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.