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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JANNA HEIMGARTNER TIM TRAINOR Business Ofice Manager Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Bipartisan ideas to reform PERS Sens. Johnson and Knopp attempt to overcome leadership inertia Two state legislators have offered a work group to craft solutions that are legal, bipartisan, fair to retirees an impressive list of ideas for and protect essential government ixing Oregon’s ailing retirement services. They have invited experts, system for public employees. Their government oficials, retirees, and suggestions are fair, constitutional representatives from business and and would protect government labor to participate. services. Their effort, notably, is Already, several reforms have bipartisan. been reviewed by the With all that going Legislature’s legal for it, the ideas are unlikely to be embraced The planned counsel and deemed to survive a by Gov. Kate Brown or “savings” likely constitutional challenge. Democratic leaders in the Legislature. They legislators Among them: • A $100,000 cap are focused instead counted on the inal average on spending potential revenue from Measure on instead salary used to calculate beneits. 97 and gaining super- increased retirement This would signiicantly majority status for their the payouts party. unfunded reduce to football coaches, The challenges of liabilities. university presidents Public Employees and other highly Retirement System compensated public (PERS) are well employees. documented. The program’s • Move all new public employees unfunded liability exceeds $21 to a deined contribution plan, much billion and continues to grow. like those in the private sector. Costs to school districts and local • Prevent unused vacation and governments are scheduled to jump sick time from inlating inal average $885 million next year, forcing salaries to artiicially increase massive cuts in stafing, programs retirement beneits. and services. • Use market rates to calculate Our state’s political leaders annuities. Currently, the PERS board cobbled together a so-called “grand assumes a 7.5 percent rate of return bargain” in 2013 to save PERS. — far above current market rates. Predictably, many of the changes Sens. Johnson and Knopp should were struck down by the Oregon be lauded for their efforts to reform Supreme Court because they reduced accrued beneits for current PERS. Perhaps they can initiate the political momentum to get past the retirees. The planned “savings” inertia in the state capital. legislators counted on instead increased unfunded liabilities. Two respected state senators Fixing PERS realize the severity of the challenge What: Meeting of Bipartisan and are attempting to create PERS Working Group momentum for bipartisan change. When: Sept. 21, from 3-5 p.m. Democrat Betsy Johnson from Where: Hearing Room 174, State Clatsop County and Republican Capitol Building Tim Knopp of Bend have created 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. YOUR VIEWS Directors poor role models for smoking during parade To borrow from the East Oregonian’s lexicon: A tip of the hat to all those hometown businesses who represented themselves so effectively during the 2016 Dress-Up Parade. But, a great big kick in the pants to those on the Round-Up and Happy Canyon boards who found it necessary to smoke while riding in the parade, providing a negative role model for all the youth in attendance. Shame on you. Kathy Beck Pendleton Broken bikes and budgets for Pendleton police I have lived in Pendleton most of my life. Saturday was the kickoff for Round-Up, which I think was a good turnout. What caught my attention was police on bicycles. I know years ago Pendleton Police Department got electric ones, but I only saw them used for about two years. This year I saw an oficer riding a bike that looked like it was an impound bike. I asked him as he was ixing his bike: “Where are the electric ones?” His response: “They are broke.” I don’t think that’s acceptable. Our chief wants extra things like a new car, yet he has no care about how that makes Pendleton look, having new oficers in our town also being stuck with junk bikes after thousands were spent on nice ones. Why can’t they just ix them? Were they sold? I want to give a “good job” to the oficers out there in heat riding bikes. Pendleton needs a new chief, or the current one is going to run good oficers out of this area to ind other better places to work. Where is all the city tax money going? The chief wants a new car yet he uses that new Charger every day, even as his personal transportation, and taxpayer money for the gas. What would it take to see the electric bikes ixed and used more? Robert Tally Pendleton November votes can increase health, safety The East Umatilla County Health District, from Tollgate to Helix and all points in between, is beginning its second phase of revitalization, also known as ASA No. 5. The boundaries will be revised with measure 30.120 to dissolve the current district and tax-base, and measure 30.122 will restructure the district to include all tax payers in the ASA No. 5 to pay taxes for the ambulance/health district with a new tax-base rate. The new name for the reconstructed district will be East Umatilla County Ambulance Area and Health District. The board of directors is asking tax payers to pay $1 per thousand of assessed property value to pay for the service of the new district. Our current 14 cents a thousand assessed property value is not enough to support a 24/7 ambulance service in the year 2016. Please consider these other reasons to vote yes for Measures 30.120 and 30.122: Faster access to emergency care, which decreases life threatening situation; with an aging population, people can remain in their homes longer, knowing this service is there for them; personnel, maintenance and timely replacement of ambulances, equipment, and supplies are expenses that must be budgeted. With your vote of yes, East Umatilla County can accomplish the second phase of revitalization our local ambulance service. OTHER VIEWS Debates offer Trump a potential advantage N Trump has no such experience. BC’s “Commander in Chief There’s no Trump record in public Forum,” held Wednesday ofice, no government decisions that night aboard the USS Intrepid went awry, no votes to back away in New York, was the closest thing from, no nothing. When running for to a debate between Donald Trump public ofice, even for the presidency, and Hillary Clinton until the real that can be an advantage. thing on Sept. 26. And it showed an In a number of presidential advantage Trump might have when elections in recent decades, especially the two meet face-to-face: She has a Byron races between two non-incumbents, record in government to defend, while York the candidate with less governmental he doesn’t. On that score, Trump, at Comment experience, especially less national 70, a newcomer to politics, seems government experience, won. new, while Clinton, at 68, a veteran of Barack Obama had a lot less experience decades in public life, seems, well, not new. in government than John McCain when he The format of the NBC forum, in which defeated McCain in 2008. the two candidates were separated by only a George W. Bush, midway through his commercial break, put that contrast into higher second term as governor of Texas, had less relief than ever before. Clinton cited her experience right out of the experience in government than Al Gore, who blocks, when moderator Matt Lauer asked her, by 2000 had served 16 years in the House and “What is the most important characteristic that Senate and eight as vice president. And Bill Clinton, a long-time governor of a commander-in-chief can possess?” “Steadiness,” Clinton Arkansas, had nowhere near answered instantly. “An the experience that President absolute rock steadiness, George H.W. Bush had when Clinton defeated Bush and mixed with strength to be able to make the hard in 1992. decisions. Because I’ve had That’s not to say Obama, the unique experience of Bush I, and Clinton had watching and working with no experience at all in several presidents...” government, as is the The problem for case with Trump. But in Clinton was that talk 2008, 2000, and 1992, less of her experience leads was more when it came naturally to talk of what to national government she has done — and experience. that, in today’s campaign Democrats who try to pin environment, means talk of Trump down on his record her mishandling of classiied have a harder time than information as secretary of state. “Why wasn’t Republicans going after Clinton. Look at what it disqualifying?” was Lauer’s second question Clinton tried to do Wednesday evening with of the evening. Trump on Iraq. “My opponent was for the war Then, when it came time for the military in Iraq,” she said. “He says he wasn’t. You can audience to ask questions of their own, the go back and look at the record. He supported irst for Clinton, from a retired naval oficer, it. He told Howard Stern he supported it.” was brutal. “Secretary Clinton, how can you On Sept. 11, 2002, Stern asked Trump, expect those such as myself who were and “Are you for invading Iraq?” Trump are entrusted with America’s most sensitive answered, haltingly, “Yeah, I guess so. I wish information to have any conidence in your the irst time it was done correctly.” leadership as president when you clearly Compare that brief exchange — on the corrupted our national security?” Howard Stern show! — with Clinton’s Ouch. Clinton argued that she did not send extended and carefully reasoned speech on the or receive emails with a header marked “TOP Senate loor supporting military action against SECRET” or the like. Maybe voters will ind Saddam Hussein, plus her vote to authorize that convincing, and maybe they won’t. But it the war, and it’s not clear voters will see the was a rocky start. equivalence Clinton is trying to sell. The next question, from Lauer, was about That’s the challenger’s advantage: The Clinton’s vote in 2002 to authorize the Iraq candidate who has done less on the national War. stage has less to answer for, and his hopeful Another audience member stood to ask: promises and pronouncements are less “You have had an extensive record with weighted by an actual record. military intervention. How do you respond to Of course, Clinton has signiicant progressives like myself who worry and have advantages of her own. But for Democrats concerns that your hawkish foreign policy will hoping Clinton will land a knockout blow in continue?” the upcoming debate, Wednesday night was a And then Lauer asked about Clinton’s role cautionary moment. in the Iran nuclear negotiations. It showed that Trump has some serious One common theme of all the questions: strengths of his own, and that in what They focused on things Clinton did in could be the most asymmetrical matchup her years in ofice, in the Senate and as ever, Clinton’s experience might not be the secretary of state. She started out by citing advantage her supporters hope it will be. her experience, so Lauer and the audience ■ answered, in effect, “OK, let’s talk about your Byron York is chief political correspondent experience.” for The Washington Examiner. That’s the challenger’s advantage: the candidate who has done less on the national stage has less to answer for. Vickie Jackson, Weston 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. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
