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OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
OTHER VIEWS
Hermiston
Farm Fair fires up
Today is the opening day of
up to this year. Or get an idea on just
what presentations you’d like to sit
the Hermiston Farm Fair, an early
in on. Sure, lectures about root-knot
Christmas present of sorts for area
nemotodes, brown leaf spot, Russian
farmers.
thistle biology and the properties
The four-day ag-stravaganza
features cutting edge technology and of soil fumigants might not be
everyone’s cup of tea.
research, presented by
But understanding
experts from across
the country and the
Both insiders those issues are
to the income
world. The sheer
and outsiders integral
of area farmers and
volume of expertise
their ability to grow
and information
can find
crops, raise a family,
is sure to get area
something
run a business and be
farmers thinking,
good stewards of the
and ultimately —
interesting
at
land. Dozens attend
hopefully — improve
the annual
each session, looking
local yields and
to find a nugget of
economies.
event.
knowledge they can
This year, for
take home to make a
the first time, the
difference in their soil
venerable farm fair
will take place at the Eastern Oregon or bottom line.
But it’s not just for insiders,
Trade and Event Center. The center
landowners or farm workers.
was built for this type of event, and
Laypeople might appreciate learning
while the campus is not yet totally
about what drones can do for
finished, it already offers more
farmers, the latest breakthrough
space and flexibility than the fair is
in honeybee breeding or what’s
used to. It should make for a better
happening to farm land values.
event with more options for fair
Whether you are an insider or an
enthusiasts, and that is supported by
outsider, there is plenty to enjoy at
the enlarged schedule of events.
the farm fair. Running through Dec.
A special 8-page section is
2, it is an important support system
included in today’s paper, which
for Eastern Oregon agriculture —
gives readers a guide to the event.
Give it a look to understand what the the industry that makes the region
tick.
area’s cutting-edge farmers will be
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
The value of civil discourse
is in serious decline
The Norman (Oklahoma) Transcript
W
e as a society appear to be
hurtling toward a place
where civil discourse simply
doesn’t exist. One of the most powerful,
and dangerous, consequences of our
continued reliance on social media as a
form of communication is that we’re far
too concerned with being right and not
concerned enough with actually listening
to, or reading, what others are saying
and writing.
As a country, we used to place more
value on the importance of hearing
someone out — no matter how much
we disagreed with them — and learning
about other points of view and on
hearing ideas and opinions that were
contrary to our own. Those in our
community known for their wisdom got
to that point because they listened to
other people, truly heard what they had
to say and learned from it.
We don’t appear to care about that
anymore as a society. The split second
we hear or read something that offends
us, we’re keyboard warriors dressing
someone down because of how much
they offended us. There is no time to
think, to process what we’ve heard, to
place it in context, to examine multiple
sides of an issue, and then engage in
an actual dialogue for the betterment
of ourselves and the person we’re
conversing with.
The emphasis we place on winning
an argument, on being correct, is
juvenile. It’s not a mature way to think.
And, as a result, we’re increasingly
becoming a country that is afraid of
dissension, afraid of new ideas and
afraid of people who think differently
than we do. The political gap that
exists in our country thrives and is
ever widened because we as a people
don’t think the other side has anything
valuable to say.
There are some words and
conversations that we as a community
don’t need to tolerate, that we can make
a stand against and say “that has no
place here.” And that is important. There
are some ideas that are so damaging
we are far better denouncing them that
listening to them. But those are few, and
far between.
We moved forward as a country
because men and women with brave,
bold, big ideas communicated them,
and people listened and were moved
to action. We’ve never advanced as a
nation because we decided to drown out
opposing viewpoints with a cacophony
of politically-correct catchphrases.
We obviously don’t have to agree
with everything we hear. But we
shouldn’t be as close-minded, either.
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 211 S.E.
Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
Trump: Be ‘Big Marco’
or set his own path?
R
epublican economic policy
are mixed, variously nodding to
doesn’t have a good recent track
the party establishment, wealthy
record. The last two Republican
businesspeople and white nationalists.
presidents left office deeply unpopular,
They offer little indication of a
thanks to recessions. Ronald Reagan’s
conservative, working-class agenda to
record was much better but still not as
match his rhetoric.
good as Bill Clinton’s.
Yet there are still two reasons to
All told, economic growth under
wonder if he will take steps away from
Democratic presidents over the last
traditional Republican economics.
David
First, not only has he suggested he
half-century has been 25 percent faster Leonhardt
would, but some of his advisers, like
than under Republicans. Private-sector
Comment
job growth has been more than twice
Stephen Moore, have said so explicitly.
as fast. Republicans even have a
Moore recently told congressional
worse record running up the deficit. (These
Republicans that, as The Hill phrased it, they
comparisons hold no matter when precisely
“should no longer think of themselves as
you start the clock on a president’s legacy.)
belonging to the conservative party of Ronald
Of course, presidents don’t deserve
Reagan,” but instead “to Trump’s populist
full credit or blame for the economy’s
working-class party.” That party, Moore
performance. But they do bear some
explained, would need new positions on trade,
responsibility. The notion that Republican
immigration and infrastructure.
presidents have been better economic stewards
The second reason is that the outlines
than Democrats but fallen victim to a terribly
of a conservative, working-class agenda
unfair mix of luck and timing is about as
do exist, scattered among think tanks and
sensible as it sounds.
publications. I’m skeptical that these ideas
There are reasons that the modern version
would do more good than, say, the Obama
of Republican economics hasn’t worked
economic proposals that Congress has refused
so well. It takes the powerful ideas behind
to pass. But the reformist conservative agenda
market-based capitalism to an extreme, where is a vastly more serious attempt to address
they often stop working.
working-class stagnation than another trickle-
Cutting taxes for the affluent — who have
down tax cut.
received both the largest pretax raises in recent
Reihan Salam of National Review
decades and the largest tax
has called for sharply
cuts — doesn’t stimulate
reducing low-skilled legal
growth much anymore.
immigration (and increasing
Allowing corporate America
high-skilled immigration)
to write its own regulations
to reduce the competition
creates more problems than
for working-class jobs.
it solves. You may recall
Avik Roy, president of the
that the recent housing crisis
Foundation for Research
wasn’t so great for GDP
on Equal Opportunity,
growth.
advocates an overhaul of
This reality creates
Obamacare that doesn’t
a fascinating choice for
require throwing millions
Donald Trump. He won the
of people off health
presidency by trashing both
insurance. Michael Strain
political parties. He defied
of the American Enterprise
Republican orthodoxy
Institute is full of ideas
and praised government
to encourage work: less
programs. He memorably
occupational licensing, a
dismissed his primary opponents as
lower payroll tax, more apprenticeships, a
“low-energy” Jeb, Lyin’ Ted and Little Marco. disability system that no longer incentivizes
Doing so allowed him to win a landslide
idleness.
of white working-class voters frustrated
These proposals try to use a market-based
with their own lives, the country’s direction
philosophy to help working-class families
and both parties. These voters, by no means
— which is quite different from the recent
libertarians, saw Trump as flawed yet willing
Republican emphasis on comforting the
to fight for them.
comfortable. Presidents may not be able to
Now that he’s won, he has to decide
directly control the economy’s growth rate,
whether his differences with the Republican
but they do have enormous influence on which
establishment are more stylistic than
groups benefit most from government policy.
substantive. On the issues with the biggest
For now, these issues remain obscured
by Trump’s fondness for sideshows and his
impact on working-class lives, he will need
sordid promotion of the family business.
to choose between pursuing the policies of a
Those distractions won’t disappear when
traditional Republican president and creating
he becomes president. No doubt, he’ll often
something new. In effect, he’ll have to decide
whether he is going to be his own president or describe his policies however he feels like
describing them.
a bigger version of Little Marco.
But something will change soon: He will
So far, some kind of standard
need to begin making real decisions, with
Republicanism looks more likely. Trump
doesn’t seem to enjoy policy detail and may
clear consequences for the people whose votes
defer to Congress. His tax plan is classic
elected him. Lyin’ tweets won’t pay their bills.
trickle-down economics, with a modest
■
middle-class tax cut that would probably lift
David Leonhardt is an op-ed columnist for
growth temporarily. His early appointments
The New York Times.
Trump has
to decide
whether his
differences with
the Republican
establishment
are more stylistic
than substantive.