Page 6A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
OTHER VIEWS
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
State hiding
its own scam
DOE conceals rationale for energy credit discounts
Imagine a government agency
the credits program is troubling and
that thwarts the will of elected
smacks of political favoritism. In the
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wake of these revelations, there has
with businesses, then tries to hide
been a steady stream of resignations
from the public the purported legal
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rationale for its actions.
head of the loan program and the
No need to invent such a cagey
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agency. It already exists. Here
Gov. Kate Brown has asked the
in Oregon. It’s called the state
Legislature to review and then shut
Department of Energy.
down the Business Energy Tax
When the Oregon Legislature
Credit program. That’s not good
passed laws creating
enough. A full audit
the Business Energy
is warranted.
Tax Credit program, Gov. Kate Brown
Gov. Brown
the purpose was
has asked the should also order the
to encourage
release of a recent
Legislature to
individuals and
opinion on the matter
businesses to invest
the Department
review and then by
in projects that were
of Justice. Energy
shut down the RI¿FLDOVKDYH
HQHUJ\HI¿FLHQW
or would use
for years
Business Energy claimed
renewable sources.
that lawyers at
Recipients could
Justice vetted
Tax Credit
use the credits to
and approved the
program.
reduce their tax bill.
discounted sales. If
The credits could
that’s the case, why
also be transferred to a third party to DUH(QHUJ\RI¿FLDOVDQGWKHJRYHUQRU
raise capital.
refusing to release that report?
The program and the prices
Our company, EO Media Group,
were to be administered by the
along with Pamplin Media Group
state Department of Energy. Hillary
and The Oregonian, have been
Borrud, a reporter with our Capital
rebuffed in attempts to obtain the
Bureau, uncovered how shoddy that opinion under Oregon’s Public
oversight has been.
Records Law. That law is aimed at
6KHUHYHDOHGWKDW(QHUJ\RI¿FLDOV ensuring that the public’s business
quietly stopped enforcing pricing
is transparent to its citizens and
and other rules for the credit
taxpayers.
transfers back in 2011. This allowed
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private brokers to arrange deals in
Energy have ignored directions
ZKLFKWKHSULFHVZHUHQHYHUYHUL¿HG from the Legislature and its own
by the state. It was later learned that administrative rules. Now they’re
some buyers avoided paying capital
hiding behind claims of attorney-
gains taxes on the transfer.
client privilege. It’s past time they
Energy’s inconsistent handling of give up this charade.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher
Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
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D
r. Ben Carson has the most
Hands,” he writes that he tries to
moving personal narrative in
be a role model for young blacks,
modern presidential politics.
explaining, “These young folks need to
His mother, one of 24 children, had
know that the way to escape their often
only a third-grade education. She was
dismal situations is contained within
married at age 13, bore Ben and his
themselves.”
brother, and then raised the boys as an
He also offers a tinge of reproach
impoverished single mother in Detroit.
for those who stumble. Carson likes to
As a young boy, Carson was
Nichilas cite a poem by Mayme White Miller
a terrible student. “Most of my
Kristif that suggests: “If things go bad for you
classmates thought I was the stupidest
... You have yourself to blame.”
Comment
person in the world,” he recalls in his
Carson acknowledges that his
book “One Nation.” “They called me
family relied on food stamps — “we
‘Dummy.’”
... couldn’t have made it without them” — but
But his mother responded by tightly
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limiting Ben’s television time and requiring
breed dependency.
the boys to read two books a week from the
One reason he is popular on the right, I
library, and then submit book reports to her,
think, is that many conservatives feel bruised
even though she couldn’t read them.
by liberals’ jibes that they are closet racists or
Carson evolved into an excellent student
have no compassion for the poor. Supporting
but still suffered from an explosive temper.
Carson validates their self-perception as
When he was in the ninth grade, he argued
good people who are doing the right thing by
with his friend Bob about what radio station
slashing social programs.
to listen to, and, furious, tried to stab Bob
The problem is that there’s growing
in the stomach. Fortunately, the blade broke
evidence that Carson’s policy solutions
on Bob’s belt buckle, and Carson had an
are plain wrong. Social support programs
epiphany that led him to curb his temper.
for young children in particular nurture
He attended Yale on a scholarship and
opportunity and even save public money
became a brilliant neurosurgeon and best-
in the long run. When done right, these are
selling author. He and his wife, Candy, started investments with a high return.
a scholarship program, the Carson Scholars
Indeed, a careful 2012 study found that
Fund, now active in all 50 states, and he won
children who received food stamps in the
the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also
1960s (a group that included Carson) had
comes across as a really nice guy.
better health outcomes even decades later as
And now he has surpassed Donald Trump
adults. So maybe Carson’s accomplishments
to lead in a New York Times/CBS News poll
are also a tribute, in some tiny way, to the
for the Republican nomination for president.
nutritional support he received as a child from
In the end, I’m betting that Carson will
food stamps. (He’s probably rolling his eyes
lose. His candidacy has been propelled by
as he reads this!)
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More broadly, Carson’s rise from
by policies, and he has largely avoided close
inner-city poverty is inspiring but not easily
scrutiny. That will change as he tops polls.
replicable. Muggsy Bogues became an NBA
Carson has a penchant for over-the-top
star even though he was 5 feet 3 inches tall,
statements, such as that Obamacare is “the
but short people are still at a disadvantage in
worst thing that has happened in this nation
basketball.
since slavery.” His assertions that Jews were
Inner-city black children, especially
slaughtered in Europe because they didn’t
boys, face similar long odds. The reasons
have guns, or that we need guns in the home
are complex and have to do with family
today to defend ourselves from Islamic
structure, poverty and education, and also with
militants — well, “kooky” is a polite way to
discrimination. Devah Pager, a sociologist,
describe those views.
sent out young black and white men to pose as
Then there are his policy proposals, which
job applicants and found that the whites were
are mostly vague or absurd or both. Carson
twice as likely to get callbacks as identically
wants to end Medicare and replace it with
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health savings accounts, and that pretty much
felony conviction had as good a chance of
makes him unelectable, although he’s now
getting a callback as a black applicant with a
backing away from his position. So my hunch clean record.
is that the betting markets are right and that
So by all means let’s celebrate Carson’s
Sen. Marco Rubio will ultimately emerge as
achievements. But he’s better as a role model
the nominee.
than as a policymaker.
But maybe the more interesting question is
Ŷ
what Carson says about America. He seems
Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The
to see his rise as an indication that America
Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize
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winner who writes op-ed columns that appear
character. In his moving memoir, “Gifted
twice a week.
OTHER VIEWS
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of records for candidates for president of Oregon
Health & Science University.
The problems with Oregon’s laws are not just
When government has good news, it’s beating
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down the doors to tell the public about it. When
get records requests.
government has bad news, it’s building a fortress
Remember what former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s
RIGHOD\DQGFRVWVWREORFNWKHSXEOLFIURP¿QGLQJ
strategy was with requests
out what happened.
before he resigned. Delay,
Last week, Oregon
Attorney General Ellen
“Since 1973, when delay, delay. Oregon needed
to get a new governor before
5RVHQEOXPFRQYHQHGWKH¿UVW
meeting of a task force set up our public records law many of the records were
to make recommendations for was enacted, hundreds released. State law essentially
has no deadlines to actually
improving Oregon’s public
of exemptions have comply with a records request.
records laws.
is another issue. A
“Since 1973, when
been added. Now is few Cost
years ago, The Bulletin
our public records law
was enacted, hundreds
the time to examine requested copies of emails
between Bend-La Pine Schools
of exemptions have been
whether we have
and the Chalkboard Project,
added,” she said in a news
DQRQSUR¿WHGXFDWLRQJURXS
release. “Now is the time to
gone
too
far.”
There were almost 2,000 pages
examine whether we have
of emails. The district claimed
gone too far.”
— Ellen Rosenblum,
it needed to charge The
Some of the exemptions
Oregon attorney general
Bulletin nearly $2,000 in legal
FDQEHMXVWL¿HG3URWHFWLQJ
fees to review them. Costs like
trade secrets of businesses and
KRPHDGGUHVVHVRISXEOLFVDIHW\RI¿FHUVFDQPDNH that can be just another way of declining a request.
Of course, there can be legitimate reasons to vet
a lot of sense.
records before they are released to the public. But
But other exemptions are highly questionable.
also consider this: The district had already paid the
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lawyer his set fee for the year. And the district still
happened when public employees are disciplined
claimed The Bulletin needed to pay for that same
for misusing taxpayer money or violating
staff time.
the public trust. Another exemption enables
The guiding principle of Oregon’s public
JRYHUQPHQWRI¿FLDOVWRFODLPWKH\DUHRQO\
records is supposed to be that openness prevails.
engaged in preliminary discussions about changes
Censorship of public information needs to justify
in public policy and don’t have to release what
itself, not the public’s right to know.
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The (Bend) Bulletin, Oct. 29
YOUR VIEWS
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Quentin Tarantino has made a fortune making extremely violent movies
where torture and murder are common themes. “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill,”
“Natural Born Killers” and “Reservoir Dogs” give you an idea of what he is
capable of putting on the screen. And he has been rewarded for this by earning
an Oscar (“Pulp Fiction”). The more bloody, gruesome and violent, the better
Tarantino likes it.
At the recent New York rally of the “Black Lives Matter” folks in
Washington Square Park, Tarantino led the rally against the police. Addressing
the “Rise Up October” crowd, Tarantino yelled out through the microphones,
“If you believe there’s murder going on you need to rise up and stand up
against it.” He continued, “This is not being dealt with in any way at all. If it
was being dealt with, these murdering cops would be in jail or at least facing
charges.” The crowd loved it and cheered loudly in agreement as they waved
the “Murder By Police Is Still Murder” signs.
As Tarantino preached his hatred, New York cops and a good share of the
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an armed robbery by a gang member and career criminal — also black. Holder
was shot in the forehead and died instantly. That makes the fourth murder of a
New York City Cop in just the last 10 months, and makes over 100 deaths of
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The New York Police Department is calling for a boycott of all Tarantino
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hateful, don’t even rent one.
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LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on
public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and
on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters
that address concerns about individual services and products or letters
that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be
signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime
phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned
letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel
Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@
eastoregonian.com.