Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
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MIKE FORRESTER
STEVE FORRESTER
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Pendleton
Chairman of the Board
Astoria
President
Pendleton
Secretary/Treasurer
CORY BOLLINGER
JEFF ROGERS
Aberdeen, S.D.
Director
Indianapolis, Ind.
Director
OUR VIEW
Pushing
minimum wage
America
the
unfair?
to the max
D
OTHER VIEWS
Oregon will soon have a higher
the world, but would be devastating
minimum wage, but it’s unclear if
to small businesses and to much
Governor Kate Brown’s compromise of rural Oregon. Agriculture, most
plan will please both sides of a
notably, would be thrashed by the
complicated argument.
new rules.
Brown’s proposal, as has been
We argued, too, that the problem
reported in this newspaper, divides
of low wages would be much
Oregon into two separate geographic PRUHHI¿FLHQWO\KDQGOHGE\WKH
and economic regions, with wage
private sector than by government
rules differing in each.
decree. Nationwide, long stagnant
Rural Oregon
wages were slowly
will have a lower
increasing, but the
Some action
minimum wage
recent stock and oil
than its urban
tumble has put that
on minimum
counterparts,
wage is critically once It is again at risk.
especially
Multnomah County
understandable
important
and the greater
that minimum
component
Portland area. It will
wage should be
also increase here at
tied somehow to a
of the short
a slower pace.
“living” wage —
legislative
That makes
enough money to
sense. The
put a roof over a
session.
economic reality
person’s head and
is far different
food on the table.
in Pendleton
And it’s easy to see
than Portland, in Hermiston than
that $9.25 per hour doesn’t quite
Hillsboro. But the Legislature
cut it in Portland, much less in
will certainly tinker with Brown’s
New York City or Chicago or San
proposal, and how it emerges from
Francisco.
that tinkering — and how it will
Yet there is an economic and
effect rural Oregon — remains to be VRFLDOEHQH¿WWRDFRXQWU\DVWDWH
seen.
and a business, that some employees
Still, some action on minimum
can get experience without breaking
wage is a critically important
the budget. Teens, especially,
component of the short legislative
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week from now. The legislature
and seasonal workers, too, who can
must take action or it leaves Oregon use it to supplement their regular
vulnerable to the blunt hammer of
income. True, they can be taken
a citizen initiative to decide state
advantage of. But a higher minimum
economic policy.
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Though that is an ineffective and
as it is to help them, by causing
LQÀH[LEOHZD\WRRSHUDWHXQLRQDQG their employers to reduce hours and
worker rights organizations have
reduce labor costs.
not been dissuaded by Brown’s bill
There is plenty to debate.
and say they plan to go forward with Minimum wage will without a doubt
petitions that could bump statewide
go up in Oregon, and the effect
minimum wage to $15 an hour in a
of that will be wide-ranging and
faster time frame, and in all corners
VLJQL¿FDQW5LJKWQRZWKHSUHVVXUH
of the state.
is on the legislature to come up
with a plan that cuts the legs out
With a plan similar to Brown’s
from under those who would codify
enacted by the legislature, it
seismic economic shifts, while still
may take the starch out of those
allowing working class people to
initiatives.
make a decent living and maybe
But what about minimum wage,
even save a few dollars each pay
in general, and allowing Eastern
period.
Oregon to play with different
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rules than its urban overlords? We
needle, but doing nothing will be far
RSLQHGODVW-XQHWKDWDMXPSWRD
more problematic for our side of the
$15 minimum wage would be no
state.
problem for the Nikes and Intels of
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.
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.
because of the lead, but also because
onald Trump and Bernie Sanders
they don’t matter to the U.S. political
don’t agree on much. Nor do the
system. U.S. politicians are too busy
Black Lives Matter movement,
chasing campaign donors to help them.
the Occupy Wall Street protests and
There are solutions — more about
the armed ranchers who seized public
that in a moment — but a starting point
lands in Oregon. But in the insurgent
is to recognize that this public mood
presidential campaigns and in social
of impotence and unfairness is rooted
activism across the spectrum, a
common thread is people angry at the
Nicholas in something real. Median wages have
way this country is no longer working
Kristof stalled or dropped. Mortality rates for
young white adults are rising, partly
for many ordinary citizens.
Comment
because so many self-medicate with
And they’re right: The system
painkillers or heroin. Blacks have been
is often fundamentally unfair, and
protected from this phenomenon by another
ordinary voices are often unheard.
unfairness: Studies indicate that doctors
,W¶VHDV\DQGDSSURSULDWHWRUROORQH¶V
discriminate against black patients and are less
eyes at Trump, for a demagogic tycoon is
likely to prescribe them painkillers.
not the natural leader of a revolution of the
America’s political and economic
disenfranchised. But the populist frustration is
inequalities feed each other. The richest 1
understandable. One of the most remarkable
political science studies in recent years upended percent in the U.S. now own substantially more
wealth than the bottom 90
everything rosy we learned in
percent.
civics classes.
Solutions are complex,
Martin Gilens of Princeton
imperfect and uncertain, but the
8QLYHUVLW\DQG%HQMDPLQ
I. Page of Northwestern
biggest problem is not a lack of
University found that in
tools but a lack of will. A basic
policymaking, views of
step to equalize opportunity
ordinary citizens essentially
would be to invest in education
don’t matter. They examined
for disadvantaged children as
1,779 policy issues and found
the civil rights issue of the 21st
that attitudes of wealthy
century.
people and of business groups
“I think any candidate
mattered a great deal to the
seriously aiming to reduce
¿QDORXWFRPH²EXWWKDWSUHIHUHQFHVRIDYHUDJH inequality would have a mild increase in tax
citizens were almost irrelevant.
on the rich to fund higher school spending,”
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says Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford expert on
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inequality. I would add that investments in
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education should begin early, with high-quality
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prekindergarten for at-risk children.
government adopts.”
We also need political solutions to repair
One reason is that our political system is
our democracy so that ordinary citizens count
increasingly driven by money: Tycoons can’t
DORQJZLWKWKHDIÀXHQW³7KHUHLVQRPDJLF
quite buy politicians, but they can lease them.
bullet that will set things right, but meaningful
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always desperately raising money for the next
of a reform agenda,” Gilens says. “States and
election. And the donors who matter most
cities are leading the way. Arizona, Maine
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and Connecticut have had statewide, publicly
companies they control donated almost half the funded ‘clean election’ systems for some time
money for the early stages of the presidential
with varying degrees of success.”
campaign.
One step toward transparency: President
That in turn is why the tax code is full of
Barack Obama could require federal contractors
ORRSKROHVWKDWEHQH¿WWKHZHDOWK\7KLVLVZK\
to disclose political contributions.
you get accelerated depreciation for buying a
Right now, the bitterness at America’s
private plane. It’s why the wealthiest 400 U.S.
grass-roots is often channeled in ways that are
WD[SD\HUVDOOZLWKLQFRPHRIPRUHWKDQ
divisive and destructive: at immigrants, say, or
PLOOLRQHQGHGXSSD\LQJDQDYHUDJHIHGHUDOWD[ at Muslims. The challenge will be to leverage
rate of less than 23 percent for 2013, and less
the populist frustration into constructive
than 17 percent the year before.
postelection policy. But it has been done before.
Conversely, it’s why the mostly black
³5HIRUPVZHUHDGRSWHGLQWKH¿UVW*LOGHG
children in Flint, Michigan, have been poisoned Age, an era similarly plagued by government
by lead coming out of the tap: As Hillary
dysfunction, political corruption and enormous
Clinton noted Sunday in the Democratic debate, economic inequality,” Gilens notes. “Perhaps
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they will be again.” For the sake of our country,
white suburb. Lead poisoning permanently
let’s work for an encore.
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Ŷ
to Flint. Some 535,000 children across the
Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and
country suffer lead poisoning, according to the
cherry farm in Yamhill, Oregon. A columnist for
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The New York Times since 2001, he won the
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Pulitzer Prize two times.
Tycoons can’t
quite buy
politicians, but
they can lease
them.
YOUR VIEWS
Hiring non-tribal member a
step back for CTUIR
This is in response to the East Oregonian
article on the hiring of Jane Hill for the
Umatilla Confederated Tribes legislative
manager. It is important for the reader to know
that while Chuck Sams is the spokesman for
the tribal government administration, in no
way is he the spokesman for the hundreds of
grassroots tribal members who are the heart
of the Umatilla Confederated Tribes. I state
this because the article implies the entire tribe
supports this hire. That is hardly the case.
Our tribal constitution has the important
provision that tribal government will
implement tribal self-determination and tribal
self-governance to the “maximum degree.”
In other words, we will work for our tribal
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independent, and non-dependent on outside
assistance. The most obvious demonstration of
self-governance can be seen in our employment
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who applied for the legislative manager
position. One of them should have been hired.
They are all college graduates with many years
of experience in tribal issues and affairs. This
new person hired knows nothing about our
tribal values and issues. We also have a policy
WKDWFDOOVIRUTXDOL¿HGWULEDOPHPEHUVWREH
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Tribal employment preference policies have
consistently been upheld by the courts because
they are not based on race, but on political
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recognized tribe.
The former legislative manager is a CTUIR
tribal member, so it is obvious that with this
hire the tribe is regressing, not progressing,
in our self-determination efforts. The tribe
has taken a huge step backward. Our senior
managers should be assisting in advancing our
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And what does our newly elected Board
of Trustees have to say about this situation?
During their recent election campaigns, most of
them spoke boldly about what they would do
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within tribal government.
This letter is nothing personal against Jane
Hill, it is about senior tribal management
once again intentionally denying, without
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members are not supportive of this hire, in
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tribal members who applied for the position.
Bob Shippentower
Pendleton