Page 6 January 29, 2014 Q einiqm __________ New Prices « Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service IH /W R k?A Z VS IT R E W AFTER AVU? TUAT MC6T Of; Ü? in Tg§ gham B br . ARE MERE /WMONAlRB§ WDB4 'SOME. 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: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services)-. $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wooly. $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (RequiringExtensivePre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With th W Other Services): $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment »TV Spot & Stain Removal Service Scotchguard Protection Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Why Beating Back Inequality Won’t Be Easy The rich today wield much more power S am P izzigati H a lf a cen tu ry ago, P r e s id e n t L yndon Jo h n so n d eclared a “W ar on P o v erty .” T h at w ar w o u ld soon m ak e a real difference. In the decade follow ing its 1964 launch, o u r o fficial poverty rate dropped fro m 19 to 11.2 percent. B ut that progress stalled in the 1970s, and a profound econom ic insecurity now afflicts the vast m a jo r ity o f A m e ric a n s , p o o r an d m iddle-class alike. O ur top 1 percent households, m eanw hile, have m ore th an d o u b led th eir sh are o f the n a tio n ’s incom e. T hey take hom e 1 in 5 dollars earn ed in A m erica. A gainst this backdrop. President B arack O b am a has now declared inequality “the defining issue o f our tim e.” T op D em ocrats, new s reports tell us, are m oving to m ake in eq u al ity the centerpiece o f the 2014 m id term elections. Even som e G O P pols are jo stlin g to show they care about how unequal A m erica has becom e. W ill all this new concern about by o u r econom ic divides translate into an offensive against inequality as credible as the original W ar on P o v erty? T he odds say no. T he reason? A m erica has changed. B ack in the 1960s, the rich had no ch o kehold on o u r politics. T o d ay they do. A m erica had rich people, o f course, back in the 1960s. B ut w e d id n ’t have all that m any o f them . A nd those rich w e did have had far less w ealth than th eir counterparts today — and far less capacity to create political m ayhem . H ow m uch less cap acity ? L e t’s look at ju s t the rich est o f o u r rich. In 1961, IRS records indicate that the n atio n ’s 4 0 0 m ost affluent tax payers averaged ju s t over $2 m illion in incom e. T hese taxpayers, after exploiting every available tax lo o p hole, paid 4 2.4 percent o f their total incom es in federal tax. In 2007, the last y ear before the G reat R ecession hit, o ur top 400 averaged $345 m illion in incom e. T hese contem porary rich, after loop holes, paid only 16.6 percent o f their total incom es in federal tax. T a k in g in fla tio n in to a c c o u n t, o u r to p 4 0 0 in 2 0 0 7 g ra b b e d 25 tim e s m o re in c o m e than th e ir 4 0 0 co u n terp arts in 1961. A nd the 2007 ric h e st A m e ric a n s p o c k e te d 36 tim es m ore incom e afte r tax es than th e ir 1961 p re d e c e sso rs. In actu al do llars, o u r to p 4 0 0 in 2 0 0 7 — after ta x es and in flatio n — to g e th e r had $ 112 b illio n m o re slo sh in g aro u n d in th e ir p o c k e ts th a n 1 9 6 1 ’s to p 400. m o b iliz in g , to o . T h e se w e a lth y p o w e r b ro k e rs p re se n t th e m se lv e s as fa r m o re e n lig h te n e d an d “p u b lic -s p irite d ” th a n th e ir h a rd rig h t- w in g c o u n te rp a rts. T h e se m e g a ric h d o n ’t d e n y o r c e le b ra te in e q u a lity . T h e y ’re m a n e u v e rin g in ste a d to lim it how the n a tio n re s p o n d s to in e q u a lity — to m ak e su re th a t an y re s p o n se le a v e s th e ir w e a lth a n d p o w e r e s s e n tia lly in ta c t. T h e se b illio n a ire s , u n lik e th e ir h a rd -rig h t b re th re n , c a n to le ra te m o d e st in c re a s e s in th e m in im u m w ag e. T h e y c a n ’t to le ra te an y s e rio u s m o v e to ta x th e ir fin a n c ia l tra n s a c tio n s , e s ta te s , an d e x c e ss in c o m e , o r an y le g is la tio n th a t w o u ld re s to re to w o rk in g A m e ri c an s th e b a sic rig h t to b a rg a in o v e r th e a m p le w e alth th e U .S . e c o n o m y c o n tin u e s to c re ate . So w e hav e today tw o cam ps o f the colossally w ealthy, both im m ensely pow erful and sitting on stashes o f cash that to w er ov er the resources the rich o f the 1960s could bring to bear on the political p ro cess. B ut m oney can ’ t buy everything. T hey have the dollars. W e still have the votes. W h ere are to d a y ’s su p er rich p utting all this loot? A g o o d bit o f it is cascad in g into politics. In 2012, T he W ashington Post reports, the billionaire K och brothers and their allies stuffed “at least $407 m illion” in p olitically active nonprofits that d id n ’t have to disclose th eir d o nors. A ll th o se m illio n s c a m e a b o v e an d b ey o n d th e m illio n s th e K ochs an d o th e r b illio n a ire s fu n n e le d d i re c tly to c a n d id a te s an d c a m p a ig n c o m m itte e s , c o n trib u tio n s th a t h a d to be d isc lo se d . J u s t o n e o f th o se b illio n a ire s , a rc h -c o n s e rv a tive gam ing in d u stry C E O S heldon A d e lso n , o p e n ly s h o v e le d $ 9 1 .8 m illio n in to 2 0 1 2 e le c tio n “ su p e r P A C s .” B illio n a ire s lik e the K o c h s an d A d e lso n u n d e rw rite th e m o st r a b id ly rig h t-w in g o f A m e ric a ’s p o litic a l p la y e rs, th o se c a n d id a te s an d c a u se s d e v o te d to e n d in g any a n d a ll o b s ta c le s to th e e v e r g re a te r c o n c e n tra tio n of A m e ric a ’s in c o m e an d w ealth . B ut o th e r b illio n a ire s — the OtherWords columnist Sam W all S tree t c ro w d an d th e c o rp o Pizzigati is an Institute for Policy ra te e x e c u tiv e e lite — h a v e been Studies associate fellow.