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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, January 6, 2017
OTHER VIEWS
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
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to new public officeholders in our area — many of
whom were sworn in this week during the first
meeting of the new year, and others who will do
so in the coming days.
We appreciate them running for their
positions and taking the job seriously. Elected
public service on the local level is low pay and
high stress, and the cons often seem to outweigh
the pros.
But these are important positions and
public service is an admirable endeavor, when
it is done for public benefit. We wish our
new officeholders — be they mayors or city
councilors or on any myriad of city committees from Ione to Meacham — a
lot of luck and harmony, progress in their municipalities and appreciation for
their services.
A kick in the pants to people who choose to drive drunk on routes
as difficult to navigate as many Eastern Oregon roads have been this
winter.
Drunk driving is dumb in any season, but it’s especially gauche in this
most beastly of winters. Roads in the area have been snow-packed for
weeks, and a steady barrage of winter storms have made travel difficult for
even the most steely-eyed drivers.
Those who impair themselves with drink
or drug are endangering themselves and
others, and adding additional danger to an
already dangerous situation.
But that didn’t stop six drivers who
were stopped and arrested by the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office in the last month,
or the 80 others who were given citations or
warnings for traffic-related violations.
That’s a reminder that in a time when
driving is extra difficult, we should all be
doing the little things — buckling our seat belts, make sure our vehicles are
in good working order, with lights and flashers and bells and whistles.
Heck, while you’re checking all that, throw a blanket along with some
water and food into your trunk. This winter has been a useful reminder as to
how bad it can be, and no one should travel unprepared.
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
So far, so good on snowpack
The (Corvallis) Gazette-Times
T
he snow just keeps coming to the
Cascade Mountains, and while that
can cause headaches for travelers,
it’s good news for skiers and other folks
who enjoy winter recreation.
It might also be good news for
farmers, who rely on a supply of water
from the melting snow to keep their
fields irrigated, and for those of us
who worry about
the prospect of
summertime fires in
our forests. But we
won’t know for sure
about that until later
next year.
In the meantime,
though, let’s just
enjoy the early
signs pointing to the
possibility of a good
snowpack year.
Here’s one of
those early signs: Last
week, on the first day
of winter, snowpack
in the Willamette
River basin, on average, was 148
percent above its normal levels. Every
measuring spot was above 100 percent;
some, in fact, were at 200 percent or
more.
Those are the kinds of numbers that
impress even hardened weather and
water observers.
“I can’t remember the last time there
was this strong of a snowpack,” said
Michael Mattick, the water master for
Linn and Lane counties for the Oregon
Water Resources Department.
But these weather veterans also know
that the December numbers, impressive
as they are, represent just the first few
chapters of a story that will be playing
out for the next few months.
And the key factor isn’t necessarily
how much snow is in the mountains now
— although ski areas like Hoodoo are
ecstatic about current conditions — but
how much remains for the critical runoff
when the winter months give way to
spring.
During each of the last two winters,
snowpack faded much earlier than
hoped in the face of warmer-than-usual
February temperatures. That could
happen again in 2017. And a snowpack
that is gone by the time May rolls around
isn’t much use at keeping stream flows
steady and holding wildfires at bay.
In the meantime, you certainly can
understand why ski areas like Hoodoo
are embracing this year’s wave of snow.
It’s the deepest snowpack for this time
of year in at least a decade, Hoodoo
workers said last week.
And its Dec. 3 opening
this year marks its
earliest opening date in
a decade.
Last year, Hoodoo
stayed open from
mid-December until
mid-April. (May
was far warmer than
normal and resulted in
a rapid melt, according
to weather experts; in
fact, weather experts
report that 2016 will
end up being warmer
than usual, despite the
recent cold snap.)
But the two years before that were
awful for the ski area: in 2014-15,
Hoodoo was open only nine days. The
season before that, lifts ran for just 39
days. Hoodoo workers are optimistic
about this year, but, of course, you
need to have more than a measure of
optimism in the first place to work at a
ski area.
Of course, a busy season at a ski area
also translates into increased spending
from visitors, and that’s good news for
nearby businesses as well.
“It’s going to be one of those big
seasons that we talk about for a long
time,” Hoodoo’s office manager, Daidre
Streeter, said last week.
The difference between a merely
good season and a “big” season is
whether a ski area can run its lifts well
into the spring.
And the measure of a good snowpack
is whether it can keep water flowing
into the mid-valley well into the warmer
months. The early signs are very
promising, but there’s lots more weather
to come between now and spring.
The key factor
isn’t necessarily
about how much
snow is in the
mountains now,
but how much
remains for the
critical runoff.
The GOP health care hoax
T
medical help. He had waited too long:
his week, President-elect Donald
He had stage IV prostate cancer.
Trump and congressional
“I blew it,” Scott told me. “I feel
Republicans began to dismantle
like a damned fool.” He showed
Obamacare, and here are the details of
immense courage in agreeing to tell
their replacement plan:
his story — despite concern that his
—— —- —- —- - —— —- ——
—- - —- —- — —— —- —— —- —-
legacy would be an article highlighting
—- — — - - - - —— —- —- —— —-
his foolishness — because he wanted
—- —- - —— —- —— —- - —- —-
Nicholas people to understand the human cost
— —— —- - —- —- — - —- —- —
Kristof of a lack of universal insurance. He
—— —- - —-
died soon afterward.
Comment
That captures the nonexistent
That’s the system that the
Republican plan to replace Obamacare.
Republicans are trying to take us back
They’re telling Americans who feel trapped
to.
by health care problems: “Jump! Maybe we’ll
Americans spend two or three times
catch you.”
as much on health care as a share of GDP
This GOP fraud is
as other industrialized
called “repeal and delay.”
countries but get worse
That means repealing
outcomes. American
the Affordable Care Act,
children are 75 percent
effective in a few years
more likely to die in the
without specifying what will
first five years of life than
replace it.
British or German children,
If the Republicans ran a
according to World Bank
home renovation business,
data, and American women
they would start tearing
are twice as likely to die
down your roof this month
in pregnancy as Canadian
and promise to return in
women. The reasons have
2019 with some options for a
to do partly with American
new one — if you survived.
poverty, and partly with the
And survival will be a
high number of uninsured.
real issue. The bottom line
Trump would have
of the GOP approach is
you believe that he will
that millions of Americans
keep the popular parts of
will lose insurance, and
Obamacare, such as the ban
thousands more will die
on discriminating against
unnecessarily each year
pre-existing conditions,
because of lack of care.
while eliminating unpopular
The paradox of
parts like the mandate.
Obamacare is that it is both unpopular and
That’s impossible: The good and bad depend
saves lives. Preliminary research suggests that on each other.
it has already begun saving lives, but it’s too
The Trump approach would be like trying
early to have robust data on the improvements to amputate a dog’s rear end so you wouldn’t
to life expectancy among the additional 20
have to clean up its messes. It just doesn’t
million people who have gained insurance. It
work that way.
is notable that an Urban Institute study found
A full repeal of Obamacare would also
that on the eve of Obamacare’s start, lack of
worsen the deficit. The Congressional Budget
health insurance was killing one American
Office said in 2015 that “repealing the ACA
every 24 minutes.
would increase federal budget deficits by $137
One careful study found that the
billion over the 2016-2025 period.” That’s
Republican health care plan in Massachusetts, more than $1,000 per American household.
which was the model for Obamacare,
Yes, health policy makes eyes glaze over.
noticeably lowered mortality rates. For every
But focus on these two points: By broad
additional 830 adults covered by insurance,
agreement, the number of people insured
one death was prevented each year.
will drop if Republicans “repeal and delay,”
The American College of Physicians
and more uninsured Americans means more
warned this week that the GOP course could
Americans dying.
result in 7 million Americans losing their
That’s why the American College of
health insurance this year alone, by causing
Physicians, the American Medical Association
parts of the insurance market to implode.
and even conservative health care analysts
Back-of-envelope calculations suggest that
have warned Congress not to repeal
the upshot would be an additional 8,400
Obamacare without stipulating what comes
Americans dying annually.
next.
How can insurance make such a
Republicans spent $7 million investigating
difference?
the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and
I’ve written about my college roommate
ultimately found no evidence of high-level
Scott Androes, a fellow farm boy from
wrongdoing. Now they are rushing toward a
Oregon, who switched careers in 2003 and
scam that may cost thousands of American
didn’t buy health insurance on the individual
lives every year.
market because it was so expensive. Then in
■
2011 he had trouble urinating and didn’t see a
Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and
doctor because of the cost.
cherry farm in Yamhill. A columnist for The
By 2012 he had blood in his urine and
New York Times since 2001, he won the
finally was scared enough that he sought
Pulitzer Prize in 1990 and 2006.
The paradox of
Obamacare is
that it is both
unpopular and
saves lives.
Before its was
enacted, lack of
health insurance
was killing one
American every
24 minutes.
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 re-
serves 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.