Opinion
A4
BAKER CITY
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news@bakercityherald.com
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 • Baker City, Oregon
EDITORIAL
Can state save
$2 billion on
health care?
T
he heroes of the plan for single-payer health
care in Oregon are government employees.
Government employees will supposedly save
more than $2 billion in costs by replacing much of the
existing health insurance industry with themselves.
The idea is profit margins would be removed. Less
might be spent to process claims. Much of the work
on billing and insurance would go away.
Can state employees pull that off?
A state task force is deciding whether to recom-
mend a plan to the Legislature to do what has not
been done in any other state — have the state govern-
ment become the health insurer. The targets are better
care, more coverage of more people and better control
of costs.
Everybody would be covered, including undocu-
mented immigrants. The coverage would be roughly
equivalent to what many public employees get now.
The state system would be basically the only care
available in the state.
You would not pay a premium. You would have a
deductible and you wouldn’t be paying co-pays when
you go see the doctor.
But you and your employer would pay.
There’s recently been a change in the draft plan. The
task force isn’t going to recommend a specific strategy
of taxes to pursue to pay for the plan. That could make
it easier for people to support the plan, including leg-
islators, because it doesn’t have a tax plan directly at-
tached to it.
But that may also be somewhat misleading. The
plan is going to need billions in revenue to pay for it.
Where might it come from?
The task force identified two new taxes.
One is a new health care income tax that house-
holds would pay. It “would be based on household in-
come relative to the federal poverty level.” Households
below 200% of the federal poverty level would pay a
tax rate of 0%. Households earning 200% to 250% of
the federal poverty level would pay a rate of 1%. The
rate climbs gradually at first and then jumps up to
8.2% above 400% of the federal poverty level.
To give you a sense of what that might mean for
your family, 200% of the federal poverty level for a
family of four is an income of $55,500 in 2022.
The health care income tax would raise an esti-
mated $7.6 billion in 2026. The task force claims that
paying that tax and Medicare premiums would be less
than the premiums, deductibles and copays house-
holds are estimated to pay if the current system stayed
in place in 2026.
The second new tax is a new tax on payroll. Em-
ployers would pay it. Self-employed people would pay
it.
The tax rate would be based on employee wages.
Below $160,000 in wages a rate of 7.25% would be
paid. On wages above $160,000 a rate of 10.5% would
be paid.
That tax is estimated to bring in $12.3 billion in
2026. It is estimated to be slightly less — $170 million
less — than what employers would pay for health care
if the current system remained in place in 2026.
Before Oregon would be ready for a change like this,
some things are going to have to happen.
Legislators would have to feel like Oregonians want
it. And for that to happen, Oregonians would have to
be comfortable switching from the imperfect health
care system they know to a system with billions of dol-
lars in new taxes and put their trust in government
employees to be the health care heroes to save billions
and make it all work right.
You can read the draft plan here: tinyurl.com/
ORsinglepayer.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Baker City
Herald. Columns letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily
that of the Baker City Herald.
YOUR VIEWS
Reasoned leadership needed
at county
I am successfully self employed. I have
learned from observation and experi-
ence that it is the job of each individual to
improve upon their own financial posi-
tion in life. Contrary to what the present
“nanny state” would have to believe; it is
not the job of government to be a panacea
for your problems. The Biden administra-
tion has betrayed you with his demented
style of economics and resultant unprec-
edented spending and consequent infla-
tion. He has basically bankrupted this
country in under two years. Do you really
want the government to control your fu-
ture? Really?
If you do, plan on living in poverty, and
being sparsely fed, watered, and housed
by this disastrous socialistic administra-
tion. As Ronald Reagan so aptly said “You
are not the problem, government is the
problem.” Even John F. Kennedy, elected
by the once recognizable Democratic
Party, said, “Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what you can do for
your country.” Only hard work will give
you a financial future, affordable hous-
ing and personal success. Are you mak-
ing low wages? It may require you to live
in shared housing to get ahead, and stop
spending precious little income on cig-
arettes, alcohol, tattoos, and the newest
smartphones. Make a plan to increase
your marketable skills to increase wages;
save and work hard at your goals. Finan-
cial freedom requires work!
Locally, we have a RINO running for
Baker County Commission Position No.
3, who openly wants you to increase your
dependency on the nanny state. Rather
than have you increase your income, dig-
nity, and self sufficiency. He wants your
peers to pay for your housing. We don’t
need Portland style leadership, nor do we
need to keep spending public money that
we don’t have. Just look at the result. Read
the literature on the candidates. I did. On
November 8, I’m voting for Dan Garrick.
He is your only reasoned conservative
choice. Please give him your vote.
Darin VanDyken
Baker City
Republican press release gave
accurate account of meeting
I’m a longtime Republican PCP who reg-
ularly attends the Oregon Republican Party
state central committee meetings. I have
worked on various projects with Suzan
Jones and her team for the last 5-6 years.
I watched on Sept. 24 as Danny John-
son and Doni Bruland disrupted our
meeting in The Dalles and walked
through the various county contingents
badmouthing the duly elected contingent
from Baker County. There is no room for
this kind of behavior in our meetings. The
credentialing team voted 7-0 that John-
son and Bruland were not duly elected in
Baker County. They had violated many
tenets of the county bylaws.
Suzan Ellis Jones and her team are
known throughout the state as being
some of the most effective, knowledge-
able leaders in our party. It was very clear
that these “newly elected” agitators had
no working knowledge of how our polit-
ical system or our party works. What an
embarrassment!
Your recent article in the Baker City
Herald gives a very distorted and inaccu-
rate view of what really happened. I hope
that you will print the actual press release
put out by the Baker County Republicans
because it is accurate information. There
were over 100 people there that can verify
the accuracy of the press release.
Carol Williams
Silverton
Saying thanks to all
the helpers after house fire
We are writing to say how grateful we
are for the wonderful response of this
community to our recent house fire.
The Baker City Fire Department’s
quick arrival greatly limited flame ad-
vance, starting with a blast of water from
the street that quenched a lot of fire in the
living room, and seeing it though to ex-
tinguishment.
This was followed by the Red Cross,
Baker medics, the city manager, the fire
marshal, and a wave of concerned friends
and neighbors, with gifts of clothing, ma-
terials to board up the vacant windows,
places to stay, and so much more.
This all reminds us of the widely
known quote from Mr. Rogers: “When
I was a boy and I would see scary things
in the news, my mother would say to me,
‘Look for the helpers. You will always find
people who are helping.’ ”
Thank you, Baker City helpers!
Marshall McComb and Donna Landon
Baker City
COLUMN
How the Fed is flattening your wallet
BY E.J. ANTONI
A
common sound bite today is that
the Federal Reserve’s recent inter-
est rate hike is pushing the nation
toward recession. But that’s like beginning
a book on page 813. The origin of today’s
economic malaise is prolonged and mas-
sive federal budget deficits, combined
with a Fed willing to finance those deficits.
That’s precisely what we’ve seen for the last
two years.
Many on the political left flat-out deny
this reality, but many on the political right
misunderstand what’s happening as well.
The combination of fiscal and monetary
policy is subtler and more complex than
simple but shallow political talking points.
One such hackneyed phrase is that the
Fed “sets” interest rates. Not exactly. The
Fed sets the rate it charges for short-term
loans to financial institutions, but it can
only target other rates outside of its direct
control. That means the Fed acts to in-
fluence rates, not set them, with the most
watched interest rate being what banks
charge each other for short-term loans.
The Fed influences this rate by buying
and selling financial securities (debt in-
struments). When everyone else buys and
sells those same securities, money merely
changes hands, but when the Fed does it,
money is created or extinguished.
This phenomenon occurs because the
Fed’s monetary account has no balance in
it, so when the Fed writes checks from its
account, the money is literally created, like
cash off a printing press. Likewise, when
money enters the account from outside, the
money vanishes, like cash going into a fire;
the account’s balance is perpetually zero.
By this mechanism, the Fed can theoret-
ically flood the market with cash in times
of crisis, avoiding panic-inducing bank
runs. Likewise, the Fed can then soak up
that excess liquidity as soon as financial
markets have stabilized, avoiding inflation.
But today’s Fed lacks the discipline to
turn the theory into reality.
No man can serve two masters, and the
same is true for institutions like the Fed.
Instead of maintaining a laser focus on
inflation, it has been preoccupied with ap-
peasing Congress and the Biden admin-
istration, kowtowing to left-wing talking
points on topics like diversity. Worse still,
the Fed has financed the profligate spend-
ing in Washington by creating money for
two years, and that has caused inflation.
Even as the Fed dilatorily acts to douse
the inflation fire it started, it is working at
cross-purposes to continue federal deficit
spending. That’s because the Fed is target-
ing interest rates and not inflation rates —
another subtle difference.
As the federal government continues
racking up debt, it is constantly borrowing
billions of dollars, draining that money out
of capital markets. As savings (loanable
funds) become scarcer, their price rises;
that price is known as the interest rate.
When the government borrows more
money, it drives up the interest rate, and
the Fed must add liquidity (print more
money) to prevent interest rates from in-
creasing above its target. Consequently,
the Fed’s approach of targeting interest
rates in the face of mounting government
deficits and debt has had a minimal im-
pact on inflation. The Fed is robbing Peter
to pay Paul.
But the Fed is slowly catching on, as
it has in the past, and is targeting ev-
er-higher interest rates in response to the
never-ending borrowing by Congress and
the president. Squeezing excess money
from the economy will tame inflation, but
the collateral damage, as it always has been
under the Fed, is recession. The downturn
will be borne by American families.
As interest rates rise, borrowing costs
increase. When people with adjust-
able-rate mortgages see their monthly pay-
ments balloon to unaffordable levels, those
homeowners quickly realize that they do
not own their homes after all.
Foreclosures are already rising. Credit
card debt, which has been growing at
some of the fastest rates on record, also be-
comes unaffordable as interest charges on
outstanding balances explode.
American families, already strapped for
cash after inflation ate away their dispos-
able incomes, now have less money left
to cover ever-growing interest charges on
auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt,
student loans and more. Unable to afford
as much as before, the consumer must re-
duce spending — something Washington
should be doing.
Since consumer spending accounts for
about three-quarters of GDP, this con-
tracts the economy, leading to layoffs and
unemployment. The unemployed have
even less money to spend, exacerbating
the problem. Thus, we arrive at the down-
ward spiral, which is already underway.
Ultimately, government borrowing fi-
nanced by the Fed begets higher interest
rates, which in turn beget recession. The
tree of a prodigal federal government is
bearing its rotten fruit, and Americans will
be forced to eat the bitter produce.
E.J. Antoni is a research fellow at The Heritage
Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis and a senior
fellow at Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1111; to send
comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office: 313 Hart Senate Office
Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753;
fax 202-228-3997. Portland office: One World Trade Center, 121
S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386;
fax 503-326-2900. Baker City office, 1705 Main St., Suite 504,
541-278-1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office: 221 Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-
228-2717. La Grande office: 105 Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR
97850; 541-962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. office: 1239
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515,
202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. Medford office: 14 N. Central
Avenue Suite 112, Medford, OR 97850; Phone: 541-776-4646;
fax: 541-779-0204; Ontario office: 2430 S.W. Fourth Ave., No. 2,
Ontario, OR 97914; Phone: 541-709-2040. bentz.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. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem office: 900 Court
St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730. Email: Sen.
LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem office: 900 Court
St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460. Email: Rep.
MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov