Letters to the editor for October 23, 2008

Published 3:03 pm Thursday, October 23, 2008

Not buying Obama’s tax plan

To the editor:

In recent TV commercials, Senator Obama promises not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. But what the senator doesn’t tell us is that he and his Democratic congressional colleagues plan to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire. Most Democrats didn’t vote for them in the first place, and ever since, Democrats have been calling them “tax cuts for the rich.” But if the Bush tax cuts do lapse, the 70 percent of Americans who pay taxes will find their tax burden increase significantly, not just the rich. It would amount to the largest tax increase in American history. So much for that Obama promise. The senator is not giving us the straight scoop. He’s just telling us what he thinks we want to hear.

Senator Obama also proposes a number of new government programs. These programs would quickly grow to cost $800 billion a year. The senator says he will pay for these new programs by increasing taxes on those making over $250,000 a year. The trouble is, Senator Obama could take every single penny of income from the rich, and not begin to pay for all of his proposals. There just aren’t that many rich people in the United States.

Taxes on everybody would have to be increased. People in countries where programs like Obama’s are already in place, such as Sweden, pay over half of their income to the government. If you want Swedish-style social programs, you have to fund them with Swedish-level taxes. None of this should surprise us. After all, the Democrats are the party for whom the term “tax and spend liberal” was coined.

Pete Sundin

Baker City

Kerns the right choice for county

To the editor:

Please join me in voting for Tim Kerns for Baker County Commissioner. Tim’s experience and knowledge of the community are excellent reasons to support him. He understands the issues facing Baker County and has worked hard to address them.

But I am also impressed by how community-minded Tim and the Kerns Rainbow Ranch are. For example, each year, Tim donates potatoes to Community Connections and other local food banks. The ranch also won the Baker County Chamber of Commerce’s “Excellence in Agriculture Award” in 2007.

Baker County voters are fortunate to have someone like Tim to help lead our County government.

Charles Hofmann

Baker City

Teacher measure a bad idea

To the editor:

This November voters have a long list of ballot measures to read and analyze, many brought by racketeer Bill Sizemore. One of his bad ideas is Ballot Measure 60, pay for performance.

Ballot Measure 60 is vague, poorly worded, and full of unintended consequences. It does not define how teachers’ performance will be measured, even though their jobs and pay depend on it. It does not define who is judging teachers or how they are being judged, which could leave critical decisions about our local schools in the hands of Salem bureaucrats.

Ballot Measure 60 is unfair to students and teachers. Measure 60 will unfairly punish teachers who take on the most challenging assignments. Teachers who work in low-income areas or have a lot of special education students will be paid less because their students may not do as well on standardized tests.

Measure 60 shortchanges our students. Instead of teaching kids to think, solve problems, and develop the skills they need to succeed, teachers will focus on preparing students to do better on standardized tests since their pay will be based on test scores. It does not define student performance, so we have no way of assessing teachers’ impact on their students.

Worst of all, Ballot Measure 60 takes money away from where our schools need it most andndash; in the classroom. Measure 60 may cost millions of dollars a year to implement. This is money better spent reinvesting in smaller class sizes, adding back lost programs, hiring more teachers, fixing leaky roofs or buying new textbooks.

Please join me in voting NO on Ballot Measure 60.

Jamey Hardy

Baker City

Let’s let Tim Kerns continue in his role

To the editor:

I’m recommending that we re-elect Tim Kerns to his position as county commissioner.

As we might have correctly expected, based on Tim and his family’s multi-generational agricultural background, he assumed a point position on this past year’s “hopper” infestation and forest road closure issues. What we might have been surprised at was his grasp of the social service issues that came before the commissioners, specifically their oversight responsibilities of Mountain Valley Mental Health and recommendation of New Direction Northwest’s request to build a new “Recovery Village” facility.

Understanding the complexity of the structure of a publicly funded, private nonprofit organization is very tricky. This became evident to all of us after watching a small, misguided minority of our citizens attempt to encourage Tim and his fellow commissioners to micromanage MVMH. Thankfully, the commission ejected that temptation and fulfilled its responsibility very appropriately.

Similarly, they diligently researched NDN’s request for a community block grant to build a safer, more efficient building in which to treat chemically dependent women with small children.

Lastly, I believe it’s important to consider how Tim, Fred Warner Jr. and Dr. Carl Stiff go about doing the county’s business. These men have formed a cohesive, effective non-confrontational team that is truly focused on doing the right thing for Baker County.

Let’s let Tim continue doing his part.

Mike Durgan

Baker City

Obama can’t fulfill his promises

To the editor:

Barack has consistently stated there are 50 million uninsured in America he will cover under his medical plan. He stated the cost at $12,800 per family.

Assuming a family of three, that makes about 15,000,000 families for a total of $192 billion per year – almost twice as much as the Iraq war costs yearly. Leaving Iraq will not cover the cost but could soon run the cost of gasoline up to more than $10 per gallon because of Middle East turmoil. Not good.

Obama’s plan is to make your employer pay for this cost. What would your boss do if you told him you wanted a $12,800 raise or the government was going to fire him?

Jobs are not shipped out of the country by greedy businessmen. They are driven out by overtaxation, excess union demands, excess environmental standards and regulation. Other countries don’t have these burdens on companies.

Obama says he will renegotiate trade agreements to prevent this. Imported products are cheap because some foreign companies are not over- regulated or overtaxed. If Obama curtails imported products to protect your job, those $10 Kmart shoes will soon cost $100 or more. Everything will inflate in cost rapidly. Canada and Mexico can just sell their oil to Japan instead of us.

For years both parties have been unable to fix the Medicare problem. It is threatening to bankrupt the nation. Medicare cost $329.9 billion last year to insure 45 million people. It will cost the same to insure 50 million more. The fact is, this country is in deep financial trouble caused by political pandering to unqualified home buyers by Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae.

It is virtually impossible for Obama to fulfill these promises. Guess what? The pot is empty. However, the country can be driven to a deep and long depression by further pandering to the handout crowd. This generation doesn’t know what hard times are.

Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, the main cause of the current financial collapse, contributed about $300,000 to Democrat senators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, whose job it was to regulate them. Obama only got $105,849. He’s new yet. Wise up.

Jerry Huddleston

Baker City

Re-elect Tim Kerns to commission

To the editor:

In Baker County we have a candidate who merits your vote; a candidate who fits the bill to continue to provide good leadership and a voice of reason to county politics: Tim Kerns.

Tim is a lifelong Baker County resident and an OSU graduate, with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. As a former manager of a county department, and a veteran of many Baker County Planning Commission, and County Commission meetings, I have observed Tim to be a man who possesses a keen sense of balance between maintaining the agricultural and rural environmental quality of this County while understanding the need for planned growth. He brings a refreshing sense of reason to his review of ordinances and appeals which often have a “cookie cutter” approach to situations which require careful consideration, given the nuances each particular homeowner’s or developer’s land use application brings.

Additionally, Tim and the other commissioners have done a good job maintaining a positive balance sheet for the County, during fiscally challenging times when other public and private entities are struggling to survive. He is a visionary, with a solid track record of exemplary success as a business man and rancher, and he uses those talents to garner economic opportunities for the future of this County. More importantly, Tim and his colleagues listen and apply a “reasonable man standard” within the context of the law, to any problem brought before them. Tim is an approachable man, a man of consideration, and we are fortunate to have his proven talents at work for us in County government. He is the right man for the job, and Tim is right where he belongs. Let’s give back to him the consideration and devotion he has given to us. Keep Tim working for you and Baker County. Re-elect Tim Kerns to the Baker County Commission..

Don Williams

Baker City

Who’s afraid of a fair election?

To the editor:

The first time a Randy Joseph campaign sign was vandalized at a friend’s house, it was ripped in half and the stake was broken. The fourth time, the perp drove on the lawn and ran over both signs. Are the good-old-boys so afraid of losing their power and perks in a free and fair election that they are compelled to commit criminal acts?

Speaking of good-old-boys, two are running for City Council – Milo Pope and Terry Schumacher. Mr. Pope knows the rules of the club, the main one being that if you don’t agree with them, then in his words, you are an “opinionated nincompoop,” akin to a dog barking in the night. If nothing else, his canine analogy displays a profound contempt for the participatory democratic process. He and the City Manager, whom he supports, are on the same wavelength there. Pope was asked to run by Councilor Bryan, one of Baker City’s premier crony capitalists, just recently appointed County Marketing Director without having to compete. Pope also served on the board of Mountain Valley Mental Health with his friend Dr. Levinger, and both opposed serious inquiry into its mismanagement.

Councilor Schumacher, who brought Baker County the fabulous Thunder Mountain Motorsports Park, also seeks our votes. Although both Gail Duman and Beverly Calder received hundreds more votes than he did, Shumacher has repeatedly attacked “these women” when they have tried to have public discussion of matters important to their constituents. While Gail Duman attempted to contain the City Manager’s profligate spending by voting against the proposed budget, Mr. Schumacher went right along. Instead of focusing on City business, he used Council time to inappropriately campaign against Mrs. Duman during a meeting. He, alone among Councilors, even supported mandatory garbage collection. You have to wonder if God would vote for someone who tried to require the poor to pay for garbage service even when they responsibly dispose of their garbage.

If you support common sense, fiscal responsibility, open transparent government and respect for the public’s participation in the public’s business, vote for Gail Duman, Clair Button, and Aletha Bonebrake for Council.

Christopher Christie

Baker City