November 14,2012_________________________ ^lottíanhO ^bseruer
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Moving Forward with President Obama
Congress must
invest in children
M arian W right E delman
A m e ric an s c o m m itted to
keep m oving forw ard turned
out in record num bers to vote
for President O bam a’s re-elec
tion. But we w on’t be able to go
fo rw ard until C o n g ress sits
down and m akes the hard decisions to
create a ju st budget that invests in chil
dren, our poorest group o f Americans,
and creates jobs for their struggling par
ents while m aking sure those who have
benefited from huge tax cuts pull their
weight.
Election exit polls have made clear that
the majority of Americans— Democrats,
Independents, and m any R epublicans
alike— agree that the richest Americans and
corporations need to pay their fair share.
For all those who voted, our work and
duty is not done. We need to make sure to
tell the President and Congress to “be very
careful w hat you cu t” and m ake our
voices heard now and for as long as
necessary.
Children, the poor and the middle class
cannot afford more devastating cuts and
instability as they continue to struggle
by
against hunger, hom elessness, jo b le ss
ness, and loss o f sum m er school and
regular school days as a result o f this long
econom ic downturn.
T o m ove forw ard, A m erica’s
security and prosperity depend on
our children’s ability to drive the
econom y o f the future. If a m ajor
ity o f them cannot read and com
pute at grade level in fourth, eighth
and 12th grade, we will not have a
strong econom y.
The leaders now facing crucial budget
decisions m ust craft budget solutions that
will protect the already porous safety nets
on which so m any children and fam ilies
rely, and invest in the health, early child
hood developm ent and education o f our
children.
T o a ch iev e long term gro w th fo r
America, any solution must: (1) protect
investm ents serving children and low in
com e families; (2) invest in children which
will create desperately needed jobs; and
(3) ensure that the w ealthiest.A m ericans
and corporations pay their fair share.
The fundam ental principle o f protect
ing children and other vulnerable popula
tions has been a cornerstone o f deficit
reduction since the bipartisan Balanced
Budget Act o f 1985. Every autom atic
budget cut m echanism o f the past quarter
century has exem pted core low-income
assistance program s from any cuts trig
gered when budget targets or fiscal re
straint rules were missed or violated.
The Am erican people still strongly sup
port this principle. Recent polling con
d u cted by the Pew R esearch C en ter
showed almost 60 percent o f Am ericans
oppose cutting spending for anti-poverty
program s. A Public Opinion Strategies
poll showed even larger num bers o f likely
voters oppose cuts to M edicaid (73 per
cent) or education program s (75 p er
cent).
Elim inating the Earned Incom e Tax
Credit now would increase child poverty
23 percent in the future. Since poor chil
dren are more likely to drop out o f high
school, they are less likely to find steady
work as adults. Paying for each year o f
high school dropouts costs us more than
$125 billion over the course o f their life
times.
Eliminating early education investments
now would increase a little boy’s chance
o f going to prison later in life by 39
percent. Incarcerating that child will cost
us nearly three times more a year than it
would have cost to provide him a quality
early learning experience.
Cutting ju st $4,000 o f M edicaid and
food stamps from a girl in a low-income
fam ily negatively im pacts her health and
nutrition. This can lead to poor perfor
m ance in school w hich increases her
chances o f getting pregnant as a teenager.
And paying for teen pregnancies costs all
o f us $10 billion a year.
Econom ists agree that investing in chil
dren prom otes econom ic grow th. For
exam ple, investm ents in education that
raise high school graduation rates have
been shown to yield a public benefit o f
$209,000 per student in higher govern
m ent revenues and low er governm ent
spending, and an econom ic benefit to the
public purse that is 2.5 tim es greater than
the costs.
W ith more than 16.1 million children in
Am erica - more than one in five o f all
children and more than one in three chil
dren o f color - living in poverty, special
efforts m ust be made to address the needs
o f these most vulnerable among us.
Rather than im posing strict austerity
m easures without regard for the human
consequences, we m ust invest now in
children to prepare them for the future and
help create jobs.
Be careful what you cut. If our children
are not ready for tom orrow , neither is
America.
Mahan Wright Edelman is President o f
the Children's Defense Fund.
Obama and Women Won
Victories for Equality
Election Day was joyful for the families in Washington, Maine and Maryland,
who have won the freedom to marry the person they love - and by a vote of the
people for the first time in history.
I’m also so proud of the people of Minnesota who successfully blocked a
constitutional ban on marriage equality for the first time.
As more and more Americans are having conversations with gay and lesbian
friends and family, they ’ re coming to realize that this is not a political issue. This
is about love, commitment and family.
There were a lot of firsts in the 2012 election. And w e’re ready for more.
Across the country, we have shown that we can win at the ballot, in the
courtroom and in the legislature.
Now, it’s Oregon’s tum. Basic Rights Oregon is committed to leading the
way to make Oregon the first state to overturn a constitutional amendment
banning marriage.
We know that we are on the right path here in Oregon. Our outreach, just like
that of the states who won on Nov. 6, is winning hearts and minds. And that
is why this work must continue.
Jeana Prazzini, executive director o f Basic Rights Oregon
<iln' IJartlanh (Dhscmer
Established 1970
Charles H. Washington
EniroR.Michael L eighton
A ssistant to P ublisher , P ubijc R eiations : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld t
A ssistant to P ubusher , O ffice M anacer /C iassieieds : Lucinda Baldwin
A ssistant P ubijsher : Leonard Latin
A dvertising M anager , P ubijc R eiations : Tony Washington
S taff W riter /P hotoorapher : Cari Hachmann
E d ito a - in -C h ie f , P ublisher :
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon,
which engages in educational and electoral activ
ity to promote the Planned Parenthood mission,
celebrates the re-election of President Barack Obama
and regaining a pro-women's health majority in the
Oregon Legislature.
President Obama signed one o f'th e greatest
advancements for women's health in decades. On
Election Day, women in America came together to
tell politicians that they've gone too far. If you look
at this as a war on women, then this election clearly
shows that women won."
For the 2012 election cycle. Planned Parenthood
Advocates of Oregon mobilized activists to fight
back against unprecedented attacks on a woman's
personal medical decisions.
The organization's political action committee,
Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon, conducted
one of the state's most extensive voter-outreach
programs to educate Oregonians about where can
didates stand on women's health.
USPS 959-680
This year Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon
made 326,768 contacts with voters via direct mail
and telephone; sent direct mail to 290,714A pro
women's health voters; completed 29,754 one-on-
one telephone conversations; endorsed 50 candi
dates; and filled 440 volunteer shifts and recruited
14 interns.
Oregonians recognize that Planned Parenthood,
family planning and healthcare reform are common-
sense programs and smart investments.
We are so grateful for all of the elected officials
and volunteer activists who have stood up for
Planned Parenthood in our time of need.
Hopefully, politicians will get the message that
they shouldn't interfere in personal medical deci
sions that should be left between a woman and her
family, her faith and her doctor.
As we've seen in the 2012 election, attacking
women's health is just bad politics.
Laura Terrill Patten, executive director of
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
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