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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
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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