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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Tuesday, May 9, 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 OUR VIEW Congress shouldn’t let Trump silence public broadcasting Once again, congressional public’s support. A new Quinnipiac conservatives are considering University national poll says 70 cutting — or eliminating — federal percent of American voters oppose the funding for the Corporation for Public proposed elimination of CPB funding. Broadcasting, and it’s a serious threat Blumenauer and Rep. Dave that could be devastating locally. Reichert, R-Washington, are working Nonprofit public-media platforms to build support for a letter backing receive allocations from the CPB, funding for CPB, Ready To Learn and which they combine with other public broadcasting’s interconnection fundraising and revenue generating system, to be sent to colleagues efforts to cover operating costs. who serve on the Labor, Health and The newest threat to CPB funding Human Services, Education and arose in President Donald Trump’s Related Agencies Appropriations blueprint budget for fiscal 2018 Subcommittee, which handles CPB which was unveiled in March. The funding. It’s chaired by Rep. Tom budget proposes Cole, R-Oklahoma, and Public broadcasting last year’s letter was defunding the CPB, and its most famous by a bipartisan is part of the fabric signed grantee, National group of 132 members of our free society, of the House. Public Radio, which conservatives The letter this year, and it needs to stay in part, have long viewed states, “These that way. as sympathetic to federal investments left-wing views and are critical to public an inappropriate use of government media’s mission to provide unique funding. services in the areas of education, public safety, and civic leadership to According to the Pew Center’s all Americans. … In rural areas, where 2016 Fact Sheet on Public public broadcasting stations can be the Broadcasting, NPR has an average weekly audience of 26 million, and its only source of free, high-quality local programming available to families, programming is carried on more than funding from CPB can amount to 1,000 stations nationwide. Trump’s budget would also defund the National more than half of some rural stations’ Endowment for the Arts, the National budgets. This is a gap that cannot be closed by increased underwriting Endowment for the Humanities and revenue or donor support.” more than a dozen other agencies. It is uncertain what U.S. Rep. The budget, however, is subject to Jaime Herrera Beutler’s current congressional review and may look position is on CPB funding, but in very different by the time the process 2011 she supported a U.S. House law is completed. We hope it does, but that “would have prohibited federal as Coast Community Radio general funding for NPR and barred stations manager Joanne Rideout told our from using CPB funds to acquire sister paper The Daily Astorian, the budget threat could be “the real deal.” radio programming,” according to an analysis by the online publication Despite the current GOP News for People in Public Media. temperament in the nation’s capital, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a past attempts to cut off CPB’s funding Democrat whose district includes have failed. Clatsop County, strongly supports the U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a fund-saving effort. She calls cutting Portland Democrat who founded the funding “wrong and short- and leads the bipartisan Public sighted,” especially at a time when the Broadcasting Caucus in the House, president “is proposing to add more points out that in 2005 the GOP-led to an already bloated defense budget House Appropriations Committee recommended cutting 25 percent from and build a massively expensive and the CPB’s $400 million outlay, leading unnecessary border wall.” Bonamici is right, and her to a weeklong public outcry. All but congressional colleagues should take six of the House’s 202 Democrats notice and support the effort. Public voted down the proposal, with 87 of broadcasting is part of the fabric of 140 Republicans joining. our free society, and it needs to stay We hope that trend continues that way. because the CPB has the general 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 Party like it’s 1984 T here have been many bad laws against discrimination based on medical in U.S. history. Some bills were history will be taken away), and poorer (because subsidies will go down). poorly conceived; some were Many people with pre-existing cruel and unjust; some were sold on conditions will find insurance either false pretenses. Some were all of the completely unavailable or totally out of above. their financial reach. But has there ever been anything like Trumpcare, the health legislation And Medicaid will be cut back, with Republicans rammed through the House the damage worsening over time. Paul last week? It’s a miserably designed law, Krugman The really important thing, however, full of unintended consequences. It’s is not just to realize that Republicans are Comment a moral disaster, snatching health care breaking their promises, but to realize from tens of millions mainly to give the that they are doing so with intent. This very wealthy a near-trillion-dollar tax cut. isn’t one of those cases where people try to do What really stands out, however, is the what they said they would, but fall short in the Orwell-level dishonesty of the whole effort. As execution. This is an act of deliberate betrayal: far as I can tell, every word Republicans, from Everything about Trumpcare is specifically Trump on down, have said about their bill — designed to do exactly the opposite of what about why they want to replace Obamacare, Trump, Paul Ryan and other Republicans said about what their replacement would do, and it would. about how it would work — is a lie, including Which raises two questions: Why are they “a,” “and” and “the.” doing this, and why do they think they can get And what does it say about the state of away with it? American politics that a majority of the Part of the answer to the first question is, presumably, simple greed. Tens of millions representatives of one of our major political would lose access to health coverage, but — parties has gone along with this nightmarish process? according to independent estimates of an earlier Before taking back the White House, version of Trumpcare — people with incomes Republicans attacked Obamacare for many over $1 million would save an average of more things. For one thing, they claimed that it was than $50,000 a year. rushed through without proper debate. And there is a powerful faction within the They also claimed that Americans were GOP for whom cutting taxes on the rich is more getting a raw deal. Deductibles were too or less the only thing that matters. high, they claimed; so were premiums. They And on a more subjective note, don’t you get promised to bring these costs down, to provide, the impression that Donald Trump gets some as Donald Trump insisted he would, coverage positive pleasure out of taking people who that was “much less expensive and much make the mistake of trusting him for a ride? better.” As for why they think they can get away And meanwhile, they promised to keep the with it: Well, isn’t recent history on their side? things people liked about Obamacare (whether The general shape of what the GOP would do or not voters knew they were getting those to health care, for the white working class in good things because of Obamacare). Nobody particular, has long been obvious, yet many would be thrown off Medicaid; nobody would people who were sure to lose, bigly, voted be denied affordable coverage because of Trump anyway. pre-existing conditions. Why shouldn’t Republicans believe they Then came the reality of Republican can convince those same voters that the terrible legislation. Obamacare was debated and things that will happen if Trumpcare becomes analyzed for many months; Trumpcare was law are somehow liberals’ fault? thrown together so fast it’s hard to believe And for that matter, how confident are you any significant number of those voting for it that mainstream media will resist the temptation even had time to read it. And it was, of course, of both-sides-ism, the urge to produce pushed through the House without giving “balanced” reporting that blurs the awful reality the Congressional Budget Office a chance to of what Trumpcare will do if enacted? estimate its costs, its effects on coverage, or In any case, let’s be clear: What just anything else. happened on health care shouldn’t be treated Even without a proper analysis, however, as just another case of cynical political deal it’s clear that Trumpcare breaks every making. This was a Freedom is Slavery, promise Republicans ever made about health. Ignorance is Strength moment. And it may be Deductibles will rise, not fall, as insurers are set the shape of things to come. free to offer lower-quality coverage. Premiums ■ may fall for a handful of young, healthy, Paul Krugman joined The New York Times affluent people, but will rise and in many cases in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page and soar for those who are older (because age continues as professor of Economics and Inter- spreads will rise), sicker (because protection national Affairs at Princeton University. YOUR VIEWS New schools help business grow The Greater Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors supports the efforts of the Hermiston School District bond on your May 2017 ballot. In most communities, even when education is a priority, the older facilities where learning takes place often do not get visited by the general public to see how inadequate the rooms are. Some class rooms are so small you can barely walk between the desks, some of the rooms have very inefficient air conditioning and heating systems; age plays a major factor in all those conditions. While a quality education does not require flashy facilities, it cannot be accomplished in a building that suffers from age, safety and deficiencies. That means the cost of maintaining these buildings is also high. New facilities are designed to use energy wisely and create a safe place for our children to learn. Business and industry are attracted to locations where there are quality schools. Schools also will create a well-qualified workforce and a higher standard of living. Businesses benefit because more events bring more people to town to shop, eat and utilize services here in Hermiston. When businesses, corporations or employee recruits are seeking information about Hermiston, schools and what they offer are typically at the top of the list for inquiries, which leads to visits and tours of the facilities. Local residents reap the benefits of increased property values. Building the new schools reflects how we feel about our community. New facilities will provide more venues for adult and youth events and add to our economy. Communities experience economic growth, lower crime rates, increased participation, volunteerism, and charitable giving. Our local schools should be a source of pride, a symbol of our community’s determination to ensure a better future for everyone who lives here. We have a lot to be proud of and in order to continue to grow and provide for the needs of our students, we must think about building and expanding to adequately provide the classroom space needed. Debbie Pedro, Chamber president, Hermiston Support fire department’s judgment As a fire survivor with most of my belongings intact, I support the May 2017 bond to replace the city’s Fire Station 1 and improve the facility, equipment and training grounds. Although the costs seem exorbitant, I rely on PFD’s good judgment to keep the public’s welfare in mind, and that includes hiring experts to do a proper job of designing and building a new fire station. The PFD needs upgrades, so let’s support them. After all, it’s the citizens of Pendleton who will benefit from a well-trained team of firefighters using up-to-date equipment and working from a safe facility. Please vote YES for the bond. Kate Ely Pendleton Walden not working for rural Oregon Greg Walden has completely forgotten about the people in his district and their principles, following only his political party and special interests with deep pockets. Thursday morning Walden voted to push the AHCA (“Obamacare repeal”) through the House and on to the Senate. By pushing this bill he showed his belief that we should be able to deny access to medical insurance to Americans with persistent medical issues. This vote also included a huge tax cut to the wealthiest of Americans, resulting in sharply reduced assistance to poor Americans. Trump promised “insurance for everybody,” but in the rush to accomplish something, anything!, the party of Walden and Trump forced a bill that at present can only be said to have broad and unpredictable consequences. Sure, Obamacare has real problems that need to be fixed, and a single payer system providing coverage for everybody would be an amazing improvement regardless of which party produced it. The AHCA will not improve — and may even harm — the day-to-day lives of most people in Walden’s rural district of mostly modest earners. Hopefully this bill will quickly fail in the Senate, but the vote shows us something about the people Walden is trying to protect — and it isn’t you or me. On March 28, Walden and his party voted to authorize internet service providers to sell your browsing history. I would have expected howling over this direct assault on our constitutional right to privacy. Walden received over $369,000 in campaign donations in 2016 from the telecom industry, the highest amount for any house candidate in 2016. Over the course of his political career, the telecoms have given him almost $1.39M, the second highest among current House members. Quid pro quo? Most of Walden’s constituents agree: We want an honest day of work, to support and protect our families, to give our kids everything they need to grow, to save for retirement, and have something left over to enjoy spending time off all over this great state and region. Walden should support efforts to help average Oregonians live better day-to-day and he should oppose measures that cause deep concern and run contrary to his constituent’s ideals. Businesses exist to make money. Businesses make investments and expect returns on those investments. So why do they give Greg Walden so much money? Look at how he votes. Our district needs a representative who wants to help us, not a politician bought by special interests. William E. Perkinson Pendleton 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 resi- dence 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.
