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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2006)
œiH Page A4 r t la ttò (iD b s v ru er lune 14. 2006 O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer ‘Time Out’ on Kicker Deserves Support Oregon’s revenue system is broken Gov. K ulongoski's proposal for a 6-year "tim e o u t" on kicker re funds addresses directly the most important domestic issues facing Oregonians today: the quality and a ffo rd a b ility o f our education sys tems. access to basic health care for all, budget stability in state and local governments and more. This is an opportunity to take a good look at the gambling-depen dent revenue structure we have created and ask ourselves these questions: "A re n 't we better than this? A re n 't we smarter? Isn’ t it short-sighted, even shameful, that we adults have not created a more honorable system o f funding our schools and other critical services? Isn't the kicker ju s t another form o f gambling? How can we possibly take any pride in loading this sys tem on the backs o f our own c h il dren and grandchildren? O ur current revenue system re quires every state and local gov ernment entity to kxtk to the O r egon Department o f Revenue and the Legislature to place our bets for us. I f the Department o f Revenue can predict O regonian's future w ith in 2 percent, tw o years in the future (when no one in the w orld can predict the cost o f fuel tom or row m orning), then— I suppose— the “ house" wins, and no kicker checks w ill be forthcom ing. If. however, the Department o f Revenue underestim ates future revenues by more than 2 percent, we Oregonians " w in " — an average o f a couple o f hundred dollars each, but fo r the vast m ajority o f Orego nians, the " w in " is an amount equal to a couple o f tanks o f gas. The concept is ludicrous, par ticu la rly in lig h t o f the facts that we now participate in an increasingly com petitive global marketplace, that our competitors actually value This “ system" has not been an answer to the needs o f Oregonians. We can all see that. We have cre ated a system that shifts the re sponsibilities o f citizenship to a subgroup o f Oregonians who fu lfill their roles o f funding public ser Isn't it shortsighted, even shameful, that we adults have not created a more honorable system o f funding our schools and other critical services? and em ploy strategic thinking, and that they are not hamstrung by the partisan politics and rig id ideolo gies that we have allowed to d o m i nate Oregon p o litic a l discourse throughout the last decade. vices o n ly as a byproduct o f gam bling. No one walks into a lottery fa c ility and opens their pocketbooks w ith an intention o f supporting our schools or fo r anything else be yond an immediate rush o f self gratification. The kicker money currently on the horizon is largely the result o f the doubling o f capital gains in come from 2003 to 2005. The vast majority o f Oregonians did not likely see any appreciable grow th in per sonal income in this same period, not w ith the increasing cost o f fuel alone factored in. M ore than one third o f the dou bling o f capital gains income was enjoyed by ju st 1,700 o f Oregon’ s most w e a lth y households. The decisions o f this small group o f people regarding when to take or defer their profits on capital gains drives the v o la tility o f Oregon's entire revenue system. These deci sions are not taken in public, and there is no public accountability fo r their actions, but all o f us— and our descendants— are impacted in both our public and our household bud gets. Oregon needs tax reform and restructuring, and we need to keep that discussion on the table where the G overnor put it u n til we Orego nians do som ething substantive and sensible to resolve the per petual funding crisis we have locked ourselves into. 1 applaud Gov. K u lo n g o ski’ s move to place this issue on the front burner, where it needs to be. Let us a ll— all Oregonians— now focus on the fundamentals o f so lv ing our problems w ith stability as a fundamental principle. Sen. Ave I Gordly represents southeast and northeast Portland in the Oregon Legislature. My Experience Driving While Black by H arold P hillips When I was pulled over at about 2350 hours on A p ril 13, the Portland police o ffice r approached my truck and requested to see my drivers license, pro o f o f insurance and to keep my hands in clear view or on the steering wheel. I told her that my d rive r’ s license was in my jacket pocket and my insurance card was in the glove compartment. The o ffice r asked me fo r my license and insurance again. I could feel that tensions were ris ing. I reminded her o f the order she had previously given me to keep my hands in her clear view and repeated that my license was in my jacket pocket. Then she told me in. a stern voice, ‘ 1 want to see your license and pro o f o f insurance now.' I told her that I was going to reach in my jacket pocket. So I moved slow ly, retrieved the item she requested and handed it to her. She demanded to see my p ro o f o f insurance. I was nervous about this request because o f her obvious anger toward me, so I stated that blacks have been shot around here because they th in k someone is reaching fo r a gun and I'm not try ing to get shot! She was angered by this comment and told me I was rude and disrespectful. From the o ffic e r's stand point this was prob ably true, but from where I was sitting, this was reality. I slo w ly retrieved by insurance card and gave it to her. When she had my inform ation in her hand she began telling me the reason she stopped me. She stated, "Y o u went around the block a second time. plus you u n la w fu lly changed lanes and you did not signal." (V e ry un true statement.) She told me that I was in a high vice area and sarcastically asked w ould say such a thing o r be so presumptuous, so I asked her to repeat w hat she had just said. She stated again, 'the only reason you could be in this area is to so licit a / could not believe that cm officer would say such a thing or be so presumptuous. what was I doing in the area? She did not allow me to answer. She continued by saying that, 'the only reason you could possibly be in this area is to solicit a prostitute or you’ re buying crack cocaine.’ I could not believe that an o ffice r prostitute o r yo u ’ re buying crack cocaine.’ I was shocked and I was angry. But I po lite ly replied that occasion a lly I have problems sleeping and sometimes during that tim e I just drive around town, nowhere in par ticular. She asked me again what I was doing in the area, i f I was solic iting prostitution o r tryin g to buy crack? I realized that the o ffice r was not listening to a word I was trying to say. A t this point I did not try to hide my anger. We both began speaking at the same tim e and in voices louder than speaking voice. She said, ‘ You think that ju st be cause I ’ m a female you can talk over me?’ She then stated, T could w rite you up fo r so licitin g a prostitute or buying crack.’ N o one had ap proached m y truck nor had I ap proached anyone. I could have understood being stopped had I spoke to someone on the street, but I hadn’ t. She did not answer me. She wrote me a ticket w ith three ORS codes on it, but did not state what the codes stood for. I as WANT YOUR OWN ROOM IN YOUR sumed that the ticket was fo r what she had told me, 's o lic itin g a pros titu te ' and I assumed that the oth ers were tra ffic infractions. A few days later, when I consulted my attorney, he told me that all the citations were tra ffic related. A llo w in g me to believe that I was being accused o f so licitin g a pros titute was very cruel and inhumane. I spent days th in kin g about the p o ssib ility o f losing m y career over something that was totally untrue and being so embarrassed that maybe even a few o f my peers might think this accusation was true. For several days I d id n ’ t tell any o f my friends or fa m ily, I d id n ’ t sleep, I d id n 't eat and thoughts about the incident consumed most continued on page AS HOME? JUMP ON IT. PDC can give you a JumpStart into homeownership, while making your payments affordable. 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