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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2019)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019 Baker City, Oregon 4A Write a letter news@bakercityherald.com EDITORIAL Coming in from the cold A cold wind will likely be blowing Thursday, but there is no reason why anyone in Baker County should not sit down to a steaming hot Thanksgiving meal among pleasant company. This holiday is a favorite for comedians, who often employ the Thanksgiving dinner table as the ideal setting for jokes about family dysfunction. Humor aside, the point is that this is a day when families gather. But of course not everyone will have a chance to celebrate with relatives. We are fortunate, though, to live in a community with a goodly number of generous residents — people who, on occasions such as Thanksgiving, seek to ensure that everyone, whatever their circumstances, has a chance to share good food and companionship. Your options on Thursday include: • Inaugural NE Oregon Regional Thanksgiving Day Gathering & Potluck, Churchill School Dance- hall, Broadway and 16th streets in Baker City, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. • Free Thanksgiving dinner at the Calvary Baptist Church, Third and Broadway streets in Baker City, 3 p.m. • Thanksgiving dinner at the New Bridge Grange, noon. In addition to a dinner provided by the Grange featuring turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy, every- one is invited to bring a side dish and dessert, and then stay after dinner for games including pinochle, dominoes, Yahtzee, Monopoly and other games that participants bring. For many people it’s a daunting prospect to attend an event at an unfamiliar venue, one where you probably won’t know anybody. But those who overcome their trepidation might receive something more in exchange for their cour- age than just a nice meal. A friendship is a gift that continues to enrich your life long after you’ve forgot- ten how good the pumpkin pie tasted. — Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor Letters to the editor • We welcome letters on any issue of public interest. Customer complaints about specifi c businesses will not be printed. • The Baker City Herald will not knowingly print false or misleading claims. However, we cannot verify the accuracy of all statements in letters to the editor. • Letters are limited to 350 words; longer letters will be edited for length. Writers are limited to one letter every 15 days. • The writer must sign the letter and include an address and phone number (for verifi cation only). Letters that do not include this information cannot be published. • Letters will be edited for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. Mail: To the Editor, Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814 Email: news@bakercityherald.com Punishing financial success “The demonization of wealth in this country is mind-blowing. Now all suc- cess is scrutinized. Merely to succeed, especially fi nancially, invites scrutiny, judgment, abuse.” That statement didn’t come from a conservative pundit or a Wall Street banker. It came from none other than actor Alec Baldwin, a liberal activ- ist with strong ties to the Democratic Party. When the man who plays Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” double balks at the over-the-top, anti-wealth rhetoric coming from many of the Democratic presidential candidates these days, there’s clearly some trouble ahead. Elizabeth Warren, chief anti-success antagonist, is pushing a wealth tax. Last week, sounding as if it were her civic duty, she started running a wealth tax ad, outing the net worth of four top business leaders while disparaging them personally. Not to be outdone in taxing the rich, Bernie Sanders has even raised the idea of a “wealth registry.” What could possibly go wrong with putting federal bureaucrats in charge of defi ning and designating success and thereby who makes the list? In August, Forbes published a list of the net worth of all presidential candi- dates. Not surprisingly, Trump came in fi rst, with an estimated wealth of $3.1 billion. But what is more interesting is the fact that most of the current top tier of Democratic presidential candidates can hardly call themselves middle class. Budding populist Warren can claim a net worth somewhere in the neighbor- hood of $12 million, Joe Biden comes in at $9 million and Sanders at $2.5 million. Add the wealth of billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer and multi- millionaires John Delaney and Michael Bennet, and you’ve got the makings of one blockbuster hedge fund. Pete But- tigieg may be surging in Iowa, but his meager net worth of $100,000 puts him at the bottom of the pack fi nancially. But for all the Democrats’ anti-wealth rhetoric coming from the campaign trail, amazingly, fi ve of their presidential candidates have gotten contributions from 30 or more billionaires. Kamala Harris took the top spot with contribu- tions from 46 billionaires. Of the leading candidates, Biden takes the prize with 44 billionaires giving to his campaign, with Buttigieg right behind with 39 bil- lionaire supporters. Even Warren and Sanders managed a few uber-rich contributors. DAVID WINSTON The truth is the loudest voices argu- ing the moral imperative of wealth re- distribution are, in fact, wealthy, at least by most people’s defi nition of the term. If the Democrats running for president spend the next year talking about all the evils foisted on the American people by the wealthy, most of them would be talking, in effect, about themselves. It won’t take long for middle-class voters to fi gure this out. Calling out hypocrisy In a Pittsburgh focus group back during the tax reform debate of 2017, an independent voter zeroed in on mil- lionaire socialist Sanders’ anti-wealth hypocrisy and personal tax rate: “Bernie Sanders, who’s preaching all this, he pays 13%. ... I’m like, ‘How can you preach anything? You’re not paying what I’m paying.’ I don’t fault anybody for having money. I think that’s great. But they should pay at least what we’re paying.” There has long been frustration and anger over profi t levels in certain industries and dissatisfaction over pay disparities between media stars and professional athletes and other worthy, underpaid professions like teachers and nurses. The American people don’t look kindly on excess, and they are no fans of Wall Street or Hollywood. Arguments over income inequality defi nitely have resonance outside the Democratic base. But beyond far-left circles, there doesn’t appear to be a burning, organically grown movement to redistribute other people’s money. What I do hear a lot more from voters is deep skepticism of politicians like Sanders and Warren, as that Pittsburgh voter described, “preaching” about wealth redistribution to fund more “free” government programs, which voters know won’t be free at all. This is made all the more hypocritical by the levels of personal wealth enjoyed by the presidential candidates promoting those concepts. Centrist, middle-class voters are rightfully suspicious of politicians telling them that a million dollars is OK but a billion dollars isn’t. This approach lets these wealthy candidates tell voters, “You’re OK, but I’m OK too.” What they miss is that they are making the wrong argument. People aren’t against success. Eco- nomic improvement isn’t lowering the income of someone else but being able to increase your family’s income. They want fairness, yes, and an opportunity to rise, but most are more interested in getting from $75,000 to $90,000 a year or $100,000 to $125,000. They want the chance to succeed. And experience and instinct tells them that tax-the-rich schemes somehow always make their way to the middle class, directly or indirectly. Waving the red fl ag There are still some Democrats, however, who see the inherent fl aw in this kind of economic warfare, ginned up to drive more division and fund new trillion-dollar government programs. Rahm Emanuel warned his fellow Democrats in a recent Politico op-ed that Democratic candidates who won tough contests in 2018 and 2019 “spoke to is- sues that middle-class voters face every day” and “didn’t embrace pie-in-the-sky policy ideas or propose a smorgasbord of new entitlements.” He then posed a critical question: “Why aren’t our leading presidential candidates looking to replicate that suc- cess?” before going on to say, “There’s a gaping disconnect between that success- ful playbook and the strategic choices on display during the ongoing presidential primary debates.” Emanuel understands that these “strategic choices on display” may put Democrats in danger of making this a historic economic election with the issue of wealth distribution, driven by wealthy Democratic candidates, at the center of it all. Ultimately, economic arguments and taxes will return this country to its center-right roots faster than almost any other issue I’ve observed over time. Given what’s coming out of the prima- ries, this Democratic fi eld of mostly mil- lionaires has chosen a class-based strat- egy, pitting American against American based on wealth, not understanding that by doing so they will inevitably push the debate to the economic playing fi eld, where Republicans have a distinct advantage — if they are willing to defend their economic principles. David Winston is the president of The Winston Group and a longtime adviser to congressional Republicans. He previously served as the director of planning for Speaker Newt Gingrich. He advises Fortune 100 companies, foundations and nonprofi t organizations on strategic planning and public policy issues, and is an election analyst for CBS News. CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS President Donald Trump: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; fax 202-456-2461; to send comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov/contact. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce: One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Pendleton offi ce: 310 S.E. Second St. Suite 105, Pendleton 97801; 541-278-1129; merkley.senate.gov. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717. La Grande offi ce: 105 Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541- 962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd District): D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202- 225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 1211 Washington Ave., La Grande, OR 97850; 541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.house.gov. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov. Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.treasurer@ ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97301- 3896; 503-378-4000. Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400. Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and information are available online at www.leg.state.or.us. State Sen. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. N.E., S-301, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730. District offi ce: P.O. Box 1027, Ontario, OR 97914; 541-889-8866. State Rep. Lynn Findley (R-Vale): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460. Email: Rep. LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. Mike Downing, Loran Joseph, Randy Schiewe, Lynette Perry, Arvid Andersen, Ken Gross and Doni Bruland. Baker City administration: 541-523-6541. Fred Warner Jr., city manager; Ray Duman, police chief; John Clark, fi re chief; Michelle Owen, public works director. Baker County Commission: Baker County Courthouse 1995 3rd St., Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets the fi rst and third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.; Bill Harvey (chair), Mark Bennett, Bruce Nichols. Baker County departments: 541-523-8200. Travis Ash, sheriff; Jeff Smith, roadmaster; Alice Durfl inger, county treasurer; Stefanie Kirby, county clerk; Kerry Savage, county assessor.
