Page 6
June 17, 2015
New Prices
Effective
May 1, 2014
Martin
Cleaning
Service
O pinion
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A small distance/travel
charge may 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
Other Services) : $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) :
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive 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
• 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
Subsidizing Idle Rich While Poor Kids Go Hungry
A tax code
stacked against
working people
S cott K linger
To hear some pol-
iticians tell it, Amer-
ica’s welfare system
is facing a grave cri-
sis: Millions of poor
people, they say, are
idling away their
time eating lobster
and relaxing on cruises.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brown-
back, for example, recently
signed welfare reform rules ban-
ning people receiving public as-
sistance from using their $100 a
week in benefits to buy steak or
seafood, go to swimming pools,
or take cruises.
Meanwhile, some members of
Congress are taking aim at food
aid for hungry Americans. They
want us to associate “hungry”
with “too lazy to work.”
They’re lashing at an imagi-
nary problem.
Who benefits from the Sup-
plemental Nutrition Assistance
by
Program (SNAP), otherwise
known as food stamps? Nearly
half of recipients are children, 16
percent are disabled adults who
can’t work, and 9 percent are se-
nior citizens.
Nearly a third of people
who get food stamps have
a family member who is
working, many at big box
retailers like Wal-Mart or
fast food establishments.
These folks may not be
able to get enough hours
to work full-time, or their
employers pay them so little that
even with a full-time schedule,
they can’t pay for rent and util-
ities and still afford enough food
for the family.
Even 5,000 active-duty mil-
itary families rely on public as-
sistance because their pay is not
enough to raise a family on.
But that’s only half the prob-
lem.
While these politicians are
restricting the public assistance
that many Americans use to
make ends meet, they’re also
busy cutting taxes for the idle
rich — who, as it happens, al-
ready have plenty of disposable
income for expensive seafood
and luxury cruises.
The House, for example,
passed a bill repealing the estate
tax.
That tax affects just one out of
every 700 estates left by Ameri-
cans who die each year, but it’s a
crucial source of revenue.
Repealing it will save the
nation’s multi-millionaires and
billionaires about $27 billion a
year. It means that the heirs to
the Wal-Mart fortune — who’ve
collectively inherited nearly
$150 billion in wealth — will
pass on nearly $60 billion more
to their kids when they die.
Opponents of the estate tax
claim that it prevents people
from passing on family farms or
small businesses, but that’s non-
sense.
In 2013, the feds taxed just
120 estates that were comprised
primarily of a farm or a small
business, according to the Tax
Policy Center. These families
paid an average tax rate of less
than 5 percent.
Meanwhile, the tax code re-
mains stacked against working
families. The idle rich who live
off investments pay a maximum
rate of 20 percent on dividends
and gains. Working parents,
though, can pay nearly double
that.
One out of every five chil-
dren in America lives in poverty.
In the wealthiest country in the
world, nearly 16 million of our
children and nearly 5 million of
our elders lack food security.
But congressional leaders
think the first piece of business
should be to ensure that those
who pay little in life leave noth-
ing of their great fortunes to the
common good after they die.
Hard-hearted politicians think
that if they paint the people who
get food stamps as lazy and un-
deserving, it will blind us to
what’s really going on: They’re
handing out more tax cuts for
those who can afford caviar and
champagne and more budget
cuts for those trying to put the
bare essentials on their kitchen
tables.
Scott Klinger is the Director
of Revenue and Spending Pol-
icies at the Center for Effective
Government. Distributed via
OtherWords.org