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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1985)
Portland Observer, September 11, 1906, Page 3 A photographer’s journal o f Nicaragua Security Storm Doors "Keep out the cold ... and the crooks!" Richard J. Brown, photographer fo r the Portland O bserver. spent seven weeks in Nicaragua learning about and meeting its people. His photographs will appear here as a *eeklv feature. Each door is a ■ SCREEN DOOR ■ STORM DOOR ■ SECURITY DOOR Affordable, high-quality doors with deadbolt locks from ‘ ALLIED DOOR CO. W a m at Cora M o lin a Ram oa tol lowing her ralaaaa from the hos pital where aha was being traatad for wounds sha received whan the Contras attacksd tha cooparativa sha lived In. Sha told us of tha a t tack that lastad tw o mlnutas and laft both har parants deed Cora fled In to th a w o o d s and som a- tim a during th a dark, w a t night, har 2 and-ona half year old child dlad in har arms Har father was s C ontra ta rg e t because ha w as pesident of an agricultural coop eretlve It was difficult If not Impossible to speak to a N ic a ra g u a n w h o had not had a tra g ic c o n fro n ta tio n w ith th a C o n tra s or S a m o z a ’s guard 246-1575 FREE ESTIMATES SENIOR DISCOUNTS PORTLAND Sickle Cell A nem ia 1st A n n u al B an q u et Keynote Speak»« Mi Herb Cawthorne • pm Saturday Septem ber 21, 1986 The Red Lion Motor Inn Jantzen Beach 909 N Hayden Island Dr Outcome: No Tri-Met Strike by Robert Lothian Portland breathes a sigh o f relief — T ri-M e t drivers and mechanics a p proved a new three-year labor contract Tuesday, by a vote o f 71 to 29 percent. The new contrct means there will be no strike. Before the vote, union mem bers and leaders had warned there would be a strike if the last ditch com promise worked out over the weekend proved unacceptable The new contract calls for a 5 per cent wage cut in the first 18 months for workers who earn more than $10 an hour, followed by a 3 percent increase at the end o f 18 months and 2 percent increases each six months thereafter. The contract also includes restructur ing o f pension provisions and a com promise on part-time drivers. Tri-M et had opted for upping part-timers to 30 percent o f the labor force in previous o ile rs, w hich made union members feel that their jobs were threatened. I he compromise was hammered out in secret, last minute negotiations le J by I d Whelan, a veteran labor nego tiator and public relations executive at P ortland General E lectric W helan was recruited fo r the jo b by Mayor C la rk, who emerged fro m the cloud cast by the possibility o f a strike with another political feather in his cap Rruceeda to Portland Sickle Call Anar nia Foundation I he new contract calls for $5.1 mil lion in savings for Tri Met over three years, with $2.7 m illion saved the first vear, which is $1 million less in savings dun the company had originally asked for. Not all the w orkers are happy - some tell railroaded by political pres sure. A n d the story isn 't over yet. Rumblings are in the air about restruc luring and making more accountable a T ri-M e t management which seemed only too willing to take the city into a destructive strike in its drive to wrest concessions from the union. EDITORI AL/COMMENTAR Y Fair Tax group says No to sales tax by Scott Bailey On September 17, Oregonians w ill have another chance to vote on a 5 percent sales tax. A fte r carefully ana lyzing the sale tax measure. Citizens fo r Fair Taxes recommends that c iti zens vote “ n o " on the sales tax We believe that the sales tax w ill increase the tax bill fo r most Oregonians, and that it will hurt Oregon's economy. Before explaining why we oppose the sales tax, let’s review the basics o f the measure. I f passed. Measure I w ould place a 5 percent sales tax on the purchase o f many goods we buy. Some basics like fo o d , rent, utilities, mortgage payments and prescription drugs w ould be exempted fro m the tax Revenues raised by the sales lax would be used to lower property taxes and income taxes. In a d d itio n , re n t ers would receive a refund o f 6 percent o f their rent, and low -incom e O re gonians would receive a refund o f up to $40 The percentage o f the sales tax (5 percent) and the basic exemp tions could not be changed except by a vote o f the people. The sales tax, then, w ould trade property tax and income tax relief for a new tax. The first question fo r voters becomes, w ho w ould pay more in taxes and who would pay less. While the answer w ill be d iffe re n t fo i each o f us depending on what we pay now and what we would pay, some general izations are possible. F irst, the tax b ill on corporatons will drop by about $100 m illion a vear M any large corp o ra tion s, such as hanks and utilities, have extensive land holdings and would receive far more in property tax relief than they would pay in a sales tax. Out-of-state landowners would clearly benefit — they w ould have their property tax b ill cut, and would pay no sales tax. Between one- fo u rth and o ne-half o f dow ntow n P ortland is owned by out-of-state interests, so that the amount o f prop erty tax going to non-Oregonians would be significant, perhaps as high as $200 million. I f corporations and out-of-state landlords pay that much less in taxes, someone has to pick up the tab. That someone turns out to be I ) fam ilies, and 2) small and expanding businesses. While the poorest o f Orgonians may not see their tax b ill increase, lower and middle-class families w ould end up paying more if the sales tax were to pass. Young fam ilies are the m ajor purchasers o f goods that w ould be subject to the sales tax: new and used cars, m ajor appliances, home furnish ings, and clothing. I he big months for sales tax collection are September, when parents are buying back-to- school items fo r their children, and December, during the Christmas sea son. Small and expanding businesses w ould also be hurt by the sales tax. M any small businesses lease their property, and so w ould not receive any property tax relief; however, they would have to pay a sales tax, so their tax b ill w ould increase. Oregon busi nesses in the process o f expanding would also have to pay more in taxes. O ut-of-state corporations setting up new plants in Oregon would face high start-up costs due to the sales tax. Any incentive from reduced property taxes w ould be balanced by the in crease in sales tax C ontrary to the claims o f sales tax supporters, passage o f the sales tax w ould not help O regon's econom y. and in fact w ould probably w ork against any chance at economic recov ery. The sales tax would not lure new companies to Oregon, because on balance they w ould have to pay as much in a sales tax as they would re ceive in property tax relief. Those C orporations that create the most jobs — small businesses and expand ing businesses such as high-tech firms would end up paying more in taxes if the sales tax passes. The companies helped by the sales tax. like U S. Na tional Bank and P acific Power A I ight, arc not the ones creating new jobs and helping to revive our econ omy. Portland residents should be aware o f a loophole in the sales tax measure that w ill greatly reduce their potential tax relief. The 1987 legislature w ill have a chance to change the way tax relief is d istrib u te d throughout the state. The current measure offers a 32 percent cut in property taxes. I, is likely that the legislature would alter the fo rm u la and lower the figure to 18 percent for Portland, while increas ing the percentage fo r other areas in the state. The shift in taxes from large corpor ations o nto families and small or ex panding businesses, and the potential damage to Oregon's economy accom panying such a shift, far outweigh! the few positive features o f the sales tax measure, such as stabilization o f some school tax bases. Recent polls show that 60 to 70 percent o f Oregon voters will vote against the sales tax. We urge you to join them. Scott Bailey is the Treasurer fo r Citizens fo r Pair Taxes and the co- chair o f the Portland Democratic Socialists of A menca. Roof Coating is my Business Let me make a new r • I t f out of your old roof. As Low As $20°° < iiii A / a Sq. I also rebuild chimneys, repair gutters and downspouts. • 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE • • WORK GUARANTEED • Call 287-8474 Financing A vailable 287-3298 - lüää , u, 4 » > - * „