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OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, July 19, 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
Stopping sex
trafficking
The recent large-scale police
Human Trafficking estimates at least
100,000 in the U.S. today.
sting at an apartment in Richland
Like all dark and shadowy
opened a lot of eyes and surprised a
lot of people. It was one piece of the problems, it can seem unsolvable.
The sex trade has been with us since
horrific sex trafficking underground
the beginning of recorded history.
brought into the daylight.
But we’re not in favor of giving
Following ads and messages
placed by police operatives, 26 men up because things are difficult. We
know the problem will persist, but
were arrested after arriving at the
apartment allegedly looking to have there are real ways to limit its access
to children.
sex with children.
Cracking down
The details that have
We know the
on online services
emerged are beyond
that promote and
alarming. These
problem will
prostitution is
men, including two
persist, but there sell
a good start. Free
from Pendleton,
protections
were seemingly
are real ways to speech
are an important
willing to victimize
limit access to discussion for
young boys and
girls for their own
net freedom,
children.
gratification.
but soliciting
illegal advertising
It’s hard to read
would certainly be shut down in
about, but can’t be ignored. Sex
trafficking isn’t just a problem in the a newspaper or television station,
far corners of the globe. It affects us and should not be allowed to persist
online.
right here.
Raising awareness is also
For the men arrested earlier this
important. State Sen. Bill Hansell
month, the sting was a ruse and
(R-Athena) sponsored and helped
no children were in danger. But
pass Senate Bill 375 this session,
children’s bodies are bought and
which allows flyers to hang in
sold online every day.
roadside restrooms in Oregon.
Sites like Backpage.com have
created marketplaces for prostitution Previously, no flyers were allowed in
those spaces.
and child sex trafficking. The site
The signs would encourage
claims no responsibility for the ads
victims of sex trafficking to call
that appear and works to remove
for help, and maybe even more
illicit ones, but a recent report by
importantly help the rest of us
The Washington Post revealed that
recognize the signs of trafficking
contractors for the company sought
that we might otherwise miss.
out sex-related ads for the site.
Those signs include marks
And where there is demand,
of physical abuse, avoiding eye
supply follows. In 2012, the
contact, checking into hotels with
International Labor Organization
reported nearly 21 million trafficking older males and not being allowed to
speak in public.
victims worldwide, most of whom
It’s our tendency to avoid dark
are sold for sexual exploitation.
corners, and the underground of
Because of the shadowy nature of
the enterprise, precise accounting for sex trafficking is about the darkest
place on earth. But it’s important we
the number of children being sold
realize it’s there and look for ways to
into sexual slavery is hard to pin
down. But the U.S. Institute Against bring in sunlight.
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
Proposed tax referendum offers
chance for Oregonians to grapple
with health care financing
The Bend Bulletin
A
mong the budget-balancing
efforts approved by the 2017
Oregon Legislature and signed
by the governor is House Bill 2391,
which raises some $605 million to keep
the Oregon Health
Plan (Medicaid) whole
while balancing the
state budget.
The law, nearly
universally panned
by the Legislature’s
Republicans, closes
the health care
financial gap by
raising taxes. Thus,
most hospitals will pay
a 0.7 percent tax on
revenues, coordinated care organizations
must cut their cost of doing business
by 1.5 percent, and some people’s
premiums will be charged a 1.5 percent
tax.
At least that’s what the law says. In
reality, hospital bills almost certainly
will rise, as will health insurance
premiums, as insurers and hospitals raise
rates to cover the increased cost of doing
business.
Three Republican lawmakers — Rep.
Julie Parrish, West Linn; Rep. Cedric
Hayden, Roseburg; and Rep. Sal
Esquivel, Medford — hope to refer
sections of the new law to voters, and
the Legislature’s Democrats have said
that if they do, the referendum must be
in January.
In some ways, the early vote date
is a blessing. If sections of the law are
overturned, it will happen relatively
early in the biennium. That, in turn,
should give lawmakers time to come up
with a more acceptable Plan B.
Whether you favor
the proposed changes
or believe lawmakers
should find a better
way, the discussion is
worth having. Among
the questions are these:
Does it make
sense to tax revenues
without considering
the cost of creating
them? Some Oregon
hospitals, including
those in the St. Charles system, have
revenues that come dangerously close to
being outstripped by expenses.
Is a tax on health insurance
premiums, which are expensive and
likely to get more so, the best way to
finance health care? And what about
CCOs? They are required to hold
individual cost increases to a figure
below the rate of medical inflation,
according to testimony on HB 2391; this
will reduce that increase further.
If you believe it’s time to talk about
Oregon’s health care system and the way
it is financed, the proposed referendum
gives you the chance. All you have to
do is sign a petition to put the law on the
ballot.
Hospital bills
almost certainly
will rise, as will
health insurance
premiums.
OTHER VIEWS
A summer project to
nourish your political soul
ighteousness comes easily in
some reflection.
these polarized times. We all
It’s possible that the country would
have reasons for our opinions,
benefit from a different policy — one
and we tend to be surrounded by
like Canada’s, which admits more
people who hold similar ones. The
people based on skills and fewer based
more we talk politics, the more
on family ties. That combination
confident we can become that we’re
could lift economic growth and reduce
right.
inequality. It is worth consideration for
President Donald Trump, of course,
the political left, center and right.
David
has aggravated the situation. He is
I recommend the immigration
Leonhardt
alarmingly different from any previous
chapter in a new book by legal scholar
Comment
president, which makes his critics
Peter Schuck, “One Nation Undecided:
more committed to opposing him. His
Clear Thinking About Five Hard Issues
supporters, meanwhile, feel disrespected by
That Divide Us.” I’m also rereading research
every institution from the Republican Party to on the upward mobility of recent immigrants
the mainstream media.
to see if it’s less encouraging
As a result, the Trump era
than I’d like.
is coarsening our discourse.
Yes, the immigration
Too often recently I have
debate is stained by racism
watched people I respect
and lies. But it also involves
spiral from a political
trade-offs.
discussion into a nasty,
Abortion. The trade-off
personal argument.
in the abortion debate is
So I have a suggestion. By
agonizingly basic: A woman’s
all means, Trump’s opponents
right to control her body
should continue to fight —
versus a fetus’ right to live.
for health care, civil rights,
I’m trying to think about the
the climate and truth itself. But there is also a
uncomfortable parts of both sides.
quieter step that’s worth taking no matter your
Why do many abortion opponents have a
views, for the sake of nourishing your political change of heart when the decision involves
soul.
themselves or someone they love? When the
Pick an issue that you find complicated,
decision is no longer hypothetical, forcing a
and grapple with it.
woman to give birth doesn’t sound so good.
Choose one on which you’re legitimately
And why do some advocates of abortion on
torn or harbor secret doubts. Read up on it.
demand deny the creeping, technology-driven
Don’t rush to explain away inconvenient
risk of eugenics? I don’t want to live in a
evidence.
society in which fetuses deemed imperfect are
Then do something truly radical: Consider
routinely eliminated.
changing your mind, at least partially.
Education. There is no other issue I’ve
Doing so will remind you that democracy
spent more time debating with readers. To
isn’t simply about political force. It also
me, the evidence shows that charter schools
depends on inquiry and open-mindedness.
and other reforms have brought important
“The spirit of liberty,” as Judge Learned Hand progress, especially for poor children. Many
wrote, “is the spirit which is not too sure that
readers feel differently.
it is right.” Imagine what this country would
I’m confident we could each learn from the
be like now if people hadn’t been willing to
other, about what’s working and what isn’t, in
change their minds in the past.
charter schools, traditional schools and other
Today’s polarization — in which left and
areas.
right are more cleanly sorted — pushes us
Here’s a deal for reform skeptics: Dig into
to double down on all of our views, even the
a few of the studies, essays and evidence that
ones we doubt. Opinions, psychologist Steven have persuaded me. In return, email me with
Pinker told me, “have become loyalty badges
reading suggestions.
for one’s tribe.”
Whatever your position on these three
In response, I’ve decided to devote part of
issues, there is no shortage of others to
my summer to thinking through vexing issues. consider: Tax reform. Trade. Minimum wage
I have steered clear of those where I find the
vs. tax credits vs. universal basic income.
evidence overwhelmingly on one side. I’m
Obamacare vs. single payer.
not agonizing over whether voter fraud is
As in the past, the only way the country
widespread, climate change is statistical noise
is going to make progress on hard issues is if
or capitalism is dead. If I’m somehow wrong
a substantial number of people change their
about one of these, I can revisit it later.
minds. By questioning your own beliefs, you
In the meantime, I’ve chosen three issues
may discover a better answer.
that feel trickier.
Or if you are lucky enough to have all
Immigration. America is the world’s
the right answers already, you will at least
strongest country thanks in no small part
increase your empathy for the rest of us.
to embracing ambitious, hard-working
■
immigrants. But an anti-immigration backlash
David Leonhardt is an op-ed columnist for
just helped elect a president, which calls for
The New York Times.
R
Pick an issue
that you find
complicated,
and grapple
with it.
YOUR VIEWS
Reducing Medicaid payments
would harm local children
The topic of healthcare reform in general
is one we’ll leave to the leadership in
Washington D.C. to sort. However, we feel it’s
crucial to increase awareness of changes that
would have severe impact on our schools right
here in Eastern Oregon.
If approved, the act will cap Medicaid
payments to Oregon and jeopardize healthcare
access for vulnerable children. Our elected
officials are proposing cutting hundreds of
billions of dollars in Medicaid spending; such
cuts could be detrimental to students with
special education and health needs in our
schools, and the ripple effect of lost funding
could impact all students.
School districts across the nation receive
about $4 billion from Medicaid every year and
much of the money helps to defer the cost of
our special education programs. Locally, we
use these funds to support physical therapy,
occupational therapy, speech pathology and
nursing services to our medically fragile
students. In addition, our regional Community
Care Organization receives Medicaid
reimbursements to provide mental health and
nursing services. Providing such services
in the school environment allows students
to receive quality care, relieves the burden
of such care on families and helps us pool
resources to provide services to students at a
lower cost. Without the ability to bill Medicaid
for these important student supports, districts
are forced to locate outside providers to
care for students and pay potentially higher
costs without reimbursement, which means
reductions in other areas for all students to
offset the expenses.
The InterMountain ESD region serves
approximately 29,000 students in 18 districts.
We receive roughly $340,000 in Medicaid
funds from both fee for service and Medicaid
service claiming. If our children lose access to
the Medicaid dollars, our districts would have
to offset the loss of this revenue by cutting
other areas. We must do everything we can
to make sure the Senate does not pass this
bill. We must encourage our senators to fight
against these devastating and unnecessary
cuts to services that our low income and
special needs kids rely upon. Our children are
depending on us.
Mark Mulvihill,
InterMountain ESD Superintendent
Heidi Sipe,
Umatilla School District Superintendent
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 phone number. Send letters 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.