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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, June 3, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to our local graduates, who are inishing off one era of
their lives and ready to start another.
Obviously, high school and college grads of 2016 ind themselves on the
precipice of the most dramatic changes.
But up and down the line, inishing one
year of schooling and moving on to
the next is an important milestone. The
summer buffer helps ease the transition,
but it’s always clear to youth that they are
growing up and moving up the ladder,
building skills and adding responsibilities
on each and every rung.
Those bidding adieu to high schools in
Umatilla and Morrow counties deserve
credit for earning their almighty diploma,
a necessity in this day and age to ensure
successful career prospects. Those who took the next step and earned
a higher degree deserve credit, too. They step out into the world fresh-
faced and passionate — and needed. We hope they work hard, are given
opportunities to excel, and help others in their communities climb the ladder.
A tip of the hat to local ire crews,
who have been exceptionally busy the past
two weeks rushing from one lare-up to the
next to keep our landscape from becoming
charred beyond recognition before summer
even begins.
Look around and you can just tell, the
next 3-4 months are going to be hot and
dry.
The number of grass ires is a reminder
to all of us to be careful. That means with
bonires, campires, cigarettes, exhaust
pipes, bullet casings and anything else that
can catch one piece of dry grass on ire. Because one piece of dry grass can
turn into a big problem.
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.
OTHER VIEWS
A sales tax by another name
The Yamhill Valley News-Register
n analysis released this week
conirms what many Oregonians
have suspected from the outset:
Initiative Petition
28 is bad for our
state and bad for our
pocketbooks. It has
little if any upside. Just
making the ballot, the
measure puts us in a
lose-lose situation.
The sponsoring
coalition, consisting
largely of public
employee unions,
is proposing a
historically large tax
increase on companies doing business
here — probably the largest ever
imposed. Signatures were submitted last
week to qualify IP 28 for the November
ballot.
Under IP 28, a tax of 2.5 percent
would be imposed on all sales over $25
million, in addition to the corporate
minimum tax on the irst $25 million.
A corporation with $50 million in sales
would incur a minimum tax of $655,001.
The report from the nonpartisan
Legislative Revenue Ofice exposes the
measure for what it is — a consumption
tax that would ultimately be passed on to
consumers.
The ofice estimates people with
incomes of $21,000 or less would
pay $372 more in indirect state taxes.
Those making between $48,000 and
$68,000 would pay $613 more, those
with incomes between $103,000 and
$137,000 would pay $751 more, and
those with incomes over $206,000 a year
A
would pay $1,282 more.
A Better Oregon, the union-led
nonproit behind the measure, claims
it’s a case of out-of-state corporations
paying their fair share. It claims the
gusher of new revenue would boost
education and health
care services.
But we see it as
a money-making
scheme to address
the ongoing Public
Employee Retirement
System shortfall. In
essence, the public
unions are seeking
a bailout from
corporations and
consumers.
Because it functions as a gross
receipts tax, not taking into account
proit and loss, companies operating
on smaller margins would be forced to
raise prices. The best example would be
grocery stores.
“Taxes initially born by the retail
trade, wholesale trade and utility sectors
are expected to result in higher prices for
Oregon residents,” the report concludes.
Furthermore, it concludes that just
50 of the 1,051 irms subject to the
tax would take more than half of the
hit. Being taxed millions of additional
dollars to bail out PERS is a sound
reason for CEOs to look elsewhere to
establish business and provide jobs.
Some are predicting it will trigger
the most expensive political ight in
Oregon’s history, as business and labor
interests battle public union rhetoric. It
will thus mean more division and less
constructive compromise as Oregon
seeks solutions for the future.
We see it as a
money-making
scheme to
address the
ongoing PERS
shortfall.
OTHER VIEWS
Politicians and the lies that matter
have on U.S. companies? To act as if
our Honor, I rise this week in
those are not even issues is fraud.
defense of Hillary Clinton.
I see from polls that Clinton
Trump’s tax plan? The nonpartisan
scores very low on “trustworthy”
Tax Policy Center estimates that it
questions. Well, let’s talk about truth in
would decrease tax revenues over
politics. All politicians shade the truth
10 years by $11.2 trillion, and since
at times. Some do it more than others.
Trump has ruled out entitlement
Indeed, when Donald Trump tells the
cuts, he would need to slash all
truth, it should be labeled “Breaking
Thomas discretionary federal spending by 80
News — Trump tells truth without
Friedman percent — that’s where the defense,
immediately contradicting himself.
research and education budgets
Comment
We’re going live to the scene right
come from. This is not just magical
now.”
thinking, it’s nonsense, and if Trump
Here is what is relevant: Lying is serious
implemented half of it, your kids would pay
business. But Clinton’s ibs
dearly.
or lack of candor are all
As for Sanders, he is
about bad judgments she
promising to break up the
made on issues that will not
big banks. Under what legal
impact the future of either
authority? What would
my family or my country.
be the economic fallout?
Private email servers? Cattle
And how would this raise
futures? Goldman Sachs
stagnant incomes for
lectures? All really stupid,
middle-class Americans?
but my kids will not be
Sanders mumbles on these
harmed by those poor calls.
questions.
Debate where she came
The Tax Policy Center
out on Iraq and Libya, if
said in a study of Sanders’
you will, but those were considered judgment
full economic plan, including free health care,
calls, and if you disagree don’t vote for her.
with no premiums or copays, and free college
But while Hillary’s struggles with the
education, more generous Social Security
whole truth on certain issues have garnered
beneits and 12 weeks of family leave, “Even
huge attention, driving up her negatives,
though Sanders would raise taxes on nearly all
Trump and Bernie Sanders have been getting
households by a total of more than $15 trillion
away with some full Burger King Double
over the next decade, his plan still would add
Whoppers that will come crashing down on
an additional $18 trillion (plus at least $3
the whole country if either gets the chance to
trillion in interest) to the national debt over
do what he says.
the period” and thereby “create an enormous
Trump told a biker rally in Washington on
iscal challenge.” Even eliminating the defense
Sunday: “When you think of the great Gen.
budget wouldn’t come close to balancing his
Patton and all our generals, they are spinning
books.
in their graves when they watch we can’t beat
If you’re a college student “feeling the
ISIS. ... We are going to knock the hell out of
Bern,” I hope you’re wearing sunscreen,
them.” Then, for good measure, he repeated
because if Sanders wins, you and your kids
his long-standing call to build a wall along
will be paying for his cash burn for eternity.
the Mexican border, and when he asked who
All lying in politics is not created equal.
would pay for it, the crowd shouted in unison: I think the ideology Sanders is selling is
“Mexico!” Trump added, “Not even a doubt.” fanciful, but underlying it is a moral critique
Really, not even a doubt? Why hasn’t
of modern capitalism that has merit and
President Barack Obama been a “real man”
deserves to be heard. But Sanders is not being
and just carpet-bombed the Islamic State
truthful about the costs. What is grating about
off the face of the earth? Answer: 1.) ISIS is
Clinton is that her prevarications seem so
embedded in urban areas, among Iraqi and
unnecessary and often insult our intelligence.
Syrian civilians, so we can’t carpet-bomb
But they are not about existential issues. As
the terrorists without killing all the civilians
for Trump, his lies are industrial size and often
around them. 2.) If Obama sent the 82nd
contradict each other. But there is no theory
Airborne into Mosul and wiped out ISIS,
behind his lies, except what will advance him,
after horriic door-to-door ighting, the
which is why Trump is only scary if he wins.
morning after the battle we would own Mosul, Otherwise, his candidacy will leave no ideas
because there is no agreement among Sunni
behind. It will just be a reality TV show that
tribes there, let alone the Kurds, Shiites and
got canceled.
neighboring Turkey, over who should control
This is serious. We’re about to elect all
Mosul post-ISIS. In other words, we’d be
three branches of our government. I wish we
stuck governing it. So Obama is trying to
had better choices, but given the options, I’d
squeeze ISIS with one hand while trying to
vote for the candidate who is most likely to be
squeeze Iraqis to come together around a
a practical uniier and get some things done —
post-ISIS order with the other.
and who only tells whoppers about herself, not
It’s called being strategic and Gen. Patton
about my country’s future.
would be applauding from his grave.
■
On Mexico, please tell me why it would
Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer
pay for a multibillion-dollar wall on our
Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for
border and how we would compel our
The New York Times. He became the paper’s
neighbor to do so and what impact that would
foreign-affairs Op-Ed columnist in 1995.
Y
This is serious.
We’re about to
elect all three
branches of
government.
YOUR VIEWS
Boardman farm worker
housing a shameful plan
I don’t generally spend my Tuesday
nights at land use hearings (I ind the process
nauseating), but I was sent a notice as an
adjacent landowner and decided I needed to
go see who, or what, was going to be my new
neighbor. Most landowners, myself included,
go to protect our rural lifestyle and property
values. Poised and armed with ORAs and
ORSs, I headed off to the meeting.
Disguised in a zoning amendment was
a proposal for a small city, “a man camp,”
called farm worker housing. Mind you, this
is not in the urban growth boundary but on
land owned by the city at the corner of Tower
and Kunze. How? Well they are proposing to
rezone high-value Space Age Industrial land
to Exclusive Farm Use. And under EFU, farm
worker housing regardless of size or scale is
an unconditionally permitted use.
The ultimate goal is to warehouse up to
800 “guest workers” at this concentrated
camp. These “guest workers,” indentured by
contract and conined by employment, are to
be socially and geographically isolated and the
only services rendered to them will be sewer
and water.
When queried as to their opportunity at
anything resembling an ambulatory existence,
the attorney who spoke on behalf of Three
Mile Canyon Farms and PROfuut Limited
Partnership LLP testiied: “Thev will be
bused to town for groceries once a week.”
What started off as a land use hearing could
have been mistaken for a civil rights case.
I remember a documentary I watched in
college called “Harvest of Shame.” I thought it
outdated at the time — as a country. I thought
we had moved past this. Apparently not.
I would hazard a guess that very few who
are reading this have heard anything about
this, perhaps by design. This is a horriic
proposal that will not stand up to the scrutiny
of intelligent or compassionate citizens.
My initial concerns now seemed petty and
selish. Move past the ill-conceived notion
of placing this outside the urban growth
boundary and surrendering any hope of
regulation concentrate on the utter lack of
humanity in this proposal. Shame on you!
Kelly Doherty
Boardman
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. Send letters to 211
S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.