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Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Tuesday, December 20, 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 Federal regulations in need of review President-elect Donald Trump, to the voters back home? So, to pack in more law-making affirmed Monday by the Electoral Congress has left it to federal College, in his deluge of campaign agencies to make the rules, and to promises said he would work to decide which violations will carry reduce costly regulations. The Heritage Foundation, a civil penalties and which will be federal crimes that carry jail time. conservative think tank, earlier this Bank robbery is a pretty month provided a review of federal straightforward crime, and one regulations that carry criminal needs no more than an penalties. The list would be a good place “With little to no understanding of the Commandment “Thou to start, and its point is input from or shalt not steal” to well taken. In civics class accountability to know it’s wrong. But we learned that the the violation of many voters, bureaucrats regulations that carry legislative branch makes law, both have run amok criminal penalties civil and criminal, is no where near as with the power obvious. Without any and the executive branch enforces those criminal intent, an to create new laws. Congress, for unsuspecting violator crimes.” example, passes a law can face jail time and criminal fines for even making bank robbery a the most innocuous action. federal crime, defines the elements Equally alarming is that the of the crime and establishes a number of potential criminal penalty. violations grows annually as Simple. But, as is often the case agencies make more regulations. in Washington, things are rarely No one really knows, but critics say ever simple. In 1911, the Supreme Court held violations of as many as 300,000 regulations carry criminal penalties. in United States v. Grimwaud that “With little to no input from or Congress had the power to pass the broad strokes of law and delegate to accountability to voters, bureaucrats the executive the details of the rules have run amok with the power to create new crimes,” the foundation and regulations to implement the says. law. The case revolved around the If regulations are to be enforced, secretary of agriculture’s authority there must be penalties. However, to make regulations concerning for all but the most egregious the use of Forest Service lands for violations, the threat of civil grazing and other purposes, and to fines should be adequate to force attach criminal and civil penalties provided by Congress for violations compliance. Congress should reserve for itself the power to define of those regulations. federal crimes. Citizens should The ruling was a boon to Congress, a busy institution without demand that accountability. In the meantime, we agree that time, expertise or often particular the next president should curtail the interest in the arcane details. More creation of new federal crimes by time on details means less time for bureaucratic fiat. law-making. How might that look 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 Lawmakers should heed local government concerns The (Albany) Democrat-Herald, Dec. 14 A ttorneys for the state of Oregon are pondering whether to appeal a judge’s ruling that the state’s law requiring paid sick leave for employees represents an unfunded mandate to local governments and therefore is unconstitutional. Our guess is that they probably will choose to appeal the case, even though such a decision comes with a certain risk: As matters stand now, the ruling from Linn County Circuit Court Daniel Murphy applies to just the nine Oregon counties — including Morrow — that are plaintiffs in the case. An appeal potentially could run the risk of spreading Murphy’s ruling statewide, although you can be sure that every local government in Oregon has heard about Murphy’s ruling and that some are actively considering their options. In the meantime, the ruling should be raising eyebrows among state legislators and other officials, who might earlier have been tempted to write off the lawsuit as the brainchild of cranky county gadflies. Before Murphy’s ruling, state officials might have dismissed the suit as a shot across the bow, the legal equivalent of seniors on a porch telling those legislative kids to get off the lawn. But now, at least as far this ruling goes, this particular shot has landed right on target. The lawsuit in question, filed by Linn County and eight other counties, argued that the state’s mandatory sick leave law was unconstitutional as it applied to local governments because it didn’t come with the funding to cover the additional costs. (The state’s constitution bars such unfunded mandates.) The state’s attorneys argued that the constitutional prohibition didn’t apply in this case because the sick-leave law didn’t qualify as a “program.” If this sounds like a technicality, well, it is, but it was a legitimate argument, and Murphy, although he sided with the counties, noted in his ruling that “(T)his is not a case where the answer is crystal clear.” What is clear, however, is that at least some of Oregon’s cash-strapped counties feel as if their concerns have been given short shrift by legislators and other state officials. (That very same sense is driving the somewhat similar timber lawsuit that’s been filed against the state by Linn County; that lawsuit is pending in Murphy’s court.) In some ways, Oregon’s businesses might be feeling the same way. Murphy’s ruling, of course, doesn’t apply to most state businesses (the constitution does exempt private businesses that in some way compete with local governments). As other editorial writers have noted, it’s unfair to ask Oregon businesses to comply with a rule that local governments don’t have to follow. That would suggest that the 2017 Legislature should consider repealing the mandatory sick-leave law. But let’s be honest: That’s not going to happen. In fact, if anything, the 2017 session seems likely to take an even deeper dive into the inner workings of businesses through a barrage of so-called “predictive scheduling” regulations: Rules requiring businesses to post employees’ schedules at least two weeks ahead of time. In addition, these rules often include penalties for businesses that have to make last-second schedule adjustments. To be fair, smart businesses already have adopted their own versions of predictive scheduling, because they know that stable schedules make for happier, healthier and more productive employees. But we remain unconvinced that the Legislature needs to be inserting itself into the day-to-day workings of business. And we hope that legislators and other officials take Murphy’s ruling as a sign that they need to pay more than mere lip service to the legitimate concerns of Oregon’s local governments. When those governments feel that the only place their voices are heard is in a courtroom, something is broken. OTHER VIEWS How republics end M any people are reacting to preserving forms is already underway. rise of Trumpism and nativist Consider what just happened in North Carolina. The voters made a movements in Europe clear choice, electing a Democratic by reading history — specifically, governor. The Republican legislature the history of the 1930s. And they didn’t openly overturn the result are right to do so. It takes willful — not this time, anyway — but it blindness not to see the parallels effectively stripped the governor’s between the rise of fascism and our current political nightmare. office of power, ensuring that the will Paul But the ‘30s isn’t the only era Krugman of the voters wouldn’t actually matter. Combine this sort of thing with with lessons to teach us. Lately I’ve Comment been reading a lot about the ancient continuing efforts to disenfranchise or world. Initially, I have to admit, at least discourage voting by minority I was doing it for entertainment and as a groups, and you have the potential making of refuge from news that gets worse with each a de facto one-party state: one that maintains passing day. But I couldn’t help noticing the the fiction of democracy, but has rigged the contemporary resonances of some Roman game so that the other side can never win. history — specifically, the tale of how the Why is this happening? I’m not asking Roman Republic fell. why white working-class voters support Here’s what I learned: Republican politicians whose policies will hurt them — institutions don’t protect against tyranny I’ll be coming back to that issue in future when powerful people start defying political columns. My question, instead, is why one norms. And tyranny, when it comes, can party’s politicians and officials no longer flourish even while maintaining a republican seem to care about what we used to think facade. were essential U.S. values. And let’s be clear: On the first point: Roman politics This is a Republican story, not a case of involved fierce competition among ambitious “both sides do it.” men. But for centuries that competition So what’s driving this story? I don’t think was constrained by some seemingly it’s truly ideological. Supposedly free-market unbreakable rules. Here’s what Adrian politicians are already discovering that crony Goldsworthy’s “In the Name of Rome” capitalism is fine as long as it involves the says: “However important it was for an right cronies. It does have to do with class individual to win fame and add to his and his warfare — redistribution from the poor and family’s reputation, this should always be the middle class to the wealthy is a consistent subordinated to the good of the Republic … theme of all modern Republican policies. But no disappointed Roman politician sought the what directly drives the attack on democracy, aid of a foreign power.” I’d argue, is simple careerism on the part The United States used to be like that, of people who are apparatchiks within a with prominent senators declaring that we system insulated from outside pressures by must stop “partisan politics at the water’s gerrymandered districts, unshakable partisan edge.” But now we have a president-elect loyalty, and lots and lots of plutocratic who openly asked Russia to help smear his financial support. opponent, and all indications are that the For such people, toeing the party line and bulk of his party was and is just fine with defending the party’s rule are all that matters. that. (A new poll shows that Republican And if they sometimes seem consumed with approval of Vladimir Putin has surged rage at anyone who challenges their actions, even though — or, more likely, precisely well, that’s how hacks always respond when because — it has become clear that Russian called on their hackery. intervention played an important role in the One thing all of this makes clear is that U.S. election.) Winning domestic political the sickness of U.S. politics didn’t begin with struggles is all that matters, the good of the Donald Trump, any more than the sickness republic be damned. of the Roman Republic began with Caesar. And what happens to the republic The erosion of democratic foundations has as a result? Famously, on paper the been underway for decades, and there’s transformation of Rome from Republic to no guarantee that we will ever be able to Empire never happened. Officially, imperial recover. Rome was still ruled by a Senate that just But if there is any hope of redemption, it happened to defer to the emperor, whose will have to begin with a clear recognition of title originally just meant “commander,” on how bad things are. U.S. democracy is very everything that mattered. We may not go much on the edge. down exactly the same route — although ■ are we even sure of that? — but the process Paul Krugman joined The New York of destroying democratic substance while Times in 1999 as an Op-Ed columnist. 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.
