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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, July 12, 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 Two men enter, one tax plan leaves This is how to put Oregon schools modeling showed three-fold tax increases for some businesses. and state government on a path to And PERS reform, which stable, sustainable funding: Stick Republicans and the business Ontario Republican Cliff Bentz and community rightfully demanded in Beaverton Democrat Mark Hass in return for corporate tax increases, a room and give them the task of fell by the wayside. developing a fair tax plan for the Gov. Kate Brown is among those state. who say revenue reform will not That is the idea of Oregon House happen until the 2019 Legislature. Republican Leader Mike McLane, That who would be suggested unfortunate, he would leaving the accept tax debate to whatever another set the two of divisive legislators ballot came up measures with. He next fall. mentioned Rep. a few other McLane Republican might and Sen. Mark Hass and Rep. Cliff Bentz have the Democratic solution. Give the task to Bentz, lawmakers who could be added to Hass and a few other political the mix as well. pragmatists, since interest groups The point is that a new tax plan can only be achieved by people who on either side have shown little are pragmatic and collaborative, who ability to negotiate for the good of entertain new ideas and who put the the state. We would suggest adding good of the state above self-interests. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, and Sens. Betsy That didn’t happen in the 2017 Legislature, despite the best attempts Johnson, D-Scappoose, and Jackie Winters, R-Salem. All have shown of Sen. Hass, Rep. Bentz and others. the ability to work across party lines Labor was stinging from the defeat to solve complex issues. of the massive corporate tax hike Genuine tax reform should contained in Measure 97 last fall, and include these principles: constantly re-fought the battle in the • A plan for ground-level Legislature. Business was divided examination of agency-by-agency on what to do next, instead of being conciliatory and collaborative after its spending, instead of building each budget based on what agencies and victory over Measure 97. schools spent during the previous If there is good news from cycle. The concept of “roll forward” the legislative session that ended budgets should be eliminated in July 7, it is that lawmakers finally favor of “zero-based” budgeting that were talking about realistic starts with where the dollars will do revenue reform. It also seems that the most good. lawmakers, especially in the state • A holistic look at corporate, Senate, set a good example through individual and other taxes and bipartisan compromise on several contentious issues, including fair pay fees. Lawmakers and the public need an unbiased understanding and predictable work schedules in of how much each sector pays for the workplace. government, instead of relying on Yet on revenue reform, the partisan-based studies. interest groups of business and • Appropriately matching labor could not achieve that same expenses with revenue, while pragmatism. They stuck with their providing stability in both areas. “all or nothing” approaches. • Reform of the Public Most people agree that Oregon Employees Retirement System and has an unstable tax system, especially for funding schools. Some of public employee health-care premiums — two of the highest consider a sales tax the answer, costs for governments and schools. but political history shows little All options must be on the table, chance of one being enacted in our especially for PERS, so they can lifetimes. be finally settled in court instead Hass and others, especially of being an ongoing battle in each Democrats, advocate a type of legislative session. sales tax to be paid by businesses Such an approach would benefit — a commercial activity tax public employees, public agencies modeled after one in Ohio. Senate and the public. That work must start Republicans stood firm against now. that tax this year, especially after 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 Health reform that’s real and conservative T told me, she wouldn’t be able to do he American health care system much else. has two core problems. It’s the Her strategy has been based on the world’s most expensive, and it most important — and, in a strange still leaves many people uninsured. way, most promising — fact about Congressional Republicans have American health care: Much of our not tried to solve either problem. They spending doesn’t make us healthier. have instead offered a plan that cuts We go to the emergency room spending on the middle class and the instead of a primary-care doctor. We poor, funnels the money into a tax cut David for the affluent and masquerades as Leonhardt choose invasive procedures over simpler, more effective ones. We health policy. Comment One of the great shames of their house elderly people in nursing homes approach is that a different one is instead of offering more pleasant available. Conservative health reform is not an home care. oxymoron. Nor is bipartisan health reform. It’s Raimondo’s administration has used the possible to combine conservative and liberal flexibility that Carcieri won — as well as ideas to cover more people Obamacare provisions — to while holding down costs. move away from the You can find a real-world high-cost approach. “I want case study in Rhode Island. to pay to get you healthier,” The state is obviously a she said, “not pay to have small one, but it has a lot something done to you.” in common with the rest of I recently tagged along the country. Its poverty rate on a nurse’s home visit to is similar to the nation’s, a 74-year-old woman here and its opioid crisis is even named Annie Hall. Hall worse. It has a strongly is a widow who suffers Democratic metropolitan from Parkinson’s and other area (Providence), while conditions. She did not get Donald Trump won the up from her living room state’s western half. chair during the visit. The story of health She likes living where reform here involves she does: not in a nursing both Republican and home or hospital, but in the Democratic officials. It involves praise from apartment in a wooded area, just off Interstate the conservative Wall Street Journal and the 95, that she and her husband shared for years. “I liberal Center for American Progress. Most don’t want to go to the hospital,” she said. “It’s important, the story involves cost savings, the worst place to go when you’re sick.” fewer uninsured and a rising quality of care. Not so long ago, Hall would have been I’ve been covering Washington long moved to a nursing home anyway, because enough to understand that Trump and that was the default. Today, she is able to Mitch McConnell aren’t going to abandon stay home, thanks to the nurses from Integra their health care plan simply because it’s Community Care Network, paid partly by a bad one. They have too much invested Medicaid, who visit her every week and check (and they believe deeply in upward income up by phone. Hall calls the nurses “my family.” redistribution). The shift toward home-based care is But if Republican holdouts in the Senate one reason cost growth has fallen here. In continue to block the plan, the health policy Medicaid, spending per enrollee dropped 6.5 debate is eventually going to start fresh. When percent last year and is now starting to save it does, we could use some role models. the state serious money. Rhode Island’s efforts started almost a Think about how conservative this decade ago. The governor, a Republican approach is. It’s based on local, not federal, named Don Carcieri, asked the Bush decision-making. It allows people like Annie administration for more flexibility with Hall to remain in their communities. It saves Medicaid in exchange for holding down costs. money for taxpayers. No wonder many It was classic conservatism: reduce federal Republicans like to point to Rhode Island. rules, give states more autonomy and let them Unfortunately, the Senate bill would cause keep some of the savings. Yet, unlike the the progress here to unravel, state officials Senate bill, Rhode Island’s plan didn’t slash told me. They would lose so much Medicaid Medicaid carelessly. It came with safeguards, funding that they would have to cut back on like ensuring that everyone eligible for care — regardless of the effects — and deny Medicaid would keep coverage. insurance to people. Carcieri made substantial progress, A handful of Republican senators are all but costs were still a problem when Gina that’s keeping such damage from happening. Raimondo, a Democrat, became governor I hope they understand they are not only in 2015. Medicaid accounts for close to protecting vulnerable Americans. They are one-third of Rhode Island’s budget. It crowds also defending truly conservative ideas. out spending on schools, roads and other ■ job-creating investments. Unless she could get David Leonhardt is an op-ed columnist for Medicaid spending under control, Raimondo The New York Times. If Republican holdouts in the Senate continue to block the plan, the health policy debate is eventually going to start fresh. YOUR VIEWS Listen carefully, demand trust and truth This Fourth of July I took time out for reflection. I was feeling patriotic, nostalgic, grateful and concerned. My thoughts went back to the June 21 editorial by Thomas Friedman, “We the People,” in the East Oregonian and his concern for the “death of truth in America.” Friedman quoted his friend and teacher, Dov Seidman, who said, “We are experiencing an assault on the foundation of our society and democracy — the twin pillars of truth and trust.” Truth and trust are terms that carry considerable weight in personal relationships as well as in national and international relations. We are all products of our personal experiences and I reflected back to my formative years growing up on a cattle ranch in southwest Montana. My mother’s family are Republican and Dad’s people are life-long Democrats. That led to robust political discussions! The ranch families and the people we knew bridged the entire political spectrum. Your word was your bond and agreements were made with only a handshake. Integrity, truth, and trust were valued above all. Being a reliable neighbor was more important than politics. You may not have agreed with statements made, but “active listening” and respect were usually in the conversation. People talked to each other. Candidates received our support if they had the “right stuff,” such as astronaut and Republican Senator John Glenn from Ohio. Their voting records, character, experience and integrity were of foremost importance, not the party. If the truth or our trust was violated the call was to “throw the rascals out!” Today, we can look back at American leaders that had the wisdom, courage and vision to unify our country. Leaders from different parties who strongly disagreed came together for the common good and continued to make the experiment for American Democracy function. As Senator Ted Kennedy would say, “Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” There is, of course, concern for the subjectivity of truth. Perhaps a starting point is to look for points of agreement in our conversations and truly listen to each other. Paul Davis Pendleton Explanation of ‘no’ vote on transportation package In response to Mr. Tabor’s letter to the editor, I would like to clarify some misleading statements that were written in the East Oregonian article. First, I was asked to commit to a “yes” vote on an $8.2 billion dollar transportation package, HB2017, while still in its developmental stage in order for my district to receive any funding on special projects. At that time, there was a 14-cent gas tax proposed, added fees on the sale of new and used cars, mileage tax, a proposed gravel tax, transit tax, bike sales tax, tolls, tax on employee payroll and more. At the bill’s inception, there was no commitment from the Demo- cratic Party to reduce or eliminate the low carbon fuels tax that would potentially increase fuel costs to 20 cents per gallon. To his credit, Rep. Cliff Bentz later reached a compromise that was adopted that would cap the carbon tax at around 11 cents per gallon. I don’t feel it’s good policy to commit to any bill that hasn’t been completed. Voting without knowing the cost/benefits are is like Nancy Pelosi who said, “We have to vote for the bill to see what’s in it.” I don’t operate in that fashion. I don’t function that way in business, and I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the taxpayers to function that way in the Legislature. Representatives were asked to provide needed projects in their districts. I reached out to Wallowa, Union and Umatilla County commissioners for projects in those counties, which I submitted. Contrary to the article in the EO, I was not contacted or lobbied by the mayor of Pendleton. By the time the transportation package was completed, the transportation group had leveraged and secured enough early “yes” votes to pass. Unwilling to commit early to an unfinished bill, District 58 projects were not given. Fourteen Republicans in the House (as well as six Democrats) and seven Republicans in the Senate voted no on the bill. Greg Barreto Oregon State Representative, House District 58 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. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
