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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2017)
Page 12 December 13, 2017 New Prices Effective April 1, 2017 O PINION Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 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) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Igniting a Movement for a Moral Economy Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) : by s arah a nDerson $40.00 Minimum If you’re expect- Heavily Soiled Area: ing a gift card from $10.00 each area your boss as an end- GOP tax plan sheds light on inequality (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $49.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • 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 of-year bonus, enjoy it this year because you probably won’t get one in 2018. The Senate tax bill would ban such rewards. Why? Because Republican lawmakers are deter- mined to prevent ordinary work- ers from pocketing a $25 or $50 gift card without reporting it as taxable income. Meanwhile, these same politi- cians are planning to dole out bil- lions of dollars in tax breaks to the very wealthiest Americans. For example, they’re planning to gut or entirely eliminate the es- tate tax, a curb on extreme wealth concentration that currently ap- plies only to fortunes worth more than $11 million per couple. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley explained the reasoning: “Not having the estate tax recog- nizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.” Republicans are using this prejudice against work- ing people to justify a mas- sive giveaway to wealthy political donors. While giv- ing the rich and big corpora- tions huge tax breaks, the Repub- lican tax plan would raise taxes on 87 million middle-class families, throw 13 million people off health insurance, and cut Medicare by $400 billion. This moral abomination is al- ready igniting a firestorm across the country. Over the past two weeks, protests have erupted at 50 universities and in least 100 cities, while nearly 50 people have been arrested on Capitol Hill. And whether or not President Trump achieves his goal of sign- ing this tax deal into law by the end of the year, this fight is just beginning. On December 4, prominent faith leaders announced plans for one of the largest waves of civ- il disobedience in U.S. history. Dubbed the “Poor People’s Cam- paign: A National Call for Moral Revival,” this effort will mark the 50th anniversary of a similar ini- tiative in 1968 that was undercut by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. The campaign co-chairs, the Rev. Liz Theoharis and the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, are deter- mined to pick up the baton from King and other 1960s leaders. They’ve called the Republican tax plan “an act of gross violence against America’s poor.” But this is just one of the motivations. “We are witnessing an embold- ened attack on the poor and an exacerbation of systemic racism, ecological devastation, and the war economy that demands a re- sponse,” Rev. Barber said. A new Institute for Policy Stud- ies report I edited reveals that con- ditions in each of these areas have worsened since 1968 by many measures. It documents the increased number of Americans below the poverty line, the acceleration of economic inequality, and the emergence of new forms of voter suppression and mass incarcera- tion that further entrench systemic racism. It also highlights the growing imbalance in government spend- ing on the military relative to social programs, and the intensi- fication of racial and income dis- parities in access to clean air and water. Starting next spring, the Poor People’s Campaign aims to bring tens of thousands of poor and dis- enfranchised people, clergy, and other moral leaders to rallies at statehouses in at least 25 states, leading up to a major demonstra- tion at the U.S. Capitol on June 21. While Republicans may suc- ceed in scoring a short-term win for the political donor class, their tax plan is sparking a new mor- al movement that will lift up the millions of Americans living in poverty and build power for trans- formational change. Sarah Anderson is a co-editor of Inequality.org and the editor of the new Institute for Policy Studies report auditing America 50 years after the Poor People’s Campaign. Distributed by Other- Words.org. Letter to the Editor Rhodes Scholar Story Inspirational Just finished reading your cov- er story on young Mr. J.T. Flow- ers (A Rhodes Scholar, Dec. 6 is- sue). It’s inspiring and comforting to see a young man with enough emotional maturity to realize life after basketball does exist and that it can offer some truly amazing re- wards- like a Rhodes Scholarship. That his young friends found his “neighborhood” dangerous is disturbing but it serves to illumi- nate the effect a loving, support- ive family and friend network can have on an “at risk” child. It cer- tainly seems he has a bright edu- cational future awaiting him. Now if we could just dupli- cate this process on a large scale I think a lot of our national prob- lems might find some solutions. Thank you for making my day much brighter. Ron Joy, Northeast Portland