A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
August 3, 2016
Wallowa County Chieftain
Platforms
offer insight
into key ag
concerns
EDITORIAL
T
he two major political
parties have approved
their 2016 platforms.
While presidential
Voice of the Chieftain
candidates of both stripes
have in the past freely
diverged from speciic points in their party’s platform
— and we would expect the same of Hillary Clinton
and Donald Trump — the documents provide a point for
comparison of the policy priorities of each party.
Have a look.
Each party promises to protect and advance the interests
of farmers.
The GOP says it will change capital gains and estate tax
laws to ensure farms can stay in the family. Republicans
favor ending direct payment programs in favor of risk-
management programs, such as crop insurance.
Democrats promise unspeciied programs to “protect
and enhance family farms, a cherished way of life.
...” Democrats say they’ll do more to support young
farmers and ranchers, and will promote “environmentally
sustainable agricultural practices.” It favors a “focused”
safety net for farmers.
Republicans say they want to rein in the Environmental
Protection Agency. The platform demands “an end to the
EPA’s participation in ‘sue and settle’ lawsuits, sweetheart
litigation brought by environmental groups to expand
the Agency’s regulatory activities against the wishes of
Congress and the public.” It supports legislation giving the
states a larger role in protecting the environment.
Democrats take note of EPA programs, particularly the
Agricultural Worker Protection Standard, but say more
needs to be done. The Democrats want to enlist farmers
as “partners in promoting conservation and stewardship.”
Republicans want regulators to shift from punitive
enforcement to “a spirit of cooperation” with producers,
processors and the public.
The Democrats promise more and stronger regulation
on just about every front. The GOP says it will reduce
government regulation, and wants Congress to approve
any regulation that will cost consumers more than $100
million.
The Democrats oppose any attempt to “weaken” the
Endangered Species Act. Republicans want to block
attempts by the EPA and the Corps of Engineers to
“expand jurisdiction over water, including water that is
clearly not navigable.”
The Democrats’ platform wants to expand access to
public lands, and at the same time “strengthen protections
for natural and cultural resources.” It supports the
creation of a trust fund to expand outdoor recreational
opportunities. The Democrats want to create more jobs and
billions of dollars in activity by doubling the size of the
“outdoor economy.”
Republicans want Congress to explore transferring to
ranchers, timbermen and miners some public land, arguing
that private owners are the best stewards of the land
because conservation serves their economic interests. It
favors maximizing timber harvest on public land.
We think the GOP platform is better for farmers and
ranchers. But we urge caution.
Platforms are gauzy documents long on ideology
and short on speciics. They are points of departure for
candidates up and down the ticket who are free to put their
spin on policy.
By what mechanics will either party deliver its vision?
Details are important. Even ideas we agree with can
turn sour if they are realized through objectionable means.
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The price we pay
for tasty ice cream
Economic indicators are signaling a
drastic shift in the price index of essen-
tial commodities here in Wallowa Coun-
ty. The purchase price of an R&R Drive-
In “baby cone” has recently skyrocketed
from 25 cents to — you might want to
sit down — 50. Fifty whole cents. To put
this in perspective, that would be like the
price of a fully grown ice cream cone go-
ing from one price to an entirely different
price that was more. And that’s how in-
lation works, kids.
Quick story. My irst summer here
I worked as a counselor for a kids pro-
gram at Joseph City Park. We did arts and
crafts, nature stuff, played lots of freeze
tag. Once in a while at the end of the
week I’d take the kids on a walk. We’d
bring along some garbage bags and clean
up litter between the park and the other
end of town. Usually we’d ind enough
cans and bottles along the way for each
youngster to cash in the deposit and buy
their own ice cream at R&R for a quarter.
The irst time we came up short on depos-
its I was going to pay the pocket change
difference, but the kids had come to re-
gard this as a quest and insisted we keep
looking until we found enough nickel de-
posits for ice cream all around. I loved
this activity. Figured we were cleaning
things up, recycling, getting exercise,
learning the value of paying our way and
also getting ice cream. I did wonder what
parents must think when they heard Jon
took their kids scrounging for cans to buy
food.
So, you see, I’ve got history with 25-
cent baby cones. Most of us probably do.
AND
FURTHERMORE
Jon Rombach
Family friends who are longtime Wal-
lowa County visitors and R&R devotees
recently came for a visit and brought the
baby cone price hike to my attention.
There was a stunned silence in the room
as they let me process the news. The only
sound was the ticking from an old clock
I’d bought at the Soroptimist Thrift Store.
Paid 25 cents, matter of fact.
Well, at least Soroptimists ... Oh, for
crying out loud. Sit back down. Or you
may want to recline on the loor for this
next bombshell. Reliable sources tell me
the Soroptimists have raised their prices
from a quarter to — take a guess — yeah,
two whole quarters. Do these people
think we’re made of quarters?
This Soroptimist price increase to 50
cents hasn’t been in place long enough
for reliable igures on how this will alter
our economy. But it appears to be a case
of going from paying next to nothing for
cool stuff to still almost next to nothing.
People talk about how far your dollar
will go in certain places and I always
thought: huh, a quarter gets you awfully
far in the county. Especially when you
consider how that army of volunteer
angels at Soroptimist plows our quar-
ters right back into local good deeds,
scholarships, ighting crime as masked
crusaders and whatever else it is they
do.
Back to the ice cream. I went to the
R&R to see for myself about this baby
cone deal. My plan was to order a baby
cone and make a show of struggling to
hand over TWO whole quarters to pay
for it, then ask the staff what the blow-
back has been, how many protesters had
been picketing the price hike, real Wood-
ward-and-Bernstein-type reporting. But
I got to R&R around 5 o’clock during
Chief Joseph Days week, so they were
plenty busy and probably didn’t have
time for my hardcore investigative jour-
nalism. Instead I just ordered a burger,
fries and a baby cone that I ate before
my food came out. You heard right. Ice
cream before dinner. I was shocked my-
self at such daring.
I talked with a friend in New York
City while I was conducting this exhaus-
tive research on the price of baby cones.
I asked how much an ice cream cone
costs in New York and she said usually
ive bucks. I almost spit out the bite of
baby cone ice cream I’d just taken, but
remembered how much it costs now and
managed to hold it in. Ever experience an
ice cream nose ache? Not recommended.
At any price.
Bottom line: paying 50 cents is still
almost like getting paid to eat ice cream
or take something home from the So-
roptimists. It may not be the screaming
deal we’re used to, but it’s still raising its
voice quite a bit.
Jon Rombach is a local columnist and
consumer advocate for The Chieftain.
County needs housing solutions
Silence is golden, but I never was one
for gold.
I have read and heard multiple takes
on whether Joseph should allow vacation
homes within city limits. Am I the only
one perplexed by our concerns? It seems
we are putting our proverbial cart not
only in front of the horse, but choosing to
power said cart with turn-down service.
I will grant you, in 2015 Wallowa
County brought in $27.6 million in tour-
ism. That’s not surprising — it is the ar-
ea’s top industry, followed at a distance
by the arts and entertainment.
To keep a small town lowing func-
tionally with out-of-town visitors, a
workforce must be maintained. Workers
require stable housing. Satisied custom-
ers are served by happy workers who feel
secure in their basic needs (food, shelter
and water). So, when concern is voiced
over people’s use of their extra or sec-
ondary home, I can’t help but shake my
head, being fully aware of the shortage
for affordable primary homes in town.
This problem doesn’t belong solely
to dishwashers, housekeepers and cooks,
Correction
Rachel Gibbs’ name was mis-
spelled in an article about the
Chief Joseph Days Court’s special
projects in our July 27 Chief Jo-
seph Days Guide.
Also, Jaycee Campbell’s name
was misspelled in our July 27
front-page article about CJD Pa-
rade Grand Marshal Char Wil-
liams.
but to business owners and profession-
al men and women, who have uprooted
their lives elsewhere to serve our com-
munity in one degree or another. So rath-
er than address a secondary concern, why
not irst secure a solid community foun-
dation? One that can house the people
employed to make tourism continue to be
our number one industry. I say, open up
the home rental market and stop driving
up home and land prices to unreachable
heights. We have the ability to clear the
path for hard-working individuals to be
able to live independently in the area
they work. Retain the charm and warm,
friendly service people expect here by
offering hope to those who keep it going.
Katie Jo Morgan
Joseph, Or
When talk will end
Over the last decade some people
now only communicate through texting.
Because humans have always adapted
to their environment over millions of
years of life on Earth, some of our abil-
LETTERS to the EDITOR
ities have been lost because of progress.
We no longer have the ability to run fast
because humans have found other ways
of escaping attack from wild animals.
We have cars that take us places instead
of walking or running physically from
place to place.
We will lose our ability to verbally
talk to one another face to face because
of the internet. We communicate digital-
ly now. It’s cheaper, less stressful and
just plain old — no one talks anymore,
only through modern technology do we
communicate.
Our children are far different now and
their art of communicating is through
texting. I suggest we take a hard look at
how the world has changed in the last
few years or we may end up losing our
physical voices forever because it will
no longer be necessary.
Mike Brink
Gresham, Ore.
Letters to the Editor Policy
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Writers should also include a phone number with their signature so we can call to
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In terms of content, writers should refrain from personal attacks. It’s acceptable,
however, to attack (or support) another party’s ideas.
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