environmental controls □
4. Should part □
or all □ of our deficit be made up with taxes?
If yes. which taxes would you increase?
A. Corporation taxes from 7.5V, to SV»? or
B. Graduated corporation taxes from 5V» for small
businesses to 8.75 V, for only the very large businesses?
C. Increase taxes paid by out o f state insurance companies?
D. Take back the tax break on earnings over $35,000 per year
E. ‘One time’ 12 V, increase in everyone’s state income tax?
F. Raise minimum corporation tax from $10 to $100 per year?
G. IV , sales tax (State o f Washington type)
Fred Meyer
Super Shopping Centers
Help Lower Your
Cost of Living . . .
C ut property tax relief .
□
Increase personal income taxes □
Good i
Bad □
Like the rest □
___________________
FOLD
FOLD
STAMP
N E Killingtworth at Union
Interstate „
. Lombard at Interstate
Peninsula
□
6. How do you rate me as your Representative?
Comments
• Walnut Park
Yes No
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
5. If we are facad w ith aithar cutting back on proparty tax raliaf or incraasing
personal incoma taxes, which would you dislike the least?
S h o p p in g C ^ n lp n
Your nearby Fred Meyer Super Shopping Center i. filled w ith P • >ple Pleasing” services
to make your shopping more pleasant. Wide, spacious aisles, fnendiv helpful clerxs anu un
dc'cover parcel loading are just some of the "People Pleasing set vices to you Plus
everyday low prices on thousands of items you use anu need everyday help lower your cost
of living.
Because we're open 9 a m. to 10 p m. daily, including Sunday, you can shop when ymi
W ANT to, not when you HAVE to Come in anytime and "funshop" in a pleasant, relaxed
atmosphere.
jj / *
“Please "fcTp an3 Return This Queshonnaire
. Lombard
Plenty of Free and Easy Parking
O pen 9 am to 10 pm daily, includin g S unday.
Rep. Wally Priestley
Room H276, Capitol Bldg.
Salem, OR 97310
■