Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2013)
Jordanit (Observer Page 6 December 4, 2013 New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG $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 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool): $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (RequiringExtensive Pie-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 We’re Not Broke, We’ve Been Robbed Acting like we can’t afford spending makes us poorer bv R ichard K irsch W ith the Friday the 13 th D ecem ber dead line for a federal bud g et deal, the cries o f “w e ’re b ro k e ,” and “w e c a n ’t afford to keep spending,” are rin g in g a g a in . B ut w e ’re not b ro k e and acting like we are is m aking us poorer. O ne o f the b iggest com m on m is- understandings is that governm ents are like households, w hich need to tighten their spending w hen tim es are tough. A ctually, governm ents and households w ork in opposite w ays. G o v e rn m e n ts can and should spend m ore w hen tim es are tough, G o v ern m en t spending m akes up for lack o f spending by fam ilies and b u sin esses, an d it helps get the eco n o m y m oving by getting people back to w ork, putting m oney in their pockets, and contracting w ith busi- billion. W e need governm ent spending and investm ent to get the en tire econom y m oving forw ard. W hen fam ilies are back at w ork w ith d ecen t w ages, g o v ernm ent tax revenues w ill rise and spending on so cial su p p o rts w ill fall. T h a t’s w hen governm ent can re- d u ce sp en d in g w ith o u t slo w in g dow n the econom y, D u rin g the p ast tw o y ears w e ’ve re d u c e d th e d e fic it b y h a lf, c lo se to 2 0 0 8 lev els. T h a t m ay so u n d lik e i t ’s a g o o d th in g , b u t i t ’s r e a l l y th e b i g g e s t r e a s o n th e e c o n o m y is so la c k lu ste r fo r th e v a st m a jo rity o f A m e ric a n s w ith a n e a r-re c o rd -h ig h in u n e m p lo y - m e n t, s ta g n a n t w a g e s , a n d a s m a lle r p ro p o rtio n o f A m e ric an s w o rk in g th an any tim e in th e p a st 3 0 y e ars. W e ’ve a lso cu t all th e w ro n g n esses. If we needed a rem in d er o f that, the recent governm ent shutdow n th in g s: sp e n d in g th a t p u ts m o n ey in p e o p le ’s p o c k e ts to d a y an d in- v e stm e n ts in o u r e co n o m ic fu tu re, gave us one. Journalists reported story after story about how busi- ness w as dow n, as federal w orkers w ere laid o ff and national parks closed. T he estim ates are that even th ough the shut dow n only lasted 16 days, it cost the econom y $24 W e ’ve c u t s p e n d in g on e d u c a - tio n , u n e m p lo y m e n t in s u ra n c e , e n v iro n m e n ta l p ro te c tio n , a n d sc ie n tific re sea rc h . O u r p u b lic in v e stm e n t, w hich in c lu d e s a n n u al g o v e rn m e n t p ro g ra m s an d sp en d - in g o n ro ad s, b rid g e s , tra n s it, r e se a rc h , an d d e v e lo p m e n t is a c tu a lly th e lo w e st i t ’s b e e n as a sh are o f th e e c o n o m y in 6 0 y e a rs. W h at if w e ’d ta k e n a d iffe re n t c o u rs e d u rin g th e re c e s sio n ? H ow a b o u t ra th e r th a n c u ttin g s p e n d in g a fte r an in itia l stim u lu s, w h ich a v o id e d a s e c o n d g re a t d e p re s sio n b y sa v in g th re e m illio n jo b s , th e g o v e rn m e n t h a d k e p t at it? H isto ry sh o w s th a t if w e h av e c o n tin u e d th e le v els o f sp e n d in g n o rm a lly d o n e a fte r re c e s sio n s, w e w o u ld h a v e sp e n t so m e $ 8 0 0 b illio n m o re th a n w e d id , an d the o v e ra ll e c o n o m y (an d n o t ju s t the sto c k m a rk e t) w o u ld be b a c k to th e sam e le v el to d a y th a t it w as b e fo re th e re c e s sio n hit. In sh o rt, th e a rg u m e n t th a t th e g o v e rn m e n t m u st liv e w ith in its m e an s to p ro te c t o u r c h ild re n ’s fu tu re is b a c k w a rd s . A v e rtin g d e fic it sp e n d in g now m e an s s ta rv in g o u r c h ild r e n ’s p re s e n t an d th e ir fu tu re . M o re p a re n ts w ill h a v e to s tru g g le to g e t b y , fe w e r g o o d jo b s w ill be c re a te d , e d u c a tio n w ill su ffe r, an d to d a y ’s c o l le g e stu d e n ts w ill stu m b le in to th e ir c a re e rs sa d d le d w ith h u g e d e b t lo a d s. A nd o u r in frastru c tu re w ill keep c r u m b l i n g a n d r e s e a r c h w ill d w in d le , m a k in g it h a rd e r fo r o u r b u s in e s s e s to c o m p e te in th e g lo - b al m a rk e tp la c e . T h e re a re w a y s w e c a n re d u c e th e d e fic it w ith o u t s lo w in g d o w n th e e c o n o m y v e ry m u c h , if at all. T h a t is b y lo o k in g a t th e o th e r tru th a b o u t th e c ry th a t “ w e ’re b ro k e .” In fa c t, w e h a v e b e e n ro b b e d . W h en U n c le S am g iv e s b ig c o r p o ra tio n s ta x b re a k s to m o v e jo b s o v e r s e a s , w e ’v e b e e n ro b b e d . W h e n W a s h in g to n ta x e s b illio n a ire s at a lo w e r ra te th a n th e ir s e c re ta rie s, w e ’ve b e e n ro b b e d . T o g e t th e c o u n try m o v in g a g a in , C o n g re ss n e e d s to re v e rse d ire c tio n a n d in c re a se s p e n d in g o n v ita l s e rv ic e s a n d in v e stm e n t. T h a t m e a n s re v e rsin g th e b u d g e t c u ts o n d o m e stic s p e n d in g a lre a d y in p la c e an d s to p p in g an y m o re se q u e s tra tio n c u ts on v ital serv ice s fo r o u r fam ilies. A nd ra is in g ta x e s o n th e w e a lth y an d h u g e c o rp o ra tio n s , w h ic h h a v e b e en g a m in g th e sy ste m at o u r e x p en se . In ste a d o f o b s e s sin g a b o u t the “ n e e d ” to c u t g o v e rn m e n t s p e n d in g , o u r le a d e rs sh o u ld be fig u r in g o u t h o w b e st to stim u la te the e c o n o m y to p ro v id e b o th a b e tte r to d a y an d fu tu re fo r o u r c h ild re n . R ichard Kirsch is a senior f e l low at the R oosevelt Institute and the author o f Fighting fo r Our Health: The Epic Battle to M ake H ealth Care a R ight in the United States.