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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2018)
VIEWPOINTS Saturday, October 6, 2018 East Oregonian Page 5A When the new tractor breaks down R ecent morning temperatures at our place have been cool enough to “burn down” the foliage on the tomato patch in the garden and inspire a certain sense of urgency concerning tasks that need to be completed before the mercury in the “RISLONE OIL TREATMENT” thermometer registers single-digit (or even sub-zero) readings. My 94-year-old neighbor has been hard at the task of splitting a recently delivered pile of red fir and has nearly filled her woodshed. She makes me feel guilty and appear lazy because I cheated and pulled the fuel truck around back of the shop and filled the stove oil tank. In order to live up to my admonition to son Willie that “hay in the barn is better than money in the bank,” we made a run at a fourth cutting of alfalfa on the little hay patch down the road. Since our “new” swather was on the fritz with a bum bearing in the sickle- drive mechanism, we had to revert back to our trusty 1940 Allis-Chalmers Model B tractor equipped with a 6-foot sickle mower. After a thorough cleaning of the sediment bowl got fuel flowing to the carburetor once again, we were ready to spin the handcrank (an electric starter was an extra-cost option back in the days when Hank Greenberg was starring for the Tigers). On about the third attempt, the unmuffled engine roared to life and I was making the commute to work at 6 miles per hour with no traffic jams. This was in stark contrast to my two September trips through Portland and Salem at 5 p.m. where I was traveling at about the same speed, but was on a freeway with several thousand other folks who, in my humble opinion, were not enjoying the scenery as much as I did on that September morn (apologies to Neil Diamond). After lowering the sickle mower and wiping off the oil-smudged oil pressure gauge mounted out the side of the oil filter base (no “idiot” lights or electronic sensors on a 1940 Allis- Chalmers), I was making hay. For the next couple of hours I dutifully monitored the weather-checked pitman arm that dates from a time when the news of the day concerned Hitler’s advance through Europe and was broadcast rather than podcast. I cussed the gophers who have taken up residence in my neighborhood and wreaked havoc on parts of our otherwise smooth alfalfa patch. I realized, however, how pale that concern is when compared to some Chicago mother’s I cussed the gophers who have taken up residence in my neighborhood concern about drug dealers invading her neighborhood and wreaking havoc in a far more violent manner. I thought what a fool I must appear to be to spending cumulatively several hours mowing, raking, baling and loading a couple of tons of hay that is only worth perhaps $300, a sum probably equal to the hourly rate charged by the attorney who may have been stuck in traffic with me a couple of weeks ago. I attempted to justify, in my mind, my “career” choice by reasoning that the aforementioned barrister probably has a higher cost of living than I do and likely is forced to pay for exercise, either by joining a gym or by filling a room with fitness equipment. When I need to experience physical exertion, I step out the back door and load hay or straw bales onto a truck and haul them to the barn, where I get the pleasure of catching the bales son Willie has thrown onto the conveyor in our annual quest to fill the loft of the barn built about the time America entered the first World War. If we run out of bales to move, we can chop wood for a stove I’m thinking about installing or find some old building to reroof. About the time I’m feeling smug about how good I’ve got it, I ponder one of my favorite historic farm photos in my collection. It depicts the father of my nonagenarian wood-splitting neighbor pausing, straw hat in hand, from his work of mowing alfalfa (sounds familiar to me) while aboard an old iron-wheeled mower M att W ood FROM THE TRACTOR pulled by two of the neighbor’s mules. He has the look of someone who knows where he belongs and I try to imagine myself in his boots. He may have used an outhouse daily and chopped more cords of wood than I can count. But he also had no TV or cellphone. That guy had it made. New trade agreement falls Legislative preseason short of ‘win-win-win’ F The Toronto Star P rime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have done as well as anyone could reasonably expect in negotiating a new economic deal with the United States and Mexico. Canada (and Mexico as well) were always going to be playing defense in these talks, given the overwhelming size of the U.S. economy and the willingness of the Trump administration to use every kind of threat and bully tactic. In the end, for Canada, it came down to making a few acceptable concessions in order to keep the most important aspects of NAFTA in place and win guarantees in key areas, including autos and culture. Most important, it avoids the truly troubling prospect of Canada being left on the sidelines as Washington and Mexico City made a deal of their own. We’ve dodged that bullet and, make no mistake, it was a big one. It would have been an enormous political blow to the Trudeau government and — much more important — a real danger to a Canadian economy that for better or worse has been shaped for decades around easy access to the world’s biggest and most dynamic market. That being said, the new United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, falls short of the “win-win-win” deal that was promoted during the 13 months of trade talks. For one thing, it’s notable that the words “free trade” appear nowhere in the new name. The very phrase has become synonymous with “lost jobs” in rust belt states that saw factory jobs migrate to Mexico under NAFTA. This is frankly about managed trade and political branding. Count that as a big win for Trump. Canada did make a real concession in opening our dairy industry a bit more to U.S. producers. But the howls from the industry are way out of proportion to the real impact: It still amounts to giving the Americans access to only 3.6 percent of the Canadian market. Weigh that against ending the threat of big tariffs against Canadian-made cars exported to the United States, and a ceiling on Canadian auto exports that is well above what Canada currently sends south of the border. That’s a huge win for Canadian industry, and in particular for Ontario. No wonder the auto workers’ union is thrilled. Canada also bent on extending patent protections for pharmaceuticals, raising the prospect of higher drug prices. And most disappointingly, U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum stay in place. They should have been removed as part of the deal. Still, there are other gains for Canada in this accord. For one thing, Canadian workers stand to benefit from a major concession by Mexico, increasing guarantees for higher-wage workers in the auto industry. This was aimed at helping U.S. workers, but Canadians will win as well. The threatened “sunset clause” won’t be in the new USMCA, thanks also to Mexico’s negotiators. Canada will keep important exemptions for cultural industries. And, key to reaching the deal, the new accord will include dispute settlement mechanisms that Canada had insisted on and the Americans wanted to dump. That was a red line that Canada had to maintain, and it did. For those inclined to criticize the new deal from the left, including the federal NDP, it should be noted that it drops a couple of NAFTA provisions they found particularly objectionable. Chapter 11, which allowed corporations to sue governments, is no more. And the so-called “proportionality rule,” which required Canada to maintain its proportion of energy exports to the U.S., is also gone. That will make it easier to diversify Canada’s markets. Realistically, Canada was never going to make big gains in these negotiations and simply walking away was a fantasy. The real question is whether another government could have done significantly better under the circumstances. At this point, the answer to that must be no. ootball season usually from town hall meetings attended by county and city leaders. The begins at every level of remainder are from citizens who competition in the month asked for their issue to be part of of September. Preseason is the Senator’s playbook. And I over, the players are in shape, am pleased to run with them. their positions have been One of the worst fires in determined, and the playbook Oregon, the Substation fire, has been memorized. Teams Bill burned 80,000 acres in Wasco and their fans are ready to go. Hansell and Sherman Counties this I am no exception. Some of Comment past summer. As a result of a my colleagues have named me meeting with farmers and rural Senator Duck, because of my fire districts, held in Sherman County in undying support for my alma mater, the August, six bills are being introduced. University of Oregon. Eighteen of the bills have an agriculture On Sept. 28, we legislators — or natural resource focus, from elk Senator Duck included — began what might be called a preseason. The Oregon damage to estate tax reform. Two of the bills are being submitted at the Legislature is scheduled to kick off request of the Confederated Tribes of the Jan. 22, 2019. Everything leading up Umatilla Indian Reservation. to January is like a preseason. We are Will every bill we introduce be getting ready to compete. successful? Probably not, but we are Sept. 28 was the deadline for going to try. We all know not every submitting legislative concepts we play produces a touchdown every time. want to introduce as bills in the 2019 Some of our bills were unsuccessful Legislative Session. Each senator or in the previous session, but they were representative can submit as many bills important and we are going to run with as they wish, if they meet this deadline. them again. My staff and I have been working for Part of the preseason is to get the months on my list of bills. We held town right players ready to go. Figure out hall meetings, heard from constituents, worked with associations, met with other what opposition there might be and why, and adjust our play accordingly. legislators, and listened, and listened, Sometimes a pass play becomes a and listened. At the 5 p.m. deadline, we running play at the line of scrimmage, submitted forms for 48 bills. These 48 because of the alignment of the bills will be my initial playbook for the opposition. And we will add plays as the upcoming session. season progresses. A football team’s playbook will But for now, we have our playbook have specific plays, with specific player being drafted, and later it will be refined, responsibilities. Every play is unique as we get ready for the season — I with different personnel on the field for mean session — to begin. I am grateful each alignment. The one position on the for the members of the team, from field usually remaining consistent is the throughout the district, who helped craft quarterback, and in the Senator Duck’s the plays. I believe we have a very good playbook, that would be me. I am the chance of crossing the goal line with one who has the responsibility to help make the play successful, or change it at the vast majority of them. I am looking forward to kickoff. the line of scrimmage. ■ I am pleased and excited about the State Senator Bill Hansell is a 1967 plays we have. Here is a big picture graduate of the University of Oregon, as breakdown without going into a lot of is his wife Margaret. They were college detail. (In fact, the details are currently sweethearts, and were married spring being worked on by the bill writers in break of their senior year. The Senator will Legislative Counsel). root for the Beavers, but not when they play Twenty-eight of the bills are what I the Ducks! call constituent bills. Ten of those came CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES U.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Greg Walden 185 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande office: 541-624-2400 REPRESENTATIVES Greg Barreto, District 58 900 Court St. NE, H-38 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 SENATOR Bill Hansell, District 29 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
