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
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