Portland Observer, April 29, 1962 Page 5
•«
> iw
Washington Hot Line
by Congnsaman Ron Wyden
The new i out o f Washington
these days is filled with budget nego-
• tiation stories. One day, the papers
report that Congress and the White
House are dose to a compromise on
spending cuts for 1983. The next
day, all bets are o ff.
A m idst a ll this w rangling, one
fact has been obscured: that is, the
true magnitude o f the budgetary d if
ficulties we'face.
The A dm inistration would have
the Am erican people believe we're
dealing with a $100 billion deficit in
1983. I f that were true, it would be
bad enough.
But the truth is even grimmer. Ac
ceding to the Congressional Budget
Office, when you figure in the Presi
dent's requested defense increase.
the federal deficit will actually total'
$180 billion in 1983, $220 billion in
1984, and $240 billion in 1985.
These statistics point out the
serious need for spending cuts—cuts
that can only be realized if the A d
m in is tratio n is w illin g to com pro
mise on some o f the big ticket items.
U n fo rtu n ately, such a compromise
does not look extremely promising
at this point.
One o f the biggest stumbling
blocks to such a compromise is the
President's refusal to budge on the
budget-busting tax cut he ramrod-
ded through Congress last year.
Such stubbornness is at best,
short-sighted.
W e cannot reduce interest rates
and get our economy back on track,
unless we reduce the d efic it. A n d
one o f the only places we can turn to
achieve that goal is the tax cut
The A d m in is tra tio n has made
some moves in recent days to make
cuts in another sacred cow, the de
fense budget. F or the good o f the
country— and the Pacific Northwest
— I hope it moves ahead w ith such
cuts— and then takes the second step
o f rolling back the tax cut.
We have no other alternative ex
cept to place the burden o f addition
al cuts on the poor and needy who
have already bren asked to bear
more than their share— or simply to
let the economy continue its down
hill slide.
And that is no alternative at all.
Mill closure needs policy
Part II
E U G E N E — Public policies must
be developed to lessen the impact o f
wood products industry m ill c lo
sures in small Oregon communities,
a pair o f University o f Oregon re
searchers says.
Ed Weeks, an assistant professor,
and graduate student Sandra
D rengacz, both o f the W allace
School o f C om m unity Service and
Public Affairs, have studied 12 Ore
gon communities which have experi
enced perm anent m ill closures or
temporary employee lay-offs. They
have found an escalation o f alcohol
consumption and child abuse fo l
lowing these events.
Weeks and Drengacz arc now at
tempting to develop public policy
options which might counteract the
social devastation caused by clo
sures and lay-offs.
" W e feel strongly that this prob
lem is not just a problem of the pre
sent recession," says Weeks. "T h e
recession has simply aggravated it
and increased public perception o f
the problem o f mill closures."
Weeks views the problem as one
which will continue to exist in Ore
gon. " I t has been going on for a
long tim e, and it is going to con
tinue,” he predicts.
H e sees many m ills closing be
cause they can't compete with more
technologically advanced m ills.
"Am ong those mills that can't keep
up are some that provide the
economic lifeblood to small com
munities.
"1 think it is much better to plan
responses to the problem so that we
can be pro-active rather than taking
one closure at a time .and always re
acting to it ," Weeks says. "But it is
very d iffic u lt to figure out what
would be a good solution."
Weeks and Drengacz have looked
at a number o f ways to case the im
pact o f closures on local communi
ties.
O ptions include increasing the
cost o f closures, decreasing the ad
vantages o f modernization, or try
ing to make older mills more compe
titive. Some have obvious disadvan
tages, they point out.
Weeks fears the first two options
might "chase away” the wood pro
ducts industry. " M i l l owners are
going to be less willing to invest lots
o f money in their plants, and the
Oregon wood products industry is
going to lose out to the south, Cana
da and overseas," the U O social
scientist says.
H e thinks a c are fu lly managed
com m unity stab ilizatio n , log set-
aside program might work. Present
ly, sm aller m ills bid on logs "set
aside" to increase their ab ility to
compete with larger mills.
Weeks suggests a program be de
veloped that would targe, small Ore
gon communities experiencing crisis
for short-term aid. Included would
be a log set-aside fo r the m ills in
transition as well as other assistance
aimed at easing the com m unity
crisis.
Development o f economic substi
tutes for the closed mills is another
o p tio n . But he advises that rural
com m unities be cautious about
spending scarce resources on im
provements for potential businesses
which may not materialize.
Remote communities "really run
the risk o f finding themselves en
ticed into investing money in sewage
treatm ent plants, roads and build
ings to attract some marginal firm
that is n 't going to be able to sur
vive,” Weeks asserts.
"Perhaps it would be more prom
ising to find a way to develop an in
digenous business," he says.
" M a y b e parts o f the m ill can ac
com m odate specialty m anufac
turers.”
Drengacz prefers employee buy
out programs.
" I prom ote employee ow ner
s h ip ,” she says, " b u t i t ’ s com pli
cated. Legislation that creates finan
cial incentives and good research on
the viability o f the mill are needed.”
In the course o f her research,
Drengacz has spoken w ith several
wood products corporate represen
tatives about the impact of mill clo
sures. "Th ey weren’t very coopera-
tive,” she reports. " I t ’s business as
usual for them.”
Longer notices o f impending mill
closures might ease the immediate
impact on communities facing em
ployee te rm in a tio n or la y o ff, she
suggests.
Length o f notice ranged from 6
months at the Kinzua mill near Fos
sil to no advance notice o f closure in
Bly, Burns and S h erid an. "S o m e
people heard it first on radio and
television,” says Drengacz, noting
most notices varied from 1 day to 2
weeks.
In some com m unities, workers
began to sense upcoming closures
when local banks refused them
credit. The corporations that own
the mills notified the banks o f the
planned shutdowns, but not the
workers, Drengacz claims.
Whichever direction social policy
goes, Weeks and Drengacz feel that
national coordination is needed to
avoid " p ittin g O regon against
W ashington, W ashington against
C a lifo rn ia , and the Northw est
against the South.”
I f other strategies fail, "then we
are limited to trying to find ways of
mitigating the impact o f plant clo
sures in small com m unities,” says
Weeks.
One answer might involve sending
teams o f professionals with business
and social service skills into commu
nities " to assess their needs and try
to give them sup p o rt,” says D ren
gacz, who views that only as a
"Band-aid approach.”
She and Weeks both see the need
fo r m ore extensive change. " I t ’ s
going to be expensive, and that
'send in the experts' approach
doesn’t get at the underlying prob
lem ," they assert.
The problem is an extremely com
plex and pressing issue, the U O re
searchers admit.
" W e have to be sensitive to the
very terrible and tragic costs o f mill
closures in these sm all com m uni
ties,” says Weeks. “ U ltim ately, it’s
a question o f values, not only for
Oregon but the whole country. How
much do we care?”
EXODUS
1B3BN.E. A lb e rta
PORTLAND. OREGON 97211
2 8 4 -7 9 9 7
APPEAL
The House o f Exodus Clean Team requests your support!
The Exodus Clean Team is P ortland’ s only to ta lly voluntary group o f
citizens who teach children to practice respect, courtesy and responsibility
through regularly scheduled classes; and by cleaning property within the neigh
borhood.
The Exodus Clean Team’ s motto is: "A clean spirit, a clean mind, a clean
body and clean property w ill produce a clean citizen who lives in a clean com
munity, and we will make it so. ”
We estimate that it will cost about $500,000 per year to operate a Drug/Alco
hol prevention and aversion program for youth; plus the on-going community
responsibility training for neighborhood youths.
We believe this initial budget is quite small when compared to the direct costs
of vandalism, thieves, burglaries and other property damages and losses rans/vt by
irresponsible youths; plus, when you add those losses to the cost o f building and
maintaining jails, correction facilities and prisons, plus the cost o f maintaining
police and judicial systems. The truth is the cost o f irresponsible youth is stag
gering.
Respect and responsibility is all that your dollars can buy for youth at the
House of Exodus, but we believe that respect and responsibility is all that our
youth really need to become an asset to our communities, rather than a liability.
Give what you can and join the many supporters o f the Exodus Clean Team.
Make your checks payable to the:
E X O D U S CLEAN T E A M
P.O. Box 11345
Portland, Oregon 97211
The Professional
Super Conditioning
Butch Coors Curl
"He's got a new special formula! Leave your hair in super shape—not dry—
no breakage, and very shiny—call today, and feel the difference."
$45.00
C om p»«
Includes: 3 conditioning treatments, curl, hair
cut, style and advice on home hair care
■
I_
Call N ow 284-1897
utch eagre
H a ir D e s ig n f o r M e n & W o m e n
Donnell Motley look* et photographe thet were
displayed et Reynolds Clinic. Photos were taken
by Portland photographers P.C. Perl, Jimmy Rob
Ineon, Elmore Reeee and Richard Brown (Zone IV
Photographers). The display will soon be at the Al
bina Human Rasourca Cantar on tha cornar of N.
Vancouver Ava. and Albana Street.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
1406 NE Broadway • 284-1897