Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, June 30, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Wage hike will help, hurt some Who is getting a raise tomorrow? same people who call trickle-down More than 100,000 Oregonians economics a bunch of hooey think that trickle-up economics will are, as the state takes its irst beneit us all. If a rising tide lifts incremental step in increasing the all boats, why should we care if the minimum wage. In our area the water comes from above or below? increase is just a quarter, moving from $9.25 an hour We must also note to $9.50. In the that only about 5 The experiment percent of Oregonians Portland metro area, the increase jumps make the minimum begins to $9.75. It’s just the wage, according to tomorrow. irst step down the the state Employment road to a minimum Department. Most are young women who wage of $12.50 in rural areas and $14.75 in urban areas work part-time. by 2022. We have data on small increases in the minimum wage, and note they The effects of the increase will have a relatively small impact on be varied. It will beneit some employees by giving them a spike in the economy. It sparks economic growth in small ways, raises the cost take-home pay, but cause others to see their hours cut and still others to of goods a small amount and causes lose their jobs entirely. It will beneit little harm. But we don’t have good data on some businesses — increasing the reliability and the happiness of their major, consistent minimum wage hikes. It just hasn’t occurred in this employees and allowing them to country. And that unknown worries attract better workers. But it will economists and business owners, likely decimate others, especially and it should worry employees. labor-intensive ones who employ a The experiment begins tomorrow. lot of poor Americans, who will not be able to keep pace with the steady Fingers crossed, it will make the state a more equal and afluent place. increase of labor costs. But the risks are real, and Oregon We’ve been lukewarm on the businesses will be forced to adapt to state’s minimum wage hike, noting a quickly and continuously changing it as a relatively ineffective way labor market. of beneiting the middle class. The 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 Government must insist on high standards for nation’s railways The (Salem) Statesman Journal B roken bolts in the railroad track caused the frightening oil train derailment in the Columbia River Gorge. Better brakes and other improvements would have made the train derailment less severe. Those are among the Federal Railroad Administration’s preliminary indings into the June 3 derailment, in which a Union Paciic train spilled oil and caught ire near the town of Mosier. Union Paciic, which is to blame for the derailment, now seems overly eager to resume oil trains through the Gorge. But people have it wrong when they cite the Gorge’s unique environment as a rationale to make it permanently off-limits to oil trains, such as this one with 94 cars carrying Bakken crude oil from New Town, North Dakota, to Tacoma, Washington. Scary, hazardous materials travel every day on trains and trucks along the interstate 84 and 5 corridors. Many such trains go through Salem’s core, past Willamette University and the Capitol Mall area. Certainly the protection of urban residents and property is as important as protection of the rural environment and the rural residents. The greater issue is that Oregon and especially the federal government must insist on much higher standards for: ▪ Track maintenance. ▪ Structural improvements in rail cars carrying oil or other hazardous materials. ▪ Training and equipping of emergency responders. If people dislike oil trains, consider the alternatives: pipelines or multiple shipments by truck. In much of America, well-built and -operated pipelines are the best solution. But given the lack of suficient pipelines in the Paciic Northwest, trains are the best option. As for ending the world’s reliance on oil, and thus the need to ship oil, that is a worthy goal but one that will not happen soon. Even then, companies and governments will continue shipping other hazardous materials. Safe, secure shipping always will be needed, regardless of the route or cargo. The government must ensure that safety. Consider the alternatives to oil trains. OTHER VIEWS Revolt of the masses A nybody who spends time in Conservatives argue that it has been the working-class parts of decimated by cosmopolitan cultural America (and, one presumes, elites who look down on rural rubes. Britain) notices the contagions of drug There’s some truth to this, as the addiction and suicide, and the feelings reactions of smug elites to the Brexit of anomie, cynicism, pessimism and vote demonstrate. resentment. But the honor code has also been decimated by the culture of the modern Part of this pain arises from meritocracy, which awards status to deindustrialization. Good jobs are hard David to ind. But hardship is not exactly Brooks the individual who works with his mind, and devalues the class of people new to these places. Life in, say, a coal Comment who work with their hands. valley was never a bouquet of roses. Most of all, it has been undermined What’s also been lost is the social by rampant consumerism, by celebrity culture, institutions and cultural values that made it by reality-TV fantasies that tell people success possible to have self-respect amid hardship comes in a quick lash — to say, “I may not make of publicity, not through a lot of money, but people steady work. The sociologist can count on me. I’m Daniel Bell once argued that loyal, tough, hardworking, capitalism would undermine resilient and part of a good itself because it encouraged community.” hedonistic short-term We all have a sense of values for consumers while what that working-class requiring self-disciplined honor code was, but if long-term values in its you want a refresher, I workers. At least in one recommend J.D. Vance’s segment of society, Bell was new book “Hillbilly Elegy.” absolutely correct. Vance’s family is from There’s now a rift within Kentucky and Ohio, and his the working class between description of the culture mostly older people who are he grew up in is essential self-disciplined, respectable reading for this moment in and, often, bigoted, and history. parts of a younger cohort that are more He describes a culture of intense group disordered, less industrious, more celebrity- loyalty. Families might be messed up in a obsessed, but also more tolerant and open to million ways, but any act of disloyalty — like the world. sharing personal secrets with outsiders — is Trump (and probably Brexit) voters are felt acutely. This loyalty culture helps people in the irst group. They are not poor, making take care of their own, but it also means on average over $70,000 a year. But they there can be hostility to those who want to perceive that their grandchildren’s world is move up and out. And there can be intense quickly coming apart. parochialism. From 1945 to 1995, conservative and “We do not like outsiders,” Vance writes, liberal elites shared variations of the same “or people who are different from us, whether difference lies in how they look, how they act, vision of the future. Liberals emphasized multilateral institutions and conservatives or, most important, how they talk.” emphasized free trade. Either way, the future It’s also a culture that values physical would be global, integrated and multiethnic. toughness. It’s a culture that celebrates people But the elites pushed too hard, and now who are willing to ight to defend their honor. history is moving in the opposite direction. This is something that progressives never get The less-educated masses have a different about gun control. They see a debate about conception of the future, a vision that is more mass murder, but for many people guns are about a family’s ability to stand up for itself in closed, collective, protective and segmented. Their pain is indivisible: economic stress, a dangerous world. community breakdown, ethnic bigotry and It’s also a culture with a lot of collective a loss of social status and self-worth. When pride. In my travels, you can’t go ive people feel their world is vanishing, they are minutes without having a conversation about easy prey for fact-free magical thinking and a local sports team. Sports has become the demagogues who blame immigrants. binding religion, offering identity, value, and We need a better form of nationalism, a solidarity. vision of patriotism that gives dignity to those Much of this pride is nationalistic. Vance’s who have been disrespected, emphasizes that grandparents, he writes, “taught me that we we are one nation and is conident and open to live in the best and greatest country on earth. the world. I’m thinking we have a lot to learn This fact gave meaning to my childhood.” from Theodore Roosevelt, but that’s a topic When I lived in Brussels, this sort of intense personal patriotism was simply not felt for another day. ■ by the people who ran the EU, but it was felt David Brooks became a New York Times by a lot of people in the member states. This honor code has been decimated lately. Op-Ed columnist in 2003. What has been lost is the social institutions and cultural values that made it possible to have self-respect amid hardship. YOUR VIEWS Wilderness surveillance will help everyone behave A pound of water at 100 degrees contains eight times as much heat as a pound of steel at 100 degrees. This high “speciic heat” enables water heated by geothermal activity thousands of feet underground to pour out of Cougar Hot Spring at 112 degrees. Fortunately, a cool stream ten feet away makes it possible for hotspringers to adjust the pools to the perfect temperature, creating a meditative paradise. There occurred a problem however, with wild nighttime parties, and the pools were closed at night. So now, each evening, soakers must hurry out to the parking lot or have to deal with stone-faced police oficers just for harmoniously meditating in magical pools under gigantic trees standing witness to the inevitabillity of time. Conservatives argue that society must keep strict control over these free spirits because of their tendency to take off their clothes and smoke marijuana. Conservatives forget, however, that they have wild stallions of their own. And liberals in turn contend that motocross race bikes emanate too much machismo, causing peaceful forest users to get worked up. And since they are “clearly dangerous,” these mighty steeds simply cannot be allowed on logging roads. Yet there exists this wonderful possibility — what if dirt bikes were actually allowed on the dirt roads? Fantastic adventure would become possible, and video surveillance could make that a reality. The logging roads could be opened up to dirt bikes and quads on the condition that riders mount cameras on their front forks, which transmit video to receivers on nearby mountaintops, which then relay the video to police headquarters. And perhaps Cougar Hot Spring could be kept open, if not all night, then at least until a reasonable hour if hotspringers would become agreeable to reasonable use of surveillance cameras at the pools. A little openness can provide a huge amount of freedom. In fact, video surveillance is as good at keeping the forests safe as the high speciic heat of water is at delivering geothermal energy to the surface. Pat Hiatt Ellensburg, Wash. Owyhee Canyonlands are worth protecting Last week I lew 2,500 miles to Washington, D.C., to urge our elected oficials to protect something dear to my heart: the Owyhee Canyonlands. Resting in southeastern Oregon, the Owyhee is an expansive backcountry with astonishing scenery, abundant wildlife, and tons of elbow room. When I was in D.C., I thanked senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley for introducing legislation to preserve the Owyhee for future generations. Their bill would safeguard the Owyhee from future mining and oil and gas development. It also supports federal grants to ranchers, grazing associations, and local ire protection districts. It is a start, but only a start. I know how special the Owyhee is. I grew up hunting bobwhite quail in North Carolina, but whenever I go back home I am saddened that there are very few quail or places to hunt birds left in the South — those treasured pastimes of my teens are fading memories for all but the very wealthy. Today, the Owyhee Canyonlands is my sacred place. I have a home in the Owyhee, and spend many days behind bird dogs, riding a horse, enjoying the howl of a coyote, or the incredible brilliance of the Milky Way — and dreading the next lat tire. The Owyhee is home to over 200 species, like pronghorn antelope, kit fox, greater sage-grouse, and California bighorn sheep. Its vastness makes it a rare and unique treasure where wildlife is truly wild, unlike the windshield fauna of many western parks. I can hunt a different ridge or canyon every day of chukar season and never see even another human track. My neighbors in Malheur County, many of them ranchers, and I seem to share a common goal: We want the Owyhee to stay as it is, where freedom does not need to be explained, and the Owyhee’s wild vastness and remoteness stays downright scary to most civilized folks. It is time to safeguard the Owyhee and preserve this special place as it is today. It is certainly worthy of permanent protection. Hunters, ranchers, boaters, campers and hikers all have a stake in conserving the Owyhee. There is simply nothing like it in the lower 48 states. How do we do this and preserve all its current values? I don’t know, but I am quite certain there is a way if we try, and in the process, listen to each other. Jim Hammett John Day 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 newspa- per reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual ser- vices 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.
