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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, March 25, 2017 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 EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • Capital Press • Hermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • Chinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • Coast Weekend • Seaside Signal • Cannon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon Marketplace • Coast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • FarmSeller.com • Seaside-Sun.com • NorthwestOpinions.com • DiscoverOurCoast.com OUR VIEW Total eclipse of the economy (in a good way) On August 21, the sun will go out expecting to draw thousands upon thousands of visitors. The Oregon in Eastern Oregon. But this total solar eclipse is not Eclipse Festival, located at Big the apocalypse. It could be a boon Summit Prairie in the Ochoco to a region that will be one of the National Forest, will feature about best places in the country to see this 300 acts, headlined by bands once-in-a-lifetime Bassnectar and String Cheese event. Travel Oregon is A million visitors Incident. Silverton expecting a million is hosting the are expected visitors will descend Total Eclipse of Garden, the on the state, about to descend on the Moonshadow 30 percent of whom the state, about Festival and will be international travelers. Likely is 30 percent of Solarfest they’ll fly into being planned in whom will be Madras, as well Portland and Tri-Cities or farther as the Sublimity international afield. But the Festival in Salem big, clear skies of and events at the travelers. Eastern Oregon, far Bi-Mart Willamette from light pollution Country Music and towering buildings of urban Festival. Closer to home, Condon centers, should be an appealing is encouraging people to “take the destination. backroad to totality” with a festival Eastern Oregon must be ready of its own, featuring camping, for an influx of visitors. It will music, food and beer. take every hotel room we have It’s time for all of Eastern Oregon to host them, and every bit of our to get in on the action. emergency management services The Eastern Oregon Visitors to keep them safe. Highway 395 Association is trying to do just that, might be a standstill for much of the and Pat Beard of Travel Pendleton day from Grant County, where the is leading up the Umatilla County effort (see today’s front page). eclipse can be seen in its totality, all Businesses can jump in as well. the way to Pendleton. Don’t think that’s possible? Staging areas need to be set up, Consider the build-up already. transportation offered, big events All reserveable campgrounds at planned, vacation packages cobbled Oregon state parks within the path together. We must move quickly as a of totality have been booked up, region to cash in and show off, and though many others are first-come, keep ourselves and our visitors safe. first-serve. Expect competition for August 21 is going to be a wild, those spots to be extreme. Hotels busy, incredible day in Eastern rooms — at inflated prices — are Oregon. We know it, and everyone booked everywhere along the path. else knows it, too. We have five Other regions are going all out, months to prepare. 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. 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. OTHER VIEWS The Trump Elite: Like the old elite, but worse! L egislation can be crafted bottom big elements of the bill and insert big up or top down. In bottom up new ones, without regard to substance you ask, what problems do or ramification. voters have and how can they be House members were rushed to addressed? In top down, you ask, what commit to legislation even while major problems do elite politicians have and pieces of it were still in flux, when how can they be addressed? nobody had time to read it, when the The House Republican health care Congressional Budget Office had no bill is a pure top-down document. It time to score it, when the effect on David was not molded to the actual health Brooks health outcomes of actual Americans care needs of regular voters. It does was an absolute mystery. Comment not have support from actual American As the negotiating process has voters or much interest in those voters. gone on, you’ve seen rank-and-file House Republicans caught between the inside It was written by elites to serve the needs game and the outside game. The logic of the of elites. Donald Trump vowed to drain the inside game says vote for the bill. Support swamp, but this bill is pure swamp. Speaker Paul Ryan. Don’t defeat a Republican First, the new Republican establishment president. But the outside game screams: leaders needed something they could call Obamacare repeal — anything that they could Oppose This Bill. It’s bad for most voters, especially Republican voters. And nobody call Obamacare repeal. likes it. It became clear as the legislative process I opposed Obamacare. I like health savings rushed forward that there was no overarching accounts, tax credits and competitive health vision in this legislation on how to reform care markets to drive down costs. But these health care or even an organizing thought free-market reforms have to be funded in a about how to improve the lives of voters. way to serve the least among us, not the most. There was no core health care priority that This House Republican plan would increase Republicans identified and were trying to suffering, morbidity and death among the solve. middle class and poor to provide tax cuts to There were just some politicians who the rich. wanted a news release called Repeal. It would cut Medicaid benefits by $880 Second, Donald Trump needed a win. The national effects of that win seemed immaterial billion between now and 2026. It would boost the after-tax income for those making to him. His lobbying efforts for the legislation were more than $1 million a year by 14 percent, substance-free. It was all about Donald Trump according to the Tax Policy Center. This bill takes the most vicious progressive stereotypes — providing Trump with a pelt, polishing a about conservatives and validates them. credential for Trump. His lobbying revealed It’s no wonder that according to the latest the vapidity of his narcissism. He didn’t mind Quinnipiac poll this bill has just a 17 percent caving to the Freedom Caucus on Wednesday approval rating. It’s no wonder that this bill night on policy because he doesn’t care about is already massively more unpopular that policy, just the publicity win. Hillarycare and Obamacare, two bills that Third, the bill was crafted by people who ended up gutting congressional majorities. were insular and nearsighted, who could see If we’re going to have the rough edges only a Washington logic and couldn’t see any of a populist revolt, you’d think that at least national or real-life logic. somebody would be interested in listening to They could have drafted a bill that the people. But with this bill the Republican addressed the perverse fee-for-service leadership sets an all-time new land speed incentives that drive up health costs, or a bill record for forgetting where you came from. that began to phase out our silly employment- The core Republican problem is this: The based system, or one that increased health Republicans can’t run policymaking from the security for the working and middle class. White House because they have a marketing But any large vision was beyond the guy in charge of the factory. But they can’t run drafters of this legislation. They were more concerned with bending, distorting and folding policy from Capitol Hill because it’s visionless and internally divided. So the Republicans the bill to meet the Byrd rule, an arbitrary congressional peculiarity of no real purpose to have the politics driving the substance, not the other way around. The new elite is worse than the outside world. They were more concerned the old elite — and certainly more vapid. with what this internal faction, or that internal ■ faction, might want. The result was a pedantic David Brooks became a New York Times hodgepodge that made no one happy. Op-Ed columnist in 2003. He is currently a In 24 hours of ugly machinations, the commentator on PBS. Trump administration was willing to rip out YOUR VIEWS Drug court saved my life, should be funded Hello, my name is Michelle and I am addict. I recently read an article in the East Oregonian about discontinuing Umatilla County Drug Court. I am writing this today to be a voice for all the lives that said drug court has saved. When I entered drug court three years ago, I was not ready to quit using. As far as I was concerned my drug addiction wasn’t hurting anyone. I was full of anger and rebellion. I was a heroin addict trying to numb the pain from my husband’s death, and the world owed me. I had tried 13 inpatient treatment centers, methadone and suboxone replacement therapies. I tried moving to another state. My two oldest children were adopted out to my parents and I had my third baby in a methadone treatment center in Eugene. Even after the loss I created for myself and my children, plus watching my baby go through withdrawal at six days old, I still could not stop “chasing the dragon.” Umatilla County Drug Court accepted me even though I did not have a drug charge. I was less than thrilled that my probation officer got me in. I was on probation for a felony assault that I committed against an officer while intoxicated. The drug court team assisted me in finding a new way to cope with loss, pain, and how to stay clean through individual counseling and groups. They showed me how to be accountable and even though I went to jail a few times, I became grateful for the team and their undying support in my life. They helped me to value my life, mend my relationships with my children and loved ones, give back to the community, and go to college. I graduated from Umatilla County Drug Court last fall, however the drug court team is still a large support system in my life. I know I can always call or drop in. I have two years clean and I will be graduating from college this year. If we take away such a vital program and have nothing to replace it, what then? What about all the tax dollars that will go to more incarcerations, more unpaid hospital bills, higher crime rates, more children in the foster care system, and ultimately more deaths? What about the value of a human life? Drug court works. Umatilla County Drug Court worked. Michelle DeBord Pendleton Everyone gets worse health care with Trump I saw an article recently regarding proposed “Trumpcare” revisions to the Affordable Care Act/“Obamacare,” and believe it important to make a case against these revisions, and for a single payer system. ACA is not collapsing. Health care premiums were rising before the ACA and the increases initially slowed. They sped up again when Senator Rubio slipped in a rider reneging on a funding mechanism to slow premium increases, and will again accelerate when the effects of the revisions repealing taxes to support coverage take effect. But there is no indication of the system “collapsing.” Trumpcare premium prices for older but not retired Americans will be dramatic. According to CNBC: “This would bring average annual premiums up to $17,900 for someone aged 60 or older who purchases health insurance on the individual market.” How many of us can afford $18,000 in premiums (AARP believes the rates would actually be higher)? For those of us who would not be able to afford the costly premiums, we will not have coverage. Trumpcare would be a return to the bad old pre-ACA days of no real safety net. Its enactment will result in sicker and dead Oregonians. The Congressional Budget Office projects an additional 14 million Americans will not be covered next year if Trumpcare is enacted, and 24 million by 2026. Trumpcare is opposed by AARP, the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and American Nurses Association and surprisingly, by several GOP senators, according to ABC News. Quick question: Of all the developed nations, which do not provide healthcare as a right? Answer: Only one: The United States. We pay far more for coverage and prescription drugs than other countries. A single payer system would remove the stress of paying for illness and care – it is our tax dollars, shouldn’t they be spent on citizens’ care first? What is possibly more important? I recommend we contact all of our federal legislators and oppose Trumpcare and ask — no, state — we want a single payer health insurance system. Bill Young Pendleton Community should save BMCC pool Blue Mountain Community College is again offering their water aerobics class during spring term. Swimming classes begin April 3. If you have reached the golden age of 65, this class will only cost you $34 for 10 weeks. That is quite a bargain at just over a dollar per class. One thing for sure, you will be entertained during this class. As you are probably aware, the BMCC pool may be going away. One way we all can help to assure its continued operation is to sign up for classes in the pool. I began taking this water aerobics class four years ago and it has helped me to recover from surgeries, and now it will help regain my strength after a bout with breast cancer. I have fond memories of the pool as a BMCC student: water safety classes for my baby, taking my daughter to family swim hours, and later when my daughter was grown, going to the pool to swim laps. BMCC pool is of great value to both Pendleton’s and Hermiston’s swim teams. Let’s all do what we can to save the BMCC pool. Rose Murphey Pendleton