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EvMack's comments:
on Unemployed for Ages
We have a large manufacturing firm in our community. According to their manager, around 60% of the people who get to the job offer stage are unable to be hired because they fail a drug test. No kidding. But the employer can't report this to the unemployment office, so those who are on UI keep collecting benefits.
Now I am all for UI for those who are truly looking for work, but employers should be able to report if someone is making themselves ineligible for work of their own accord.
posted 1 year, 5 months ago
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on A Mighty Wind in Union County
I've stood right at the base of a wind tower and it made less noise than my neighbor's air conditioner. Less noise than a barking dog a block away. Waaaaaaaaaay less noise than a Harley, or one of those "high school Hondas."
People like cheap power, as long as they don't have to see how we get it. The oil spill in the gulf had zero impact on our demand for oil, because the environmental disaster was not felt locally. Very few people made the connection between increasing demand for power and the consequences that come with it.
posted 1 year, 6 months ago
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on Keeping the Faith
I would like to think that I am a good person, but the urge to do so does not come from any sort of spiritual guidance. It's just the right thing to do. I have temptations just like everybody else; I give into the little ones but not the big ones because my conscience guides me.
Many, if not all religions, inspire people to "be good." But let's face it, almost all religious texts and ideals were not written by a god - they were written by men. They were written to explain the unexplainable, and to provide some sort of moral background to guide people toward the positive ideals that existed in their day. And since they were written by men, in an era when men essentially owned women (and sometimes slaves as well), they had no interest in letting go of that power. If there is a god (or gods), I find it doubtful that we could assign those gods a race or gender.
I agree with all those things that essentially say we should "do good." However, I simply can't believe that there exists a god somewhere. And if there is a god, it most certainly did not create us in its image. We need religion, or something like it, to keep us from being what we really are: animals who act based on very basic carnal needs and emotion, not rationality. We need some sort of structure to keep us from destroying ourselves, and in my humble opinion, religion is only maintaining a fragile balance between peace and complete breakdown of our society. Not from gays or atheists or female preachers any other target du jour, but from people who practice different religions (that includes both Christians and Muslims, among others). "I'm right, you must die!" No, I'm right, you must die!"
I think Loni said it pretty well, but could not resist throwing in my own two cents. Of course, Bill and Ted said it pretty well too: "Be excellent to one another."
posted 1 year, 7 months ago
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on What Are Workers Worth?
I'm a public employee (City Planner). Although there are similar jobs in the private sector, many government-specific positions are simply not duplicated in the private sector. It is a very unique skill-set; in some cases one that cannot be learned quickly. Believe me, my graduate school education in no way prepared me for this.
People who say government should be run like a business have never worked in government. We can't simply change our mind one day and do something different. The systems put in place to ensure consistency and transparancy don't allow it. If we don't have a plan in place before we do anything, people jump all over us for being reckless.
Yes, there is corruption out there. It's everywhere. But it's not caused by government. It's caused by people, some of whom happen to work in government. You just don't hear about it in the private sector because they are better equipped to keep that sort of thing under wraps. I have yet to see any sort of corruption (by public employees) in my experience with multiple Oregon jurisdictions. Some of the behavior I have witnessed and heard about by elected officials, however, would not meet such a high standard.
We should be thankful that corruption in Oregon is the exception to the rule here in Oregon, and that includes public employee pay. You get what you pay for, and in my experience the taxpayers of Oregon are getting a fair shake.
Those who would suggest we drastically cut pay for public employees will get a quick lesson in supply and demand economics. Government jobs will no longer be desired, which means that good employees will leave in search of better opportunities. Before you know it, the only people left in government will be there because nobody else wants those jobs. Think of all the migrant workers out in the fields because nobody else wants the work...that's who will fill government jobs if wages are not competitive.
posted 1 year, 11 months ago
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on The Economics of the Death Penalty
What about the economics of the prison system?
What about the costs to offer free room and board to people, sometimes for life?
If our taxes are going to support them, they should be working for us. Eight hours of hard labor every day would be an acceptable tradeoff for our investment in them.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on North Coast Wal-Mart
I once heard someone say "If there must be a Wal-Mart, hope that it comes to your town instead of a neighboring town. Because at least when it comes to your town you'll have one business left."
Wal-Mart has lowered consumer expectations of what shopping shuold be. Everything has become a commodity whose primary selling factor is price. Quality has become secondary, and customer service is a distant third. When people shop based solely on price, they lose site of what defines their local economy. More often than not, they also lose the local businesses that define and support their community. Say hello to low prices, but goodbye to anything that ever distinguished your town from anywhere else across the USA.
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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on Taxing Gas
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Pendleton has a 4-cent per gallon gas tax to retire debt for a new road. It will bring in revenue from people who don’t live here and retire the debt to build the road faster, which means less general fund money must be used for interest payments.
If you have a 20-gallon tank , it costs 80 cents more to buy gas out of town, all other things being equal. It’s 7 miles from downtown to the gas station, a 14-mile round trip. If a car gets 20mpg, it “costs” 2/3 of a gallon of gas to get there. At $3 a gallon, it costs $2 to buy gas at that station outside of town. It costs about .50/mile to operate a car. So if you rely on operating costs, you actually pay $10.00 in order to save 80 cents.
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on Bottling It Up in Cascade Locks
What are the real benefits of this proposal?
45 jobs? In exchange for what?
Increased traffic (both locally and regionally), increased pollution, increased fuel consumption, I could go on. All this so people can spend more to purchase a gallon of water than they pay for a gallon of gas. We spend billions of dollars across this country to provide safe, clean drinking water, yet we spend even more to buy water that comes from somewhere else and brings with it massive environmental consequences.
I would not want this in my community, even if it meant jobs. I'd prefer a casino to a bottled water facility any day of the week.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on Green Buildings
My wife and I live in a modest home. We've tackled some minor projects to increase energy efficiency, but nothing major. Through simple efforts to reduce our energy use, we keep our "carbon footprint" low. We don't heat too much in winter, we air-dry most of our clothes, we don't use the A/C much in the summer (if at all). When my wife did a survey to compare our energy use to others, she found that we used about half as much energy as the average Canadian household, which uses about half as much energy as the average U.S. household. We are off-the chart outliers when it comes to energy use for the average American household.
We also rarely drive. We ride bikes for almost all local transportation, or walk. I've had to replace the battery in may car twice because I let it sit so long. If that isn't ironic I don't know what is.
The coolest part? I don't think we sacrifice anything in quality of life. In fact, I think all the walking and riding we do (instead of driving) improves our quality of life.
posted 2 years, 12 months ago
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on Closer to Cuts
If you can't afford it, do you really need it?
I live well within my budget, which allows me to save for a rainy day. I do this by planning for the future, rather than living in the now. It allows me to splurge occasionally, and buy things I truly don't need.
My needs and budget are nowhere near as complex as a small government, much less a whole state. I don't have to satisfy multiple interest groups who want my money. But I do understand the concept of civic duty, as it pertains to societal needs.
We must educate our children. We must provide health CARE (not health insurance). We must create a land use and transportation system that does not require people to purchase a car in order to get anywhere, so that people can find gainful employment without spending 20% of their income on transportation only to sit in traffic. We must focus on long term prosperity (and costs) over short term gains. These are a few of my priorities. I know they are not shared by everyone.
I work in government. I see the good and bad that comes with spending tax dollars. Some of it makes me sick what the taxpayers are subsidizing, and who is benefiting from it. Most people are too simple to look beyond their own needs and consider what is best for everyone. It's like our citizens are wearing blinders. They make decisions based on negative (paid) advertising. I'd be absolutely thrilled if people actually took an interest in their government, and took the time to learn about the issues. Thrilled!
posted 3 years ago
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on Main Street Oregon
If you live, work, or shop in downtown Pendleton, we'd like to hear from you. What can be done to improve downtown? Are there things you'd change, or things you want retained?
Please go to the City of Pendleton web site at www.pendleton.or.us and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find a quick survey. We want to hear from you!
Even if you have only visited Pendleton, please take the survey and share your thoughts.
We will have a Downtown Workshop on May 28 at 6:30 at the Eastern Oregonian. Please go to Departments/Community Development/Planning for more information.
-Evan MacKenzie
Planner, City of Pendleton
posted 3 years ago
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on Within Bounds
Oregon in general, and (metro) Portland in particular, is recognized as a model for development and planning the world over. The reason our system is not duplicated is because we chose reason over greed...not an easy (or popular) choice.
As your speakers have noted, "sprawl" growth costs more. It costs more to serve it, and it costs more to live in it. Low density development virtually mandates auto-dependent living, which makes all of us subject to the whims of the market when energy costs skyrocket (doesn't matter what fuels our cars if we can't afford it).
High density development can be just as, if not more, pleasant to live in, than low density development, but ONLY if land use and transportation are highly integrated. Portland does well in this area, but could still do better.
Our system is not perfect, but it is better than just about any other system in the U.S. Growing up rather than growing out is more sustainable, and in the long run we will be proven right.
Now if we only had an appropriate transportation system, with taxes and direct costs that truly reflected the cost of driving single-occupant vehicles for virtually every trip, we might not have to have this discussion. But it's unlikely the U.S. system will stop subsidizing driving anytime soon. My tax dollars just bought a new GM and Chrysler, and I don't even drive the cars I have! (Because I choose to live close to work and services, so I don't have to use a gallon of gas to get a quart of milk.)
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on State of the City
Argh, I'm back.
Why do we continue to plan the CRC based on the assumption that we must accomodate all conceivable traffic (demand) at zero cost to the user? Stop the insanity!
12 lanes will not reduce congestion, because you don't have 12 lanes in the entire system. It's that simple.
posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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on State of the City
posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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on Tax and Stimulate
I have a job, which hopefully will continue for a long time. I also have a cash reserve in case I lose my job. I could probably survive for a year at least if I lost my job.
I have a mortgage I can afford. I have no credit card balances. I have no car payment. I ride my bike for all in-town transportation, which only costs me the occasional flat repair. I live well within my means.
I already save any extra money I have. So if I had more money to save, I'd probably save that money too. Or perhaps I'd use the money to make double mortgage payments, which saves me more money than I'd ever make on investments right now. Or perhaps I'd buy a nice new commuter bike.
posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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on Sam Scandal
And how does someone from the Portland Police Bureau union get off on lecturing about being honest? The union defends the actions of officers who violate their oath of office.
Did he have an affair? Yes.
Was it consensual? Yes.
Was it questionable judgment? Yes.
Was it illegal? Until we have proof, no.
How many times has anyone had a relationship and covered it up?
Why should a public employee be dismissed for having an affair, but its OK if you work for a private company? How is that even related to job performance?
Fer cryin' out loud, I'd lie about an affair too. Almost everybody I know and love has had an affair.
posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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on Protecting Public Lands
The remaining 96% of Oregon?s land, or whatever is left after new Wilderness Area is declared, must accommodate all users. This means more conflicts between non-motorized users and motorized users. It also means more conflicts among the non-motorized users, leading to increased tension among a bunch of different groups who generally share the same desires ? to experience nature, not use and abuse it.
The number of people who ride mountain bikes, horses, and in the winter XC-ski, is very small compared to the number of people who don?t know how to have fun without a motor. If less than 4% of the people in this country even walk in town, the number of people who are willing and able to drive to the middle of nowhere to walk around in the woods must be small indeed. Should they be the only ones allowed to access all that land?
Mountain bikes are an excellent way to explore natural areas. As are horses, cross-country skis, and a pair of good boots. Mountain bikes offer people the opportunity to get to places not accessible to people on foot, or certainly not within a one-day outing. You can get a good workout, which most of the people in this country sorely need, and you can have a heck of a good time. Mountain bikers describe a good long ride as epic for a good reason. It?s mentally and physically challenging, you get to see some fantastic nature, and when you?re done and you?re completely spent you feel like you accomplished something. You have a grin on your face and a story you can?t wait to tell. Things are right in the world, and life is good.
posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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on Paying Per Mile
posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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on Paying Per Mile
The problem is in the implementation, and as already noted, tracking out of state drivers.
Virtually any tax is going to have a disproportionate effect on the poor. Did anybody consider that driving is a privilege and not a right? If driving is so expensive, why not consider the effect of our entire system on the poor? We practically force people to drive in this country because there are so few viable alternatives. Transit is not a viable alternative for most people outside the Portland metro area. Many people could ride bikes instead of drive cars, but I don?t see them doing it.
There are no bones about it: driving is expensive. I don?t think anybody can make a reasonable argument that the cost to maintain our auto-centric transportation system is even more expensive. A system which, by the way, is subsidized by non-drivers. We need to find a way to impose the true cost of driving on those who use the system. If that means some people can no longer afford to drive as often as they like, so be it.
If the mileage-based tax is not workable, raise the plain-old gas tax to $1 a gallon (or more) and index it to inflation.
posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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