Letters to the Editor for Jan. 20, 2010

Measures are legalized plunder

Many excellent reasons for voting no on Measures 66 and 67 have been advanced by opponents of these taxes. They are not needed, they encourage continued expansion of a bloated state government that has no spending discipline, they will result in lost jobs and they will make the cost of living higher for everyone. But these taxes are not just taxes. By singling out what is generally perceived as the more wealthy minority, the majority can endorse what amounts to state-sponsored, legalized plunder.

Imagine a community of settlers. Most of the settlers in this community own one horse to till and take care of their land. Some in their number are fortunate enough to own two horses. Those that one one horse think that it would more equitable if the “extra” horse owned by the more wealthy settlers could be used by them. Nevertheless, they are all law-abiding citizens and would never consider stealing. Some have even participated in lynching other convicted horse thieves. However, these good citizens get together and by popular vote pass a resolution that allows the local sheriff to confiscate the extra horse owned by the wealthy settlers to be used by the public.

Our economic system was founded on the idea that we all have the right to life, liberty and property. Recently this idea has come under assault as the wholesale redistribution of property has begun. Our system of government was founded on the idea that government derives its authority from those that are governed. If this is truly a government of the people, then the government should not have more authority than we as individuals have. If we as individuals do not have the right to confiscate a horse that belongs to someone else, we sure don’t have the ability to delegate that right to government. If power is given to a governing body by a group or individual that lacks the authority being conferred, despotism is the certain result.

As a state and a nation, we have already devolved too far in a descent to socialism. Please vote no on Measures 66 and 67.

Matt Kerns

Baker City

Recreation is valuable, too

I am writing in response to statements made in a letter of Jan. 4 by David Mildrexler representing the Hells Canyon Preservation Council.

I think we have to realize there are environmentalists out there that would like to limit entry to our public lands to the few that are able to enter on foot, horseback or by bicycle. I believe it would be a travesty to create wilderness, or semi-wilderness, out of any more public lands for the enjoyment of a select few. What about the vast majority that due to their age, handicaps, or general health are unable to traverse public lands except by motorized vehicles? Don’t they deserve to enjoy public lands also?

The human population in our country is growing at an alarming rate. We will need to carefully manage our forests to harvest woody material, mineral extraction, fire suppression, and livestock forage as well as habitat for wildlife. Let’s not forget human recreation. We need this too!

As for private forests providing those things in the future, forget it. Human greed is changing the way private forests are managed at an alarming rate. Large investment companies are buying private forest lands as fast as they can acquire them. They do not want these lands for long-term timber production. It is popular now to buy the land, log all the timber and then sell it for housing subdivisions, cabin sites, private hunting groups, or in other words sell it to anyone with the money to buy it. This is happening in Eastern Oregon and I suspect it is a widespread practice in our whole country.

Furthermore, don’t believe the theory that road density on public lands causes elk to chose private lands. It has been my experience that elk get used to vehicles and humans in their habitat and they are bothered very little. Too many predators such as cougars, bears and wolves, on the other hand, bother them a great deal.

Victor L. Groshens

Baker City

Measure 66: Tax bracket creep

The tax measure we will be voting on brings back bracket creep, which is a license for government to steal.

I’ll explain: If inflation were 10 percent and you were lucky enough to receive a 10 percent raise, your purchasing power would stay the same. But if you went into another tax bracket which increased your taxes by 2 percent (as in Oregon) you would lose 2 percent and the government would take it. A very clever way to increase your taxes and decrease your income without legislation.

The only way to prevent this is to index the tax brackets to the rate of inflation, and current law requires this, Measure 66 would change this, and it isn’t even mentioned in the voters’ pamphlet.

The legislators who slipped this in would say “it’s only for one bracket.” That is like saying, “I only took a few things when I broke into your house.” It’s still wrong.

We need to vote no on the Jan. 26 election to keep our tax system fair.

John Schoon

Rickreall

Former chair, House of Representatives Revenue Committee