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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2017)
Page 6A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, June 28, 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 The gold at the end of the Rainbow OUR VIEW It’s unacceptable that 20,000 dwell too much on that either, people are camping, cooking, living although we understand some and defecating on our public land. readers may feel more inclined. It’s flat wrong and that cannot be But we will report on the unique stated strongly enough. human beings who attend the But, unfortunately, it is event, as well as the costs of law enforcement. We will report on happening. The Rainbow Family the environmental legacy of this of Living Light annual gathering gathering, and also about the culture is underway and expected to grow clash taking place in through the Fourth Oregon. of July on Malheur Next year, rural We Eastern have one National Forest land in suggestion to the Grant County. Rainbows Which means Family: should gather Rainbow the goal now for Next year, actually emergency crews, the “green.” Call off a in numbers be U.S. Forest Service and gathering in the tens that nature of thousands. Get 12 taxpayers across the nation must change. your best pals and can handle. of That goal had been hit the hills. Bring a trying to dissuade, toilet and all the kale move and block the Rainbow and granola you can carry. Get gathering — but it now must shift to naked. Take some of Oregon’s legal making it as safe as possible while drugs. Have an absolute blast on our country’s wonderful public lands. protecting public resources and Then pack it all out, that toilet limiting damage to property. most especially. Leave the site as Of course, everyone should you found it, then come back and have equal access to America’s do it again next year. There is no public lands. Hunters and anglers, backcountry horsemen and yes, even need to overwhelm what nature can provide in order to prove you can go counterculture “greenies,” should without rules and basic hygiene for a be free to enjoy what nature has week or two. to offer. But it’s not possible for a This may be wishful thinking, group of this size, without adequate however. The gathering has been infrastructure, to leave the land going on since 1972 and most are undamaged. It cannot be done, no bigger than the year before. matter how well-intentioned the Eastern Oregonians and our caretakers are — and we’re not forest, law and health representatives convinced that the Rainbow Family should be vigilant about protecting has caretaking atop their list of our lands. And we should protect priorities. those using that land. They have fun and community While doing so, perhaps it is atop that list, sprinkled in with helpful to think of the pot of gold at experimentation of the economic, the end of the rainbow. Some call it social and chemical kind. So be it. peace and quiet, nature at its most Moral judgment is easy, but rarely natural. does it do any good. So we won’t 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 Democrats throw in the towel on tax reform Corvallis Gazette-Times L ast week’s announcement that Democratic leaders were throwing in the towel on tax reform during this session didn’t really come as much of a surprise, considering the various legislative forces that had aligned against the idea. But it still came as a disappointment — and, if Oregon citizens are growing weary of legislative promises that this important topic or that important topic will be top of the agenda during the next session, you can understand that weariness: It’s not the first time these particular cans have been kicked down that particular road. This session, yet another can got kicked down the road: Reforms to the state’s public pension fund, with its $22 billion unfunded liability, also appear to be joining that tax discussion: Democrats said all session long that pension reforms would be tied to tax reform; with tax reform off the table, so is PERS reform. It still remains to be seen whether the last big-ticket item on this year’s legislative docket, the bill that identifies major transportation projects around the state and ways to pay for them, will also be kicked over to 2019; our hope is that legislators still see a path forward in this session for the transportation bill. A statement last week from three key Democrats — Gov. Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney and Speaker of the House Tina Kotek — certainly suggested a big deal was dead. The statement read, in part, that the three had worked “for months with legislators in both parties, business leaders, and labor leaders, to identify ways to reduce state spending, contain costs going forward, and finally reform our revenue system. While we are moving forward on several major cost containment measures, it has become clear that the Legislature will not have the necessary support to achieve structural revenue reforms this session.” That is partially because Democrats are one vote short in both the Senate and the House of the supermajorities required to pass tax increases. Senate Republicans, in particular, have maintained a united front against any tax increase. Other pockets of opposition have risen this session: Sen. Mark Hass, the Beaverton Democrat who’s been carrying the flag of tax reform for at least the last couple of sessions, last week pitched an idea to simply increase corporate income taxes. The plan enjoyed some support from businesses. But the idea didn’t go anywhere, in part because House Democrats objected to the fact that it didn’t include a tax on corporate gross receipts. No wonder that a frustrated Hass warned in a speech last week that failure to address these issues would trigger the sort of pension crisis that’s facing Illinois: “It will eventually wreck our schools and swallow our state,” he said. It now seems that the Legislature will be able to patch together a budget that will allow the state to limp along. It also seems likely that the Legislature’s failure to act will trigger yet another wave of citizen initiatives. Legislators complain about how those initiatives complicate their work. But it’s hard to fault citizens for wanting to see if they can do something about the can before legislators get the chance to give it yet another kick. A vote of conscience and courage F orget for a minute about partisan Poverty, disease and misfortune that labels and listen to members of the had been accepted as normal became U.S. Senate talk about why they rejected as cruel. work in politics. Once we stopped allowing 10-year- Rob Portman talks about a olds to work in factories and fields, we 16-year-old constituent who died of a didn’t go back on it. Once we outlawed drug overdose — and about honoring 80-hour workweeks at miserly pay, we his life by fighting drug use. Lisa didn’t reinstate them. Once we made Murkowski talks about protecting health insurance and Social Security David children from fetal alcohol disorders, Leonhardt a universal part of old age, we didn’t and Lamar Alexander speaks about repeal them. Comment premature babies. The Senate health care bill would be There are many more stories like a reversal on that scale. these, and they’re not only for show. They Yes, Obamacare is flawed, and it needs to reflect deeply held beliefs that senators have be improved. But the Senate bill would not fix about themselves. those flaws. It would instead take away health Republican or Democrat, they see insurance from millions of Americans — themselves as public servants — their preferred middle class and poor, disabled and sick, young term for politicians — trying to make life better and old — largely to finance tax cuts for the for their fellow Americans. wealthy. Ultimately, the bill Sure, when they’re being would lead many Americans honest, they admit that to lose medical care on they enjoy the power and which they now depend. perks. But even with all I hope the senators will the cynicism Washington listen to some of these engenders, senators still take people’s stories. The most pride in the high ideals of affecting that I’ve read politics. recently is about Justin This week, these senators Martin, who has overcome will face a career-defining cerebral palsy to become a choice. thriving student at Kenyon It is not an easy one for College. As the HuffPost’s many of them. Republicans Jonathan Cohn reported, have spent years promising Martin depends on Medicaid to repeal Obamacare. Now the Senate is nearing to pay for a wheelchair that helps him get a decision on whether to do so. Opposing the around and for health care aides who help him bill risks marking any Republican as a traitor to in the bathroom. the party. When history comes to judge today’s By late Monday, enough Republicans were senators, do they want to have made life harder nonetheless expressing skepticism about the bill on Justin Martin? to put its success in serious doubt. Susan Collins I hope the senators will also take the time of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Dean to ask themselves why virtually no health care Heller of Nevada have all distanced themselves expert supports the bill. Conservative health from the bill. But we’ve seen a version of this care experts have blasted it, along with liberal story before. House Republicans also expressed and moderate experts. The Congressional serious doubts — only to wilt after party leaders Budget Office says it will do terrible damage. made superficial changes to the bill. The Senate Groups representing doctors, nurses, hospitals bill remains alive until it’s dead. and retirees oppose the bill. So do advocates In the meantime, I hope that each senator for the treatment of cancer, heart disease, lung takes some time away from the daily swirl of disease, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and, Capitol Hill to think back to the reasons they yes, cerebral palsy. entered politics. I hope they understand that this I hope the senators will watch a two-minute bill is a test of conscience and of courage. video created by doctors around the country. In A “yes” vote is still the politically easy vote it, each one looks into the camera and explains for any Republican. But it is also a vote that how the bill would damage medical care. “This will come back to haunt many senators when bill would dramatically affect my patients,” said they reflect on their careers — and when more Dr. Gregory Lam of Circleville, Ohio, “and my objective observers pass historical judgment on ability to care for them.” those careers. I hope the senators grasp the weight of the There is little precedent for a bill like this decision they face, for the country and for one. That’s why Mitch McConnell, the majority themselves. leader, kept it secret for as long as possible. It takes only three Republican senators to Americans have often fought bitterly about how prevent millions of their fellow citizens from large our safety net should be and about the being harmed. Which of them has the courage precise forms it should take. to make the right choice over the easy one? But once the country commits to a ■ fundamentally more generous, decent safety David Leonhardt is an op-ed columnist for net, it becomes an accepted part of society. The New York Times. Once we made health insurance and Social Security a universal part of old age, we didn’t repeal them. YOUR VIEWS Oregon lawmakers taking steps to fix education problems As a city of Union councilor, I know that schools and services here in rural Oregon are in desperate need of investment. Finally, legislative leaders Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) and Senator Mark Hass (D-Beaverton) have agreed on and introduced a compromise plan that would bring in much-needed revenue. The legislature must act swiftly to support their plan. With little time left this legislative session, we cannot afford to wait to take action on revenue reform. In Union County, we have class sizes that are 28 percent larger than the national average and a school year that is over a full week shorter than the average school year in Oregon. With the additional investments that would be brought in with the compromise plan proposed by Speaker Kotek and Sen. Hass, school districts would be able to plan for a $8.5 billion state school fund budget instead of the $8.2 billion school budget that the Legislature is passing. We should all realize that another budget shortfall will likely result in significant impacts to the quality of education that our children deserve. This session, legislators must end our perpetual budget shortfalls and put Oregon families first by fully funding our schools. For years, our students across the state of Oregon have been denied the opportunities and tools they need to succeed because corporations don’t pay their fair share in taxes. The compromise plan is a responsible step toward addressing the current funding shortfall for Oregon’s educational system and providing a long-term solution. Rural Oregon, especially, after decades of significant disinvestment, cannot wait a day longer on this legislature to act. Senator Hansell and his colleagues must make raising revenue their top priority this legislative session. I’m counting on him to finally hold corporations accountable so Oregon can prove that it values education. Randy L. Knop Union People will leave Pendleton if rural hospitals have to close A little over a year ago, during a visit to our family in Pendleton, my wife had a late evening medical emergency and I took her to the new hospital. She got excellent care. I shudder to think what would have happened if St. Anthony Hospital were to close; your community, that sacrificed so much to build this new facility, is counting on continuing funding. I respect Greg Walden, as he worked well with our former representative Brian Baird. However, it needs to be made clear the link between national health insurance and the funds it directs to rural health that keeps St. Anthony operating. Who is going to move their business or keep their family in Pendleton without decent medical facilities? My guess is even a U.S. representative with guaranteed lifetime healthcare wouldn’t retire to such a place. Pat Campbell Vancouver, Wash. The East Oregonian welcomes original letters to the editor. Send those letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.