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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1983)
Portland Observer. May 25, 1983 Section I Page 5 Washington Hot Line Special Spring Sale Gospel Records bv Congressman Ron Hyden Q. What are the chance* that the naw law requiring the withhold ing of taxaa on interest and divi dend* will be r*p *el*d before It goes Into affect July 17 A . I would say they look pretty good at thia point. The House o f Representatives recently passed — by an overwhelming margin and with my wholehearted support — legislation that would repeal this ill- conceived idea. In addition, the Senate passed an amendment that calls for the deferral of interest and dividend withholding until July I , 1987. The Senate must now agree to the House repeal plan or the House musi agree to the Senate deferral plan before one of the two proposals can be sent to the President for his signature. President Reagan has threatened to veto any legislation that will repeal the withholding pro vision, but the overwhelming support in the Congress suggests enough votes exist in both Houses to override a Presidential veto o f either measure. I was an early and active opponent o f the withholding idea. In fact. I voted against the w ith holding provision when it came to the floor o f the House last summer as part o f the 1982 lax increase bill, and I was an original cosponsor of legislation introduced in the first week o f the new Congress to repeal it. Repealing this provision makes sense. W ithholding would be expen sive for consumers and financial in stitutions alike and would lake billions o f dollars directly out o f the flow o f Mvings at a time when we should be building our Mvings pool. It also would greatly inconvenience many senior citizens who must apply to be exempt. Proponents o f the withholding provision argue that it will increase federal revenues by cracking down on the few people who cheat on their tax returns by not declaring interest and dividend income Everyone, o f course, should pay their fair share o f taxes. But we should not penalize the vast mgjori- ty o f taxpayers who are honest when other, far less burdensome, ways exist to stop the few who are not. Q. How close la Congress to enacting a naw budget, and what are the chance* that the one it adopt* will ba more equit able than those of the past two years? A . Both houses are now on record for a budget that holds the line on defense increases and removes some o f the budget-cutting burden from the shoulders o f low- and middle- income Americans. By a one vote margin, the Repub lican-controlled Senate recently ap proved a fiscal 1984 budget resolu tion that would provide less for de fense than the president is seeking and for tax increases opposed by the Adm inistration. And last m onth, the House of L.P.s *5” Singles Two-record Set 8M Representatives passed a similar budget resolution, which I supported I supported this measure for two basic reasons. First, it instills in the federal budget a key component missing in the Reagan budget — fairness. Second, it calls for a significantly lower deficit than the president's budget. The deficit under the Reagan budget is estimated at more than $200 billion dollars, with con tinued unacceptably high deficits in the out years. The two houses' plans now must be reconciled in a conference com mittee — made up o f members from both bodies. But, whatever the ultimate dollar figure they arrive at, it is clear that both bodies do not agree with the administration’s continued attempt to place the burden of budget-cutting on the shoulders o f those least able to bear it, while letting the Pentagon spend freely. This coupon is good for $10°° off any new T.V. Jackson's Owl Radio T.V. and Record Co. 4623 N. Vancouver 287-2042 ★ NOW OPEN* NEW-BEAUTIFUL Rent Subsized Hi Rise Living Salem Update D ow ntow n by Donna B. ¿ajonc Representative. District 32 Often we hear that the quality o f our educational system is declining dramatically, that we have become "m ediocre." The report released by the National Commission on Excel lence in Education, an “ Open Letter to the American People,” said “ The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide o f mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people." The N a tional Assessment of Educational Progress states that 71 percent o f high school seniors cannot satisfac torily solve problems in applied math, 56 percent have an inade quate understanding of the physical sciences, and 85 percent cannot write a persuasive paragraph. I have sponsored legislation which will have a significant impact on developing excellence in educa tion and creative programs for the future. A Council on Science and Mathematics, created by H B 2905, would be responsible for identifying problems in the existing educational system. This Council will then develop and implement programs that work to solve these problems; also, it will provide a plan for (he future o f science and math educa tion. These critical areas must be addressed immediately as we are entering a technical, inform ational era and well-educated minds will be our most important “ capital." Equally important in a total plan for excellence in education is devel oping creative, innovative pro grams. H B 2710 directs the Oregon Educational Coordinating Comm is sion to study the feasibility o f creat ing an Oregon High School for Science and Mathematics. The goals o f the Oregon High School for Science and Mathematics would be to: • Encourage and develop the minds o f uniquely talented high school children. • Allow students with extraordi nary skills to learn from each other. • Allow an exciting and creative educational process which would attract top notch teachers. • Provide a laboratory with the most up-to-date equipment with learning tools for talented children. • Provide a signal to the business community that Oregon intends to be competitive by showing that our educational programs reflect our commitment. • Provide a pool o f outstanding instructors and up-to-date equip ment that can further train high school science and math instructors around the state during the summer intermission. By doing this, a partnership is created between the School o f Science and Mathematics and the other schools throughout Oregon, both working to upgrade curriculum. • Set a standard for excellence. Recent studies in many private and public schools, both in England and America have identified Five factors that must be present in a school in order for its students to learn. According to the U .S. National Institute o f Education survey, these critical factors are I) high expectations, 2) strong leader ship, 3) emphasis on instruction, 4) discipline, and 5) testing. The Oregon School for Science and Mathematics would allow the op portunity to apply these principles in a controlled situation. Expecta tions for able students would be higher since instructors would not be limited by unmotivated pupils. This alternate high school would also allow experimentation with new concepts to determine feasibility for use in Oregon’ s educational system. By working with a small group of students in a controlled situation, we would be able to explore new ideas and demonstrate what can be done. I believe the Oregon High School for Science and Mathematics is a creative idea directed at demanding the best. The idea originated from North Carolina's successful pro gram, but the "O regon Story" may be different. For that reason 1 be lieve the existing Educational C oor dinating Commission should be di rected to study the feasibility o f the high school: siting, funding, bal anced curriculum, certification of teachers and many other difficult considerations. I f the E C C finds that this is not the best way to en courage excellence in our education al system, the ECC should recommend to the 1985 Legislature specific ways that will coincide with Oregon's educational system. The options might include regional pro grams, more talented and gifted funding, summer programs, or Sat urday schools. Either way, our efforts must head in the direction of finding the best method to educate our youth. Many people ask, “ W hy not fund our educational system so every school district has the same oppor tunity afforded this school?" Quite simply, we support education through basic school support. We do not force standards, curriculum, etc. As legislators, our ability to mandate excellence is limited. We must open our minds to provide models that look into the future and set high standards for other public schools. Oregon has always been known for its leadership — the Oregon High School for Science and M athe matics will be an example o f that leadership and Oregon's continued efforts to look to the future. Striving for excellence in education is wisely investing in Oregon's youth — the best investment we can make. Democratic 1 Viewpoint * Designed for Seniors and handicapped * Qualified Applicants pay only 30% of their income * 162 units completely refurbished * Most modern fire ft security systems For inform ation c a ll.. . . PARKTOWER 731 SW S A LM O N 227-3367 Ö «was Connecticut is the only state in the U.S. with a law that specifically gives beavers the right to build dams. Americans spend more than $125 billion dollars a year on sneakers. • There is a baseball game played in Fairbanks, Alaska, every June 21. the longest day o f the year. It begins at midnight and no artificial lighting is ever used. • Harvard University was first known as Cambridge. b v Ross Danielson Central America is now the focus o f a bewildering series o f actions by the U.S. Congress, President, Rea gan. and other government and military officials. Most recently the U.S. military commander in the Pa nama Canal Zone sought to rally support for ‘ ‘open-ended" U .S. military aid to the Salvadoran gov ernment, while the director o f the C IA boasted that U.S.-supported counter-revolution will overthrow the revolutionary government in N i caragua by the end of the year. But these ugly sounds were preceded by hopeful signs o f Congressional op p o s itio n-cutting aid requests, call ing for termination of covert activi ties against Nicaragua, and demand ing that the Salvadoran government launch direct, unconditional talks with the opposition. Needless to M y, all o f these direc- tions taken by Congressional oppo sition were moderated by serious compromise. T o those who support social re form , human rights, and political democracy in Central America, re cent Congressional actions have a l ternatively been encouraging and discouraging. Taken together, cur rent events spell crisis for U.S. fo r eign policy and for the broad and growing constituency for a new U.S. policy in Central Am erica— a time o f increasing opportunity and in creasing peril. The peril lies in the Reagan A d ministration's dangerously and childishly simplistic view o f world politics as a struggle o f good and evil (U .S .A . versus U .S .S .R .). The opportunity lies in the growing formulation o f a coherent progress ive foreign policy based on increas ingly courageous Senators and Rep resentatives and burgeoning pro- B union avenue ’< GLASS •wr„ • • • • lawrancr Claim» limits • STORM DOORS & W IN DO W S AUTO GLASS • SCREEN REPAIRS STORE FRONTS • MIRRORS W INDO W GLASS • PLEXIGLASS PLATE GLASS El gRaW • I OPEN SATURDAY M 2 289-8887 a IOS N .l. U N IO N AV. gressive foreign policy constitu encies. The challenge to these constitu encies is now to see the parts o f Cen tral America as interrelated, to mo bilize around the issue o f Central America, and to link this mobiliza tion to an electoral strategy which can at once integrate progressive foreign policy issues into larger poli tical power blocks and also bring foreign policy issues to the grass roots. The structure o f the Democratic Party, with its link to popular roots and ties to the national arena of power, is one important and open arena— and an instrument— for this effort. The promise o f a Democratic role in movement toward a progres sive foreign and military policy is evident in current Congressional op position to the Reagan administra tion in Central America. A t the same time, however, Congressional compromises and the likelihood o f a painful stalemate through 1984. We do oot do business w ith South Africa American State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK makes clear how far we have yet to go. Head Oftice 2737 N. E Union Portland, Oregon 97212 (This column is submitted by the Democratic District 18 organiza tion. When signed, the opinions are those o f the w riter.) Bachelor» • Bachelorettes Tired Mothers Do you need domestic care for your home? I will clean at low cost. Call for apppointment Ms. Spic-n-Span Cleaning Service Call 287 3309 » • . . a ■t. » w' ' » > J
