Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, August 11, 2016
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
The more you know
Local school districts deserve
That isn’t the case, because plenty
credit for taking the initiative and
can happen to water from the time
testing preemptively for lead in their it reaches a property until it ills a
water.
drinking glass.
In Hermiston and all throughout
Although budgets are tight for
the InterMountain Education Service everyone, many businesses and
District, schools have taken samples homes and public buildings should
and are learning what all comes out
consider testing for lead in their
of their faucets — whether regularly water systems. Schools should be
used for drinking or
required, because
not — when they
of the serious
Homes,
turn on the tap.
effect lead can
So far,
on children’s
businesses and have
Hermiston, Helix
health. Test kits are
public buildings affordable, easy
and Athena-Weston
school districts
accurate. If you
should consider and
have accrued some
have young children
helpful knowledge.
testing for lead glugging water daily
Helix learned each
from your kitchen
in their water
faucet in their
sink, it makes sense
building meets
to know how safe
systems.
safety standards
that water is.
for levels of lead
Yet a possible
in drinking water. But Hermiston
drawback to a renewed focus on
and Athena-Weston learned there
lead levels in water is the rise of
are some spouts in their buildings
individually packaged, expensive
that are above acceptable limits and
and environmentally destructive
require action.
bottled water. That is a poor
Armed with that knowledge, the
response to high lead levels — or
districts can upgrade and improve
just a fear of high lead levels — at
the plumbing and ixtures at those
home or work. Test irst, make
sites, or sign them and close them
simple easy ixes (like a new
off to drinking. Both are better
faucet) second and if that doesn’t
options that running unsafe water
work consider bigger ixes such
through our children.
as iltration or using water from a
Other districts have submitted
different source. Don’t go through
samples and are awaiting their
carton after carton of wasteful
results. Blue Mountain Community
bottled water.
College is the only local school
Buy stainless steel or BPA-free
under the mistaken impression
reusable plastic bottles, ill them
that city testing is good enough. If
from a safe source and drink for free
that was true, all of Hermiston and
all day long. And send one to school
Athena-Weston’s tests would come
with your child, too, if it makes you
back with the same lead levels.
and your pocketbook feel better.
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
Change in disability beneits
a beneit to families and state
The Bend Bulletin
O
regonians with disabilities and
their families can start planning
for a new inancial tool that
becomes available this
winter, courtesy of the
state of Oregon and the
federal government.
The state’s
Achieving a Better
Life Experience
(ABLE) Savings Plan,
created after Congress
gave states the ability
to do so, goes into
operation in December.
It offers a way for
the disabled and their
families to put money aside for future
needs. It’s a good change.
Currently, those with disabilities can
have no more than $2,000 in savings
before they begin losing the federal
beneits on which many rely. Their
families can set up special needs trusts,
but those are expensive propositions and
require lawyers and trustees. That has
put them out of reach for many disabled
individuals.
ABLE accounts will change that.
They’re relatively inexpensive to set up,
says Michael Parker of the Oregon 529
Savings Network, of which the ABLE
accounts will be a part, and there need be
no trustee. The network also includes the
state’s 529 college savings program.
After-tax dollars can be added by
the ABLE account beneiciary or by
nondisabled family members, and
no taxes will be levied against the
accounts. Those who add to the accounts
can qualify for tax
deductions of up to
$4,000 per year.
The accounts
will give disabled
beneiciaries more
control over their
money than many have
today. They can be
used to pay for a house
or a new wheelchair,
or nearly anything
else that improves a
beneiciary’s quality
of life.
And, an account can contain $100,000
before there’s any loss of federal beneits
— a big jump up from the current $2,000
limit on assets. Even then, a beneiciary
would lose beneits only until the ABLE
account — which can contain as much
as $310,000 — is spent down to the
$100,000 level. At a beneiciary’s death,
the account becomes part of his or her
estate.
ABLE accounts won’t create inancial
independence for every person with a
disability. But they’ll provide a bit more
peace of mind to families who must
worry about continued inancial security
for disabled relatives after parents or
others die.
It offers a way
for the disabled
and their
families to put
money aside for
future needs.
Clinton campaign
is boring, but effective
W
hat has Hillary Clinton been
“You’ve got to ask yourself in this
doing while Donald Trump
campaign, do you want a president
has been careening from one
who stands for ‘you’re ired’ or one
controversy to the next? She’s been
who stands for ‘you’re hired?’”
traveling the country giving speeches
17) Mention Trump University.
about jobs, hammering Trump on the
18) Repeat Trump is unqualiied
economy, and mostly avoiding press
and unit to be president.
contact that could bring attention to her
19) Mention one more time her
email scandal, the Clinton Foundation,
plans for jobs, education, healthcare
Byron
or her record as Secretary of State.
and more.
York
And then she talks more about jobs.
20) Sum up: “I think this election
Comment
comes down to economic opportunity,
Clinton’s speeches are boring. They
national security, and American unity.”
don’t make much news. But they’re in
There wasn’t a single headline in the
line with voter concerns three months away
entire 20-minute poll- and focus group-tested
from the presidential election.
speech, or the others delivered in Nebraska
In her Democratic convention acceptance
and Colorado, which hit many of the same
speech, amid all the promises and proposals,
points. And by the way, Clinton’s speeches
Clinton made her top priority clear. “My
are about one-third the length of Trump’s
primary mission as president will be to create
unscripted performances, which often go over
more opportunity and more good jobs with
an hour, giving Trump far more chances to say
rising wages right here in the United States,”
something controversial.
she said. Last week, still in convention
Trump has often mocked the kind of speech
afterglow, Clinton made a tour out West,
Clinton gives. At a huge rally in Dallas last
giving speeches in Omaha, the Denver
fall, Trump pledged never to give a canned
suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, and Las
presentation. “That would be so much easier,”
Vegas that all focused on meat-and-potatoes
he said. “We read a speech for 45 minutes.
economic issues.
Everybody falls asleep, listening to the same
The Las Vegas event was in a union
old stuff ...”
building, with a heavily union audience,
Trump doesn’t do that. His speeches are
so there was more emphasis than usual on
long, stream-of-consciousness affairs, with the
organized labor. But the heart of the speech
was the same as Clinton’s other presentations; potential to erupt into news at any moment.
From Trump’s perspective, Clinton’s are the
after all of the pleasantries and stroking that
worst type of boring.
are involved in campaigning, Clinton stuck
But boring can work. Look at Clinton’s
to a relatively small number of big issues that
voters care about most. Step by step, here’s the summation. Her presentation is entirely
consistent with the issues that voters say are
essence of what Clinton did in Vegas:
the most important in this election. Asked
1) Thank local constituents — in this
in the most recent Fox News polls which is
case, IBEW Local 357, the AFL-CIO, and
the most important issue facing the country,
the Plumbers and Pipeitters Local 525 “who
voters most named the economy and national
assisted with parking.”
security. (The two topics were tied with 22
2) Thank local oficials — Sen. Harry
percent each.) When Clinton says, “I think this
Reid, Rep. Dina Titus and Democratic Senate
election comes down to economic opportunity,
candidate Catherine Cortez Masto.
national security and American unity,” she’s
3) Establish big picture: “We are going to
not speaking off the cuff.
create more good jobs with rising income.”
None of this means that Clinton, as
4) Promise “investments” focusing on
president, might actually accomplish what
roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, the electric
she promises. For example, Clinton made big
grid, etc. “For every $1 billion, we get 47,500
jobs, and they are mostly good union jobs with promises on jobs in her 2000 campaign for a
Senate seat from New York, the Washington
a good middle class income.”
Post reported Sunday, and those promises
5) Promise more collective bargaining
came to nothing. Now, she’s saying similar
rights to unions.
things again. It worked in New York in 2000
6) Promise to make college affordable and
and 2006. Research and instinct indicate it’s
“debt-free.”
still what voters want to hear.
7) Promise national high-speed broadband
And she’ll keep saying it. He might mock
Internet.
8) Remind people that Trump sells products her, he might criticize her, he might give
her new nicknames, but one thing Trump
made overseas.
9) Remind that big businessman Trump has can count on is that Clinton will pursue her
campaign relentlessly. She will never give up.
sometimes stiffed small businesses working
Think back to 2008, in her epic battle with
for him.
10) Praise a local small business (an IBEW then-Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic
nomination. Clinton wasn’t very good at
shop, of course).
campaigning. But her effort had a plodding,
11) Pledge more technical education. “We
one-foot-in-front-of-the-other quality to it
need to invest in our young people and give
that suggested while Clinton could never be
them different paths besides four-year college
a spectacular candidate like her opponent
to get ahead in America.”
Obama, she nevertheless would keep moving
12) Promise free community college.
forward until she achieved her goal.
13) Remind again that Trump has
One can go a long way in life by putting
mistreated small businesspeople.
one foot in front of the other. In ‘08, Clinton
14) Mention that her father was a small
ran into an overwhelming force in Obama.
businessman.
Now, things appear to be lining up her way.
15) Use example of Trump’s Florida
She’ll do boring to win, any day.
resort to imply (without actually saying) that
■
she’ll bring in fewer foreign workers to take
Byron York is chief political correspondent
American jobs.
for The Washington Examiner.
16) Turn a Trump trademark against him.
YOUR VIEWS
Newspaper shouldn’t consider
fault, just ways to help
The quality of a newspaper is judged by
every person who reads that paper, and I am
glad the East Oregonian receives awards. I
don’t think the front page story of Aug. 6’s
paper (Permanent scars, 1A) is worthy of
front page coverage or a headline.
The couple in question have indeed been
affected by the wreck they were involved
in, and I wish them the best in the future.
Wouldn’t a more appropriate point of view be
a story about the limits of insurance coverage
when a driver is driving in a manner that
caused the wreck and resulted in a citation?
The article approached the story from the
“poor investigation” point of view and implied
the sheriff’s ofice was at fault.
First responders to injury accidents have
decisions to make in order to save lives, and
second guessing their decisions a year after
the fact seems negative and distracting.
If the purpose of the article is to build
support for the injured victim, it did a good
job, and I can only hope some good comes out
of people knowing her situation. Perhaps some
energy could be spent trying to build a support
system for the young couple that would help
with the medical bills.
It seems as though the paper could have
an expectation of public interest if the story
offered a variable to the theme of blame
someone.
No, let’s ind a way to help these folks and
stop pointing ingers.
Colleen Blackwood
Pendleton
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.