A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Pain in the
21st century
to fi x problems
from 20th
T
he good news is
Gov. Kate Brown
fi nally has a plan
for putting PERS on solid
fi nancial footing. The bad
news is that it includes
pushing SAIF off that solid
ground, as well as taking
most of Oregonians’ tax
“kicker” refund next year.
Brown says her proposal
has something for anyone
to like and to dislike. She is
correct. The Oregon Edu-
cation Association immedi-
ately screamed that she was
trying to cut teachers’ sal-
aries. That is false. Brown
wants public employees to
accept a slight reduction in
their future pensions so as to
help pay the unfunded actu-
arial liability of the Oregon
Public Employees Retire-
ment System.
The governor calls her
proposal “shared responsi-
bility.” Shared pain is more
like it.
PERS’ inadequate fund-
ing is not the fault of every-
day Oregonians or of cur-
rent public employees. No,
the blame lies with the 20th
century legislators and union
leaders who disregarded
president — and other legis-
lators were assured in 1982
that their bipartisan raid on
SAIF was legal.
As now, state offi cials at
the time said SAIF had far
more reserves than neces-
sary for future claims and
thus could easily weather
the Legislature’s intrusion.
Maybe. But SAIF’s sales
plummeted, sending it into a
years-long tailspin. It turns
out that companies don’t
like to do business with an
insurer whose money can be
taken on a whim by the Leg-
islature. Meanwhile, SAIF’s
top offi cials were so angry
— for good reason — that
they quit and formed a com-
peting, private workers’
compensation carrier that
took a signifi cant share of
SAIF’s business.
As justifi cation for a new
raid on SAIF, the gover-
nor and her cohorts point
out that Oregon has some
of the lowest workers’ com-
pensation rates in the nation
and the highest rate of div-
idends being paid back to
employers.
Isn’t that what we want
— accident prevention being
more effective, employ-
THE GOVERNOR CALLS HER
PROPOSAL “SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.”
SHARED PAIN IS MORE LIKE IT.
how bloated PERS retire-
ment obligations possessed
the potential to undermine
state, school and local gov-
ernment budgets.
Brown’s suggestion to
take all but $100 of each
Oregonian’s kicker refund
will draw howls from tax-
payers. It certainly is one
way to spread the PERS
solution — and pain —
among all Oregonians. But it
smacks of class warfare, just
like many other ideas in the
Democrat-dominated Ore-
gon Capitol. Any person,
any business and any orga-
nization that makes much
money seems to be under
attack.
The governor’s suggested
raid on the State Accident
Insurance Fund is a perfect
and unfortunate example.
Legislators in 1982 illegally
raided the semi-public work-
ers’ compensation carrier,
taking $81 million to prop
up the state budget.
After being forced to
repay that money with inter-
est, the Legislature learned
from its mistake by subse-
quently making it legal in
the future to raid SAIF sur-
plus reserves. Brown and
legislators considering her
plan apparently didn’t learn
much else. They are seduced
by lawyers’ advice that the
new raid would be legal, just
as then-Rep. Peter Courtney,
D-Salem — now the Senate
ers paying less for coverage
and SAIF customers getting
rebates on some of their pre-
miums, plus interest earned?
That sounds like a well-run
program, unlike PERS.
A legitimate argument can
be made for SAIF to work
with school districts on low-
ering their workers’ compen-
sation premiums. However,
school districts are not the
only public agencies facing
soaring PERS rates. Rural
public employers, especially
fi re districts, are especially
hard hit.
Meanwhile, Brown is
dead-set against offering
current and future public
employees a defi ned contri-
bution plan, like a 401(k),
as a complete alternative to
PERS’ defi ned benefi t. She
is wrong. So, too, are the
legislators whose solution
is to merely extend PERS’
debt over more years, hold-
ing down the yearly cost to
employers but increasing the
overall cost.
There is more to Brown’s
plan, including her idea of
diverting estate and capital
gains taxes to pay for PERS.
Such taxes are absurdly high
in Oregon, but at least this
way they would go for a
good purpose.
Still, the best that can be
said about Brown’s proposal
is that it is a proposal — not
necessarily a wise or innova-
tive proposal.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
FARMER’S FATE
Life is short, the world is wide
Shirts. Check.
I held hands as
ing in the snow, taking pictures
Jeans. Check.
we breathed in
of monkeys that were relaxing
Underwear. Check.
the first scents of
in natural rock pools of warm
water, sandwiched between two
Snacks. Check.
vacation. I know
snowy mountain peaks — who
Books for the plane. Check.
there are many
were the real monkeys?
A yo-yo, piano music, bub-
people who don’t
Traveling isn’t always pretty
ble bath and the family cat?
believe in God,
Brianna
(sometimes it’s dirty train sta-
Whoever says you can’t take
but at the first
Walker
tion floors), it isn’t always
it all has obviously never seen
patch of rough
comfortable (just check out the
a 3-year-old pack for a vaca-
turbulence, it
blisters on your feet), some-
tion. Looking pleased with him- seems everyone’s hoping there
self, my toddler tries to zip up
is a higher power, and whenever times it even hurts (arm strain
the luggage. I quickly take over, we land safely, we always seem from carrying a sleeping 3-year-
old for miles), but that’s OK.
thanking him for such a great
to offer him a little something.
The journey changes you. You
effort. He smiles — job com-
We did the temples. We did
can shake the dust from your
pleted — then runs off to see
the shrines. Mt. Fuji, the sui-
shoes of each place you’ve been
if he can help his older brother
cide forest, ice caves and food.
— but those dust fragments will
pack. I waited until his little
We ate a lot of food. And like
never leave your
blonde head
memory. Travel-
was no lon-
ing also allows
ger in sight
you to learn new
before push-
TRAVELING ISN’T ALWAYS PRETTY
things. While
ing the cat out
(SOMETIMES IT’S DIRTY TRAIN STATION reading a book
of the bag and
one morning, I
emptying the
FLOORS), IT ISN’T ALWAYS COMFORT-
came across a
majority of its
ABLE (JUST CHECK OUT THE BLISTERS word I wasn’t
contents.
familiar with.
The sev-
ON YOUR FEET), SOMETIMES IT EVEN
“Most women
enth rule of
in Amsterdam
the Dalai
HURTS (ARM STRAIN FROM CARRYING
in 1680 were
Lama’s Rules
A SLEEPING 3-YEAR-OLD FOR MILES),
proibido.”
of Life says
Lacking a dic-
“Once a year,
BUT THAT’S OK. THE JOURNEY CHANGES tionary,
I asked
go some-
where you’ve
YOU. YOU CAN SHAKE THE DUST FROM my husband to
look it up on his
never been
YOUR SHOES OF EACH PLACE YOU’VE phone. “Proi-
before.” I’m
— a Por-
not Buddhist,
BEEN — BUT THOSE DUST FRAGMENTS bido”
tuguese word for
but I love
prohibited.
this piece of
WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR MEMORY.
“I can’t believe
advice. So
you didn’t know
this year we
that!” my husband
bought tick-
ets for Japan. I’ve always said
all great travelers, we saw more ribbed.
“Ha,” I laughed, “I sup-
we need to take vacations. We
than we remember, and we
pose you are up on your
can always make more money.
remember more than we saw!
Portuguese?”
But we cannot always make
Our kids enjoyed driving on
“Not as much as I should be,
memories.
the “wrong” side of the road,
considering I am Portuguese.”
With our bags finally packed, from the “wrong” side of the
I was stunned. Traveling defi -
the sheep lambed out, good-
car and driving with “wrong”
nitely lets you learn new things.
byes said to all our pets and
speeds (kilometers). As we
Like how your husband of 14
my father-in-law’s American
filled up the gas tank one after-
years is half Portuguese and his
Express card tucked next to
noon, my husband was mutter-
grandfather was Basque!
our passports (I’ve heard one
ing about how dumb kilome-
But of all the books I’ve ever
should never leave home with-
ters were. I tried to convince
read, the best stories are always
out it), we finally stepped into
him that since kilometers were
found between the pages of a
the airport where we voluntarily shorter than miles, we were
submit to being scanned, patted, actually saving gas, and that we passport: where your feet are
dirty, your hair is messy and
searched and glared at for try-
should always take our trips in
your eyes are sparkling with
ing to smuggle mascara through kilometers. It didn’t work.
life. I don’t know all the ques-
our luggage without putting it
We saw the snow mon-
tions, but travel is definitely the
into a clear plastic bag.
keys sitting in hot tubs. They
answer!
Finally settled into our seats, laughed and hissed at us —
Brianna Walker occasionally
the kids snuggled up in the air-
with good reason. As I looked
writes about the Farmer’s Fate
line blankets, eye masks and
around, I saw all manner of
for the Blue Mountain Eagle.
slippers, and my husband and
cold, frozen humans, stand-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
John Day should
spend money fi xing
potholes
To the Editor:
My compliments to Pete Het-
tinga and Rusty Clark for express-
ing the thoughts of
many of us in Grant
County (in previous letters).
The massive projects pro-
posed by the city manager are
unnecessary, too expensive and
frivolous.
More important to all who
drive the streets of John Day
are the potholes. Yes, the pot-
holes in the streets getting
deeper and dangerous. The
money needs to be spent fixing
potholes!
Harriet Crum
John Day
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