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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1994)
T h e P ortland O bserver • N ovember 2, 1994 P age A5 Crime Bill To Take Big Bite Out of Public’s Wallet T he c rim e bill sig n ed into law by P re sid e n t C lin to n on S e p tem b er 13 w ill lik ely tak e a b ig ger b ite o u t o f the p u b lic ’s w allet in the form o f e x p e n siv e pork- barrel p rogram s than out o f crim e, acco rd in g to the latest T a lk in g P o in ts on the E conom y card is sued by T he N atio n al C e n te r for P u b lic P o licy R esearch. T he ju s t re le a se d T a lk in g Point card, "T he C rim e Bill: T a k ing a Bite O ut o f Y our W allet, N ot O ut o f C rim e ,” lists four e x am p les o f pork in clu d ed in the crim e bill. A m ong them , a $5 m illio n p ro g ram for the “p re v e n tion, d ia g n o sis and tre a tm e n t o f tu b e rc u lo sis in c o rre c tio n a l fa c ilitie s .” It is not know n how m uch o f a p ro b lem tu b e rc u lo sis is in the p riso n system nor, for th at m atter, how th is p ro g ram could p o ssib ly im pact crim e rates outside p riso n fa c ilitie s. T he card a lso c ite s a $243 m illio n the “Fam ily and C o m m u n ity E n d eav or S ch o o ls (F A C E S )’’ p ro g ram , w hich w ill p ro v id e g ran ts to c o m m u n ity -b a se d o rg a n iz a tio n s for sp o rts, a rts and c ra fts, so c ia l a c tiv itie s and d a n c e p ro g ram s. “ In a d d itio n to fu n d in g e x pensiv e p o rk p ro g ram s, the crim e bill e sta b lish e s a new d e fin itio n o f liv e sto c k , re q u ire s p ro d u cts sold w ith the "M ade in the U S A ’ label to have a c e rta in m inim um d o m estic c o n te n t and in creases p e n a ltie s fo r se llin g a C o n g re s sio n a l M edal o f H o n o r,” said Sco tt H o d g e, a H eritag e F o u n d a tion p o licy a n a ly st w ho has w rit ten sev eral a n a ly se s o f the C rim e B ill. “T h ese m easu res w ill do noth in g to m ake our stre e ts sa f er. W h a t’s w orse is that the pork w ill rob the A m erican p u b lic of th e ir h a rd -e a rn e d d o lla rs. Y es, th e P re s id e n t g o t h is “C rim e B ill,” bu, w hat we really needed was an “A n ti-C rim e B ill.’” “If social welfare spending were the answ er to crime, the street cor ners of A m erica’s cities would be far and away the safest in the world.” said Stephen Moore, Director o f Fis cal Policy Studies at the CA TO Insti tutes, who has also extensively ana lyzed the Crime Bill. "Congress and the President succeeded in defining crime control in terms o f how much W ashington is willing to throw at the problem. That is a proven failure in fighting every other social pathology in America.” T a lk in g P o in ts are a se rie s o f p o c k e t-siz e d cards p u b lish e d to p ro v id e jo u rn a lis ts , p o lic y m ak ers and the p u blic w ith su c c in c t E d H ickam The American Party's Candidate and tim ely in fo rm a tio n on v irtu ally every aspect o f the U S . e c o n om y -- from go v ern m en t sp e n d ing p ro g ram s to health c a re , from tax es to b o o n d o g g le s. T he c a rd s are p u b lish e d re g u la rly to p ro vide the p u b lic w ith the m ost up- to -d a te , a c c u ra te in fo rm a tio n on the econom y. The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, Washington, D C. public policy in stitute. Since it was founded in 1982, The National Center has conducted extensive domestic and foreign pol icy programs, including the publica tion of National Policy Analysis (a series of in-depth research and anal ysis papers); publication of “Post haste Facts” on congressional term limits; publication and distribution of hundreds of thousands of bro chures, flyers and other materials; publication o f the National Policy Watch newsletter; and many other educational programs. To a rran g e in te rv ie w s w ith S co tt H odge or S tephen M oore, for a d d itio n a l co p ies o f T a lk in g P o ints on the E conom y or for m ore in fo rm a tio n about The N a tional C e n te r for P ublic P olicy R esearch , p le a se c o n ta c t D avid R id e n o u r at (2 02) 5 4 3 -1 2 8 6 . F or G overnor ** Proven Management Skills Tb eliminate waste and restore accountability **• Solid Leadership Experience Tb develop and implement sensible solutions ** Commitment & Determination lb return government control back to the citizens It’s Tim e for a N ew Perspective: • Education should be the state's top priority. Let ’ s ask the voters to dedicate all Lottery proceeds to our public schools and make the cuts needed to provide stable school funding. Educating our children should never be compromised • Criminal Justice should be swift, firm and fair We can free substantial prison space for vio lent offenders if we place non violent ones in boot camps or under house arrest and make them work and pay for their crimes. Monitoring electronic devices make a lot more sense than paying for room, board and color TV • Budget Management has been ignored for too long. We need to examine in detail what govern ment is doing Zero-based bud geting and systematic perfor mance audits will give citizens and legislators an opportunity to take a fresh look at what we ex pect from our government. • Jobs are being lost in O re gon because governm ent has beco m e too in tru s iv e . We need to get all sides together and adopt p o licies that will em phasize both freedom and re sp o n sib ility . If we could trade 10,000 governm ent jobs for 10.000 private ones, w e’d solve our budget crisis. Ed Hickam: The kind of Leadership Oregon Needs HICKAM 11 À FOR GOVERNOR Ron Wyden: THE PEOPLE'S CONGRESSMAN “I've held over 560 Town Hiill meetings in every part of the district to listen to you and to take your views back to Washington, D.C. I'll continue to keep that commitment.” Ron's fighting for our interests- not special interests Ron wrote the law that prevents insurance companies from ripping off senior citizens. Ron cracked down on violent crime with his Armed Career Criminal Law. Ron and Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse are battling to permenentely stop logging in the Bull Run Watershed. VOTE WYDE FOR F < CONGRESS Everybody's an insider udtb Ed Hickam Authorized by the HICKAM FOR GOVERNOR Committee 815 N.E. Hogan Road, Gresham. OR 97030 « Ballot Measure 26-13 has had little exposure to the public and the reason is obvious. When the public finds out the real cost of this fiasco they will resoundingly defeat it. Be fore you vote on this issue you should know all the facts and "all" the costs to you. The actual cost figure you're con v e n ie n tly not h earin g is $2,850,000,(XX) dollars. That’s bil lions, not millions. Multnomah. Wash ington, and Clackamas property tax pay ers are g o in g to put up $475,000,000, that’s just for starters. Our Oregon Legislature has to fork up another $475,000,000, guess who has to pay that. If you’re “lucky” enough to live in Vancouver, Washington you' 11 be glad to hear that you’re Sales Taxes and Motor Vehicle Excise tax es will be increased by another $475,000,000. On top of that, yes you aren't going to get off that easy, you are going to have to pay another $ 1.400,000,000 in federal taxes to pay off this boondoggle. There are many, many questions that need to be answered before you vote on 26-13. Why arc some of the voters in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties not allowed to vote on this ballot measure while "all of Clark County voters in Washington allowed to vote? Why are voters in a special area located near Clackamas Town Center excluded from paying their share of these enormous property taxes? Boh Robinson Can an American Party Candidate for Governor Win in November? Absolutely! The citizens of Oregon want honest and open government. They are tired of the tricks and deceptions that are used year after year to spend more and more money on government, while the problems Just keep getting worse. Ed Hickam believes the state’s two-party system is out of touch with the ordinary citizens. He believes Oregonians want a governor who is sensitive to the states social needs yet has the kind of solid management experience that will clean up the waste, duplication and inefficiency that the state's citizens and businesses can no longer afford. Can he win? All of us can win with Ed Hickam. He's a real choice for a change. Little Davis-Bacon” Protects Workers Measure 12, the repeal of “Little Davis-Bacon”; yes or no? Most, not all, African-Ameri can contractors in Portland, maybe Oregon, will tell you that ’Little Davis-Bacon' is racist and discrimi natory. Racist, I don't think so! Dis criminatory, I definitely agree! The çeasons however that support dis crimination contrarily refute the claim of racism. ’Little Davis-Bacon’ dis criminates against unscrupulous con tractors whatever color, ethnic back ground or sex they may be. The pur pose of ’Little Davis-Bacon’ is to protect the workers, by requiring their employers on ‘certain’ construction projects to pay them the ‘area stan dard’ wage and benefit package of the county where the work is being done. Those ‘certain’ construction projects are supported either wholly or partially by state funds. Your tax dollars. The ‘area standard’ being either the predominant (50+%) wage and benefit package of the county or the average of the county wage and benefit packages if no wage or bene fit package is predominant (less than 50%). This is sometimes called ‘pre vailing w age’. This prevailing wage will be paid to workers regardless of their color, race, or sex. This prevail ing wage will be paid to workers whether they are from Indonesia (minimum wage $ 1.80), Mississippi, New York, or Oregon. This prevail ing wage will be paid to workers regardless of whether the employer is white, African-American, or fe male. This prevailing wage will be paid to workers regardless of wheth er the employer is from JAKARTA Natchez. Buffalo, or Beaverton. Ring a bell? Im ag in e your e m p lo y e r or any em p lo y e r b ringing in so m e one to rep la c e you on y o u r jo b for less than the going rate. M a y be at 80% or less o f y o u r c u rre n t w age and benefit p ackage. L ook at the e m p lo y e e s’ w ages c u rre n t ly at Fred M eyer and S afew ay. T h eir w ages and b e n e fits are less but has yo u r g ro c e ry bill d e creased . I d o n ’t th ink so. only the q u ality o f your serv ice. Their are many factors that ad versely affect the African-American and female contractors. If ‘Little Davis-Bacon’ is one o f those factors, then protecting the individual con struction worker is not in the best interest of the construction contrac tor. Shall we vote yes on Measure 12 and add to the profits o f a few greedy employers, lower the area standard of living, lower the tax base, and lose the ability of women and men to acquire health care for their families and/or pensions or vote No and con tinue to allow workers a decent and reasonable wage while making all em ployers more responsible and competitive? Please Vole On Nov. 8th; Keith Edwards, Electrician Measure 20: The Equal Tax? Paid for and authorized by the Wyden for Congress Committee êiïter Z ô üie (SJditor Ed Hickam is a respected businessman who overcame a life of poverty to start a successful muffler repair business. And in 15 years, he has taken Ed’s Mufflers Unlimited, Inc., in Gresham to eight locations doing more than $3 million in annual gross sales. With his talent for solving problems and motivating others to success, he knows he can help Oregon, too. “I decided to run for Governor when I looked around and saw that there could be only one outcome in a two-party election: the same people ... doing the same old thing ... with the same crowd ... time after time after time. I want to give Oregon back to the people.” — Ed Hickam M easure 20-the Equal Tax-is a bold tax reform plan that eliminates all other taxes, fees, and assess ments, including property and state income taxes. It places a 2% charge on every purchase of goods, raw V O T IN G T A K E S P E A C E O N N O V E M B E R 8T I1 materials, services, or other things of value. How Measure 20 Will Affect You U nder M easure 20, p ro p e rty and incom e taxes stop on D e cem ber 31, 1994. Y o u ’ll truly ow n your hom e, not be re n tin g it from the tax assesso r. T he fruits o f yo u r labor will not be su b je c t to a state incom e tax. Y ou pay tax on what you sp en d , not w hat you make. Representing D istrict 18 in Salem . Speaking up for your concerns. Making state governm ent work for you. 'It's been an honor to rve you . I hope I can ount on y o u r su p p o rt on Nov. 8." iep. M argaret Carter R e-E lect M argaret Carter O ur v o ic e in S a le m Paid for by Friends of Margaret Carter Comm ittee, 2948 N E 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97212
