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OregonSean's comments:
on Referendum Signatures
I believe the topic is "Referendum Signatures" not "Domestic Partnership Law In Washington". I support your right to post your views (I also support gay rights), but this subject has become a significant distraction from the main topic.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on Referendum Signatures
Thank you for getting to the heart of the issue.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on The Selling of Oregon
This brings to mind the dilemma of having a city (or state) that benefits from both excellent natural surroundings and wise public policy that takes advantage of them. Inevitably, others want to live here and those that have the means through education or wealth will do so successfully, however, at the expense of native residents by competing in the workforce and the real estate markets.
On the other hand, it is a wonderful thing to be recognized as successfully fostering a variety of cultures and by doing so become a source of inspiration for others to make the places they live better--not to mentions the benefits tourism brings to local businesses.
In the end, we don't want to let this all go to our head and become complacent. We've accomplished what we have by continuously challenging ourselves to do better through our own inspiration, not just by how well we compare with others.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on Jobless Recovery
If Unemployement Insurance is not providing for those who have a reasonable need than it is not functioning properly. The economy will always have ups and downs and its more efficient for the public to be adequately covered through an insurance program as opposed to relying on personal savings (not forgetting those who make so little they can hardly save for anything).
Rather than only alotting a set number of weeks of checks and relying on the federal government to provide a bailout when extensions are desperately needed, its would be more effective to provide conditions for continued benefits (such as applying for a certain number of jobs per week) that go into affect when defined economic triggers take place which indicate a recession.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on Referendum Signatures
The fact is that progress is not always popular in the beginning.
A person should feel safe from retribution for their views and their willingness to try and inact change. The example I would offer is the original civil rights movement. Perhaps there were many people who believed in sharing these rights with people of color, but were afraid to voice their upopular views. If they could sign a petition privately and get the issue on the ballot (and begin a serious discussion within the media) then the movement could progress based on an accurate account of a minority's values, even when they are not necessarily popular.
I feel this is no different today. If people want to attempt change of any kind they should be free to do so. If time goes by and a debate in the public forum doesn't accumulate a majority of votes then it won't happen.
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on An Educated State
I think this is a great example of the system failing different types of intelligence. People with ADD have, historically, done wonderful things with their special skills and unique outlook on life, particularly as entrepreneurs.
Your last paragraph resonated with me a lot. I have a friend who was told repeatedly that he was smart and just needed to apply himself more. In cases where he was able to work at his own pace and work independently ahead of the class he did well. In Jr. High and Highschool that kind of flexibility didn't exist. He didn't want to ask for help because he knew inside himself that he was a smart guy and everyone had told tell him so, but noone bothered to ask why his grades weren't that great and he wasn't paying much attention to the class lectures. When anyone bothered to think about it the conclusion was always that he "wasn't working hard enough".
The struggle for people with different kinds of intelligences is much harder today than it used to be. More emphasis is placed on degrees and standardized ways of evaluating someone's potential rather than on sheer merit and creativity. If you're an entrepreneur these days you can't get by on good ideas alone, you often have to fight the uphill battle for a degree to be taken seriously.
posted 4 years ago
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on An Educated State
It would be great if the government looked at education assistance as an investment and would steer funds (and students) in a direction that will give the best return on that investment.
We have experts, economists and so forth, who know what fields are likely to see growth in the future and can tell us what fields desperately need workers right now (think nursing).
On top of that, we need educated people in our society if our government is going to work properly. Educated citizens are educated voters. Educated voters make for better government.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
I fully agree, however, that is the rule that the card networks require of the merchants. The only exception I've seen is some gas stations. Personally, I don't want to pay the retailers transaction fees every time someone uses their card. I prefer to pay cash.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
scottmil,
You're right, minority groups are crapped on all the time, and the gay marriage issue is a great example.
I think if I could have re-written the bill I would have exchanged the part about age limits with a mandatory highschool education program. All things being equal, I think education is the best approach to making a sound and informed decision in just about any circumstance.
One of my favorite quotes is, "Democracy is the worst kind of government, other than every other kind that's been tried." I agree, majority rule is not a perfect system and it's important for people to understand that at one time or another they may be considered the minority and to keep that in mind when deciding the fate of other minorities (a reason why the United States has the constitution and why it takes a 3/4 super majority to change it).
We don't have to like the system, but if we are going to make it better we need to respect it and begin appealing to the majority for change. It may be slow coming, but history has shown us that progress is inevitable (equal rights for racial and religiou minorities, women; more recently--more rights for the gay community; the election of a racial minority to the Presidency). I know that I will continue to fight for this change and I hope we are standing side by side when it happens.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
scottmil,
Where do we draw the line though? We set age limits for all kinds of things: driving, drinking, voting, adult content. What makes credit cards so different?
I realize that many of these limits are arbitrarily set and not necessarily based on strong evidence. However, we know that a 30 year old's brain has more in common with a 40 year old's brain than a 20 year old's brain, in the context of development.
I'm all in favor of people having as much freedom as possible, but it reaches a point where it affects other members of society and as a democracy we have to make imperfect decisions sometimes. Unfortunately, there is no objective way of determining when someone crosses the line of becoming competent. All we can do is look at the evidence and make a judgement, usually based on the view of the majority.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
scottmil,
The evidence suggests that young adults are easily entrapped by credit cards. Their brains haven't fully developed and most don't have the life experience necessary to make good decisions when it comes to money. For that reason I don't think the new law is without value. There isn't a benefit in allowing access to credit without verifying that it can be repaid. The same kind of thing happened with the mortgage crisis, people were receiving loans and income wasn't verified. The result is this recession which affects everyone.
The epidemic problems of the credit card industry affect everyone in our society and for that reason I think we should intervene. If there is evidence to the contrary I'd be willing to reconsider.
For me, it's not a moral issue, but a practical one.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
Agreed. I don't know why something so simple is hard to grasp for so many. Credit Unions serve only the interest of their members. The Banks' primary motivation is to produce profit for stock holders and any customer service that is provided along the way is just a means to that goal.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
It's ironic, about 8 years ago California passed a law like this requiring card companies to place to real cost of the customer's debt on their statement. It was in black in white how much they would be paying, depending on how long they took to pay it.
The sad thing is that this law was later defeated. Businesses have no interest in having educated customers.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
scottmil,
I admire your passion, but while logical, your ideas aren't reasonable. It was difficult enough getting this new legislation passed. There really is no way that the majority of voters are going to restrict themselves. Freedom to make mistakes (even terrible ones) is valued more than agreement to be more responsible. Not just for the minority, but everyone.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
opposingthumb,
It's not so much that I'm hung up on a particular age, but that I'm trying to be practical. Legally, people can't get credit cards until they are 18. Most will probably apply by the time they are 21, so this ensures that most people will get this education.
I would LOVE for everyone to get this education, but I just don't think the voters would stand for mandatory education. By having this requirement for young adults we can do some practical good in a way the is politically realistic.
posted 4 years ago
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on An Educated State
It would be great if the government looked at education assistance as an investment and would steer funds (and students) in a direction that will give the best return on that investment.
We have experts, economists and so forth, who know what fields are likely to see growth in the future and can tell us what fields desperately need workers right now (think nursing).
On top of that, we need educated people in our society if our government is going to work properly. Educated citizens are educated voters. Educated voters make for better government.
posted 4 years ago
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on Green Buildings
I second this. The new Shaver Green, income restricted, apartment building on MLK and Shaver is LEED Gold. What a great way to revitalize an area in a responsible way.
posted 4 years ago
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on Students and Credit Card Reform
The fact of the situation is that most adults don't have a good understanding of how credit works. We're all told to pay our bills on time, but it's not always that simple.
Businesses take advantage of our ignorance, ineffective laws, and the inexperience of our youths and the pressures of this consumer driven culture.
Personally, I have a friend who played by the rules and got credit cards when he was 20 in order to establish credit history. In the end, he owed more than $30,000 in credit card debt. He didn't even make that much in a year. He got in over his head and wasn't able to pay, using all his cash to make the payments and using the cards to live. The credit card companies didn't get their money and his credit was ruined. It was a lose-lose situation.
It's worth noting that current law requires credit counseling if you want to file for bankruptcy, including education for setting financial goals and budgeting. Wouldn't it be nice if we learned these things in the first place?
I would love to see an addition to the new law that requires adults under 21 to complete some kind of credit education before than can be issued a card.
posted 4 years ago
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on Sentencing and Spending
This is an interesting point. I think the difficulty of achieving a simple priority and proprotion policy for the state budget is the multitude of competing interests that are presented to the legislature. It seems like most people have their pet programs they like to endorse. Most of them have merit, but it's important for people to keep things in perspective.
posted 4 years ago
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on Sentencing and Spending
I agree, people are just not educated on the issues and their long-term consquences. Until people become more proactive and less reactive this problem will not be solved.
On a positive note, it's good to see that their are so many organizations that are forming to champion different issues and they care about educating themselves and the public. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.
posted 4 years ago
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