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