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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