Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, December 01, 2010, Page 17, Image 17

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    D e ce m b e r I, 2010
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Page 17
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Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
REST
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(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
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1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
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Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
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Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
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Good-for-Nothing Commission
Heading toward
disaster
D onald K aul
W e h av e seen
the future and it is
grim.
T hat glim pse o f
the road ahead a r­
rived in the form o f a preview o f the
B ow les-S im pson C om m ission's re­
port on the kinds o f things g o v e rn ­
m ent has to do (and not do) if w e
w ant to avoid econom ic doom .
T hings like giving up tax breaks
w e never even knew w ere breaks,
extending o u r w orking years to the
cusp o f senility, abso rb in g even
higher gasoline taxes, accepting (if
you're a gov ern m en t w orker) a pay
freeze and (if you're w ell-off) paying
m ore into Social Security but taking
out less.
O h, it's going to be a fun tim e, the
future is. I can hardly w ait for it to get
here.
N ot.
T h e c o m m is s io n —o f f i c i a l l y
nam ed the N ational C om m ission on
Fiscal R esponsibility and R efo rm —
w as created by President O b am a to
by
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
Z
Z
May 1 ,2 0 1 0
Cleaning
HE ALS o FT é ADS
G u K t / FbP.
HURRÎ9AN&
KATRÎNA ?
THE HAITIAN
^RTAQUAKS
AND MOUNT
VIMATUBoS
ERUPTION
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Effective
Martin
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New Prices
find w ays to avoid the 12-car w reck
o u r eco n o m y is h eaded for. It's o s ­
ten sib ly a b ipartisan group, m e an ­
ing that it's m ade up o f partisans on
both sides o f o u r political divide.
Its c o -c h a irm e n a re E rs k in e
B ow les, a C linton apparatchik, and
A lan S im pson, form erly a m av erick
R epublican Senator from W yom ing-
-now ju s t strange. T h eir report, a
trial balloon desig n ed to see w here
the shooting w ill com e from w hen
the foil report co m es out, is w hat
w e're talking ab o u t now .
A s it turns out, the shooting w ill
co m e from everyw here. T he D em o ­
crats hate the cu ts in program s. T he
R ep u b lican s are angry about the tax
hikes. T he m ilitary -in d u strial c o m ­
plex loathes the cuts in m ilitary
spending. F arm ers can't abide d o ­
ing aw ay w ith farm subsidies. O ld
p eople o b ject to losing th eir Social
S ecurity co st o f living increases,
and the m id d le-ag ed are ap p alled at
the thought o f w aiting until they're
69 to collect retirem ent benefits.
T h e good new s is, I suppose,
that none o f the above has even a
rem o te chance o f being m ade into
law. N o sane politician w ould vote
fo r any o f that, unless he o r she is
planning on an early retirem ent.
T he A m erican people have m ade
it plain that they don't w ant d raco ­
nian sacrifice; they don't w ant any
sacrifice at all. T hey w ant all the
benefits due them (plus 10 percent)
and they w ant som eone else to pay
fo r it.
T he bad new s is that even if all o f
those things w ere d o n e -a ll the c u t­
ting, all the tax in g —it still w ouldn't
be enough to m ake the loom ing
budget deficits go aw ay.
T hat's because the plan d oesn't
serio u sly ad d ress the co n tin u in g
ex p losio n o f health care costs, p a r­
ticularly fo r a rapidly aging p o p u la ­
tion.
the reduction o f m ortgage interest
deductibility) are aim ed at the m iddle
class.
In return, the plan w ould cut the
upper incom e tax rate from 35 to 23
percent and corporate tax rates from
35 percent to as low as 26 percent.
E verybody likes low er taxes but
that represents a shift from the not-
so-rich to the rich and very rich.
So w e'll blu n d er ahead. W e'll do
nothing, argue about everything,
and slouch tow ard disaster.
T he w orst is w hat's happening to
the states, w hich is n ’t dealt w ith in
the B ow les-S im pson report. T heir
revenue sources are tapped out, so
they're cutting to the bone and then
It assum es that politicians w ill cutting the bone. A nd the last slice
slow the rise by "establishing a p ro ­ co m es from education budget.
c e ss to re g u la rly e v a lu a te c o st
Y ou k n o w , w e can treat old
g ro w th " an d ta k in g "a d d itio n a l people badly, w e can deny the rich
steps as needed."
th eir second hom es, w e can leave
A lan, E rsk in e .. .if they co u ld do farm ers to their ow n devices, and we
that, w e w ouldn't be in this m ess in can lim it ourselves to one w ar at a
the first place.
tim e. W e can even (sob) let our
As it is, the plan is a deep ly national parks go to ruin.
c o n s e rv a tiv e d o c u m e n t. It c u ts
B ut w hen w e fail to ed u cate our
sp en din g tw o d o llars (som e say children, w e m aim the future.
three) fo r ev ery d o llar it asks in tax
If w e have a future.
increases. A nd w hile som e o f the
OtherWords columnist Donald
taxes fall on the w ealthy, m ost (like Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs ( Wooly.
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa; $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services)'. $5.00
%
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949