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OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, June 6, 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
Agriculture copes
with a growing
labor shortage
“Labor is the No. 1 issue in
policy so much as economics.
The saving grace for agriculture
agriculture.”
has been the H-2A guestworker
Ask a farmer, orchardist,
nursery or dairy operator, packer or
program. It provides a temporary
processor — anyone who hires full-
visa to foreign workers. Farmers pay
time or seasonal farmworkers, and
for round-trip transportation between
most will tell you they are worried
the workers’ home country and the
about labor.
farm, housing and good pay. When
the job is over they return to their
For them, labor is the make-or-
homes.
break factor of this year — and
This year Washington farmers
every other year, for that matter.
will bring in 15,000
The supply of
guestworkers from
labor is one of the
Mexico and other
many factors they
It is up to
countries, and
do not control.
Congress, but California will bring
Even in areas
Farmers
where the labor
members of that in in 11,000.
other states also
pool has remained
depend on H-2A
steady the need
august body
for farmworkers
seem about as workers.
The downside of
has continued to
grow as production
eager to fix the the H-2A program:
is limited to
increases.
system as they It temporary
workers.
For decades the
Some sectors of
farm labor supply
are
to
lick
an
agriculture, such
has depended on
electric fence. as dairy farms and
an array of factors,
processing plants,
including federal
need full-time,
immigration policy
year-round employees.
and enforcement. Over the years,
Under the Trump administration,
many farmworkers have arrived
the H-2A program seems to be
in the U.S. illegally. Whether that
happened 20 years ago or last week, working better than under the
previous administration, which
it means that getting a job legally
seemed bent on slowing down the
in the U.S. is problematic. Many
farmers are forced to accept workers’ paperwork and causing as much
consternation as possible.
documentation with the realization
Mechanization and automation
that it may not be valid.
represent another bright spot for
That puts farmers between
some farmers. They are buying
the proverbial rock and a hard
picking platforms to increase the
place. They need to get their crops
speed and efficiency of tree fruit
harvested and packed, but they are
on the hook if an employee does not harvests, many dairies have installed
robotic milkers that reduce the need
have adequate documentation.
for labor, berry and grape growers
Without legal status, those
use mechanical harvesters and
workers are in limbo. It is up to
researchers continue to work on
Congress to come up with a way to
robotic harvesters for nearly every
do that, but members of that august
other crop.
body seem about as eager to fix the
The labor predicament leaves
system as they are to lick an electric
farmers and others with three
fence. Doing that will take political
options: Wait for the economy
courage, which appears to be an
to slow down so unemployment
oxymoron these days in the U.S.
increases, wait for Congress to get
Capitol.
cracking on immigration reform,
But the unemployment rate
or the administration and Congress
appears to be the primary driver
can further streamline the H-2A
that farmers don’t control. When
program so farmers can obtain
the unemployment rate is low, as it
more guestworkers in a timely and
is now across the West, the pool of
farmworkers is smaller because other affordable manner.
None of the three developments
jobs are available that pay better,
seems particularly likely any time
offer benefits and are more stable.
soon.
This is not a matter of immigration
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
Neither hot nor cold on climate
L
ike a lot of conservatives who
given way to a clearer rise in global
write about public policy, my
temperatures.
views on climate change place
If you chart this spike against the
me in the ranks of what the British
range of climate change projections,
writer Matt Ridley once dubbed the
it brings the trend up into the middle
“lukewarmers.”
of climatologists’ scenarios for the
Lukewarmers accept that the earth
first time in some years. Maybe that
is warming and that our civilization’s
will be temporary and it will fall back.
ample CO2 emissions are a major
But the closer the real trend gets to the
Ross
cause. They doubt, however, that
Douthat worst-case projections, the more my
climate change represents a crisis
lukewarmism will look Pollyannish
Comment
unique among the varied challenges
and require substantial reassessment.
we face, or that the global regulatory
But this is where the second
schemes advanced to deal with it will work
objection to lukewarmism comes in, which is
as advertised. And they raise an eyebrow
that such reassessment might happen on op-ed
at the contrast between the apocalyptic,
pages but not in actual right-wing politics,
absolutist rhetoric with which these schemes
because in actual right-wing politics no serious
are regularly defended and their actual details,
assessment of the science and the risks is taking
which seem mostly designed to enable the
place to begin with. Instead there’s just a mix of
globe’s statesmen to greenwash the pursuit of
business-class and blue-collar self-interest and
economic and political self-interest.
a trollish, “If liberals are for it, we’re against
More specifically, lukewarmers look at the
it” anti-intellectualism. So while lukewarmers
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
may fancy ourselves serious interlocutors for
official projections and see a strong likelihood
liberals, we’re actually just running interference
that rising temperatures will drag on GDP
on behalf of know-nothing and do-nothingism,
without leading to catastrophe. They look at
attacking flawed policies on behalf of a
the record of climatological predictions and see Republican Party that will never, ever advance
a pattern in which observed warming hugs the
any policies of its own.
lower, non-disastrous end of the spectrum of
This critique is ... not necessarily wrong.
projections. And they look at the substance of
A Republican Party that was really shaped by
the Paris accord, which papered over a failed
lukewarmism would probably still oppose the
attempt to set binding emission rules with a
Paris deal and shrink from sweeping carbon
set of fine-sounding promises, and see little to
taxes. But it would be actively debating and
justify all the anguish and despair over Donald budgeting for the two arenas — innovation and
Trump’s decision to abandon it.
mitigation — where the smartest skeptics of
The despairing are unlikely to be convinced regulatory solutions tend to place their faith.
by this quick description, so for a better sense
This is not what the GOP seems inclined to
of the lukewarmist case, I recommend two
do. Instead it lets lukewarmers poke holes in
recent essays by Oren Cass of the Manhattan
liberal proposals for climate insurance policies,
Institute: First, “The Problem With Climate
and then sits back satisfied that no insurance
Catastrophizing,” from Foreign Affairs,
policy, no extra effort, is necessary at all.
and second, “How to Worry About Climate
Earlier I recommended reading Oren Cass’
Change,” from National Affairs.
essays; now I’ll quote his tweet when Trump
But while inviting readers to ease their pain pulled out of the Paris accord. “Hopefully
over Paris with the balm of lukewarmism,
someday,” he wrote, “we’ll get a reality-based
I also want to concede two problems with
climate agreement that helps prepare for and
this approach. The first is that no less than
adapt to whatever climate change brings.”
alarmism, lukewarmism can be vulnerable to
The problem is that while Paris was not
cherry-picking and selection bias, reaching
sufficiently rooted in reality, the anti-Paris
for any piece of evidence — and when you’re
sentiments that moved Trump weren’t entirely
dealing with long-term trends, there’s a lot of
reality-based either. And a clear Republican
evidence to choose from — that supports its
plan for how to “prepare for and adapt to
non-catastrophic assumptions, even if the bulk
whatever climate change brings” does not
of the data starts to point the other way.
actually exist.
This means that every lukewarmer,
In its absence, lukewarmism is a critique
including especially those in positions of
without an affirmative agenda, a theory of the
political authority, should be pressed to identify case without a party that’s prepared to ever
trends that would push them toward greater
act on it. So its claim to offer a fully-credible
alarmism and a sharper focus on the issue.
policy alternative to climate alarmism awaits a
I’ll answer that challenge myself: My
different president, and a very different GOP.
■
own alarm over climate change has gone up
Ross Douthat joined The New York
modestly since the Obama-era cap-and-trade
Times as an Op-Ed columnist in April 2009.
debates, as the decade or more in which
observed warming was slow or even flat — the Previously, he was a senior editor at The
Atlantic.
much-contested warming “pause” — has
YOUR VIEWS
Measure 11 needs reform,
not repeal
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Governor
Representatives
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Senator
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
Greg Barreto, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-384
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.GregBarreto@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
I wrote a letter to every senator and
representative asking why they do not have
the courage, after being voted in to make the
hard choices and the right ones, to reform
Measure 11. I was told that they are “scared”
of looking soft on crime. So it goes on we
have cowards in the legislature that allow
the DAs to have total control over the legal
system, allow them to fill the prisons full
with totally inappropriate lengths of time for
incarceration.
Let me be clear, I am NOT soft on crime.
I believe that violent and repeat offenders, as
M11 was designed for, need to be punished.
There are currently 6,129 inmates in under
M11, almost half the prison population, at a
cost of $211,516,386 per year, not counting
medical at $94.55 per day.
We need not repeal, at this time, but
reform M11 to allow first-time offenders
a second look after they have served half
their time. If you even took 30 percent of the
M11-incarcerated people (1,839), you would
possibly save $63,454,916 per year. They
should be released on parole, not just let go.
One more thing: Do the citizens know that
there is no rehab in prison for sex offenders?
Do you know that they only get rehab after
they get out? Pretty scary, you think?
Barbara Dickerson
Milton-Freewater
Carry a gun, protect yourself
from terrorism
Have we been paying attention? I’m
referring to the warning by Homeland
Security Secretary John Kelly. He said if we
knew what he knew about the ISIS threat in
the United States, we would not leave home.
OK, I believe him.
Now I know that many in my family have
concealed carry permits, but it’s time for the
rest of us to pay attention and make sure our
protection is available when we leave the
house, but also when are at home.
Look, it’s hard for us to take the threat
seriously but we have too much to lose by
ignoring the warnings. If you don’t have a
concealed weapons carry permit, you need to
take the necessary classes, use the necessary
safeguards and get comfortable with carrying
and using a weapon. I’m serious!
Frank Vincent
Hermiston
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.