Page 20 ¡Portiani» ©bsettier November 9, 2011 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service C H G $45.00 A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: I sm all H allway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services): $25.00 x ■ '41, *’ >. ■ X- • Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs ( Wool): $40.00 Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (RequiringExtensive 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 • A rea & O riental Rug C leaning • A uto/B oat/R V C leaning • D eodorizing & Pet x x O d o r T reatm ent • Spot & Stain R em oval S ervice • S co tchguard Protection • M in or W ater D am age S erv ices SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Congress Should Serve the Common Good Fixation on the deficit will not create jobs erty level, w ars, “free " trade agreem ents, m illions o f people w ithout health insurance, a p e r­ sistently broken housing m arket, unequally financed public schools, and unaffordable higher education. R ather than dealing with any o f these severe and im m ediate problem s, C on- gress is fixated on reducing the deficit. But e v e r since the eco- nom ic crisis began in late 2007, the deficit has been helping, not hurting, the econom y, W hen h o u seholds and corpo- rations reduce their buying, firm s cut back p roduction and lay o ff w orkers. The econom y stalls and it will stay in the do ld ru m s until dem and picks up for firm s’ prod- ucts. T oday, w hen purchases by h o u se h o ld s an d c o rp o ra tio n s continue to be depressed, the only w ay to boost dem and is through deficit spending. N o one should be surprised by E die R asell we have a deficit. T ax cuts and I t ’s n o t j u s t th e the eco n o m ic d o w n tu rn have people occupying Wall driven tax revenue to its low est Street w ho know there level since 1950. W ealthy house­ is som ething deeply w rong in holds and co rp o ratio n s are p ay ­ this country. Even those o f us ing m uch less than in the past, still sleeping in our ow n beds at and people w ho earn less also night are profoundly disturbed pay less in taxes. by the huge and grow ing divide A t the sam e tim e, g o v e rn ­ betw een the rich and the oth er m ent spending is up. M ilitary 99 percent. and hom eland security ex p en d i­ N early one in five potential tures have risen by 50 percent w orkers are jo b le ss or w orking o v er the last decade, w hile hard too few hours. T he d ivide is tim es have increased spending reinforced by a record high pov- for unem ploym ent insurance and o th er safety net program s. E n d ­ ■I ing the d ow nturn through fed ­ eral pro g ram s to create jo b s will Attn- Subscriptions, The Z shrink the deficit. W e also need " i r " Portland Observer, PO Box to raise taxes on w ealthy h o u se­ $.00.00 for 2 year, «**«*«* 3137,p ortlandOR97208. holds and corp o ratio n s, and cut spending on the m ilitary and N ame : h om eland security. T elephone : _________________________ W hat does C o n g ress plan to d o ? In its co n cern ab o u t the A ddress : ___________ ________________ deficit, C o n g ress ap p o in ted a “S uper C o m m ittee" to propose or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com | at least $1.2 trillion in deficit ¡S u b s c rib e 503-288-0033 I J I --------------------------------- ----------------- I I I reduction by N ov. 23 then C o n ­ gress m ust vote on th eir p ro ­ posal by Dec. 23. T h ese critical d e c is io n s w ill e s ta b lis h th e c o u n try ’s direction fo r the next d e ca d e. U nfortunately for the 99 p e r­ cen t o f us, m any C o m m itte e m em bers ap p ear to p refer c u t­ ting social pro g ram s and even core gov ern m en t fu n ctio n s that serve the com m on good instead o f creating jo b s, raising taxes on corporations and w ealthy h o u se­ holds, and cutting m ilitary spend­ ing. T his is a critical tim e in o u r n atio n ’s history. W ill we begin to address o u r m any p ro b lem s and restore o p p o rtu n ities fo r w idely shared prosperity, o r will w e co n ­ tinue dow n the path o f great w ealth fo r a very few and a n ­ guish fo r m any? Som e o f us w ill jo in the O c ­ cupy W all Street m ovem ent. But every one o f us in the 99 p ercen t needs to tell the S u p er C o m m it­ tee and C o n g ress w hat w e w ant. O u r ch ild ren and the co u n try depend on it. Edie Rasell is minister fo r economic justice fo r the United Church o f Christ.