Letters To The Editor

Sat., Feb. 11, 1995

LANDLORD-TENANT CONFLICT

Landlord failings behind trouble

I’ve lived in several places in Spokane and feel that tenants have a justifiable right to be angry. I don’t believe they have the right to trash a place, regardless of the circumstances. It’s not right.

I’ve had landlords who required a high deposit but their place wasn’t clean. Three or four places I had to clean myself and, once moved in, I had trouble with them not turning on the heat and not making adequate repairs, or it would be months later, if at all. I’ve had my pets die because they wouldn’t turn on the heat. My child kept getting colds until he developed asthma, then he was sick for two years.

Tenants are fed up and they are getting even. It’s that simple.

Kay Clifton Spokane

Landlords greedy, renters trapped

The Feb. 5 article, “Rental biz turns ugly,” made me absolutely furious. I don’t condone the cowardly actions of trashing a rental, but the problem goes beyond irresponsible renters. It also includes incredibly greedy landlords.

To pay $775 per month for someone else’s roof over your head is just an example of the impossible situation that so many of us are in. Wages aren’t going up along with housing costs. How do the landlords justify this to themselves?

It’s almost impossible to get ahead when one’s rent is more than a house payment would be. Many people can’t can save enough for a down payment and closing costs because they are paying so much for rent.

My rent is lower than average. However, the house I live in is 100 years old. It has no insulation; my WWP bill is $200 a month. The windows that were broken when I moved in are still broken. The multicolored siding is falling off. And yet, my rent still goes up almost every year. The only improvement made on this house that I haven’t done myself was a new back door last year because you could see daylight through the old one.

We are forced to stay here until we can buy because everything else is so outrageous.

It’s wrong for people to retaliate by destroying property, but the landlords definitely need to take another look at the value of their rentals. L.A. Wagner Spokane

Landlords, follow golden rule

If landlords weren’t so greedy, their places wouldn’t get trashed. What is worth only $300 a month, they want $500 or $600 to feather their pockets. I think there should be a ceiling on rent.

Landlords, please check the reasonable amount people can pay. I had a rental and didn’t think high rent was right for low-income people. Treat your tenants right, be fair and you will get treated right. Think it over and be courteous. Treat others like you would like to be treated. Beverly Whitney Rockford, Wash.

CHILD CARE/DAY CARE

Don’t abandon child care standards

The Washington state House of Representatives recently passed HB 1010 on regulatory reform. Part of that bill eliminated all state licensing, including that for child care centers and family day care providers.

As I understand the provisions, there would no longer be regular inspections of child care facilities, only a visit by a “technical assistant” after a complaint has been made. All present regulations and enforcement would be terminated.

As a longtime child care director and early childhood educator, I am appalled. It is unconscionable that the children in this state could be in child care where there have been no assurances made for their safety and health, that an educational program is provided and that the people caring for them are morally and emotionally fit.

Washington was rated one of the 10 best states in the nation for child care by a national magazine last year. We did not get there by having unregulated child care.

Results of research, which appeared in an article in the Feb. 6 Spokesman-Review, stated that “there are few poor-quality centers in states with the most demanding standards.”

The state Senate will address this issue in SB 5132. It is essential that child care licensing remain as it is. The children of our state who are in child care must not be put at risk. In addition, our elected officials must start doing their homework. Bonnie Wiens Nine Mile Falls

Tell legislators to keep safeguards

I read your article on the quality of day care centers. Last week, my son’s day care sent home a letter about a bill in the state Legislature which would abolish licensing for child care centers and there would be no regulatory inspections unless there was a complaint.

This scares me and it should scare all parents. Babies and children cannot speak for themselves. As their parents, we need to protect them. We can’t afford to wait to see signs of abuse or neglect.

Please protect our most precious resource, our children. Call your state senators and urge them to vote no. Lesli Cornell Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Book venture hardly unique

It’s obvious readers won’t get the complete story about House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s book deal from the media.

First, all interested major publishers bid on Gingrich’s manuscript. Four publishers went into the millions. The winning bid, by Harper-Collins, was $4.5 million. The nearest to this was $4.1 million.

By comparison, Ronald Reagan got $7 million for his book, Gen. Colin Powell received $6 million and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf got $5 million.

Is Gingrich’s book deal comparable to that of former speaker Jim Wright’s, for which the latter felt compelled to resign? There is absolutely no similarity.

Wright never had a publisher. His book was written by his congressional staffers. It was printed by a vanity press used by self-publishers. Wright sold this book by the truckload to his political supporters, lobbyists and others who were willingly fleeced this way to put money into influential Wright’s pocket. The fraud was specifically designed for Wright to skirt the congressional rule prohibiting acceptance of lecture fees.

The rules permit the president, first lady, vice president and members of Congress to write books to be marketed by legitimate publishers. Included within these ethics is the acceptance of advances and royalties. So Gingrich did absolutely nothing wrong.

How about Vice President Al Gore’s book deal? As terrible as this book is acknowledged to be, he has reportedly made about $500,000 thus far.

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) has written 14 books while in political office. No fewer than 23 current senators have published books. The least of the cash advances from a publisher for these was $75,000. Matthew Crain Spokane

Historian? Try false economist

If House Speaker Newt Gingrich had been a math major instead of a history major, he’d be able to figure out that cutting the whole welfare budget wouldn’t make a dent in balancing the national budget or decreasing the national debt.

In 1994, the interest alone on the national debt was $212 billion. Aid to Families with Dependent Children cost $16.9 billion and defense cost $277 billion. It seems obvious the pizza-a-week tax cut will only make the deficit worse.

In Charles Dickens’ time, 150 years ago, there was a crisis in England’s cities: too many people, too few jobs. Many with no place to go lived on the streets. It was a crime to be poor. Even Dickens’ father went to jail for owing money. There was no AFDC. Only the most fortunate received an education or training so they could earn a living.

Since that time, many of the industrialized nations with far fewer resources than the United States have tried to develop safety nets for their citizens. These include medical care for all, education and job training, a living wage and old age pensions.

In this country, we need more education and training, not less. Right now our growth industries are weapons manufacturing, prison building and ripping-off middle class taxpayers. If we don’t pay for education and social services now, we will surely spend many more dollars later for prisons.

Sometimes a history major can learn from history, but not when he’s blinded by self-serving greed and ambition. Sandra Sweetman Republic, Wash.

Amendements not necessary

Balanced budget and term limits are issues that stir the emotional fires in all of us. We have watched over the years the systematic destruction of America until we can’t take it anymore. The men and women of Congress have shown disdain for the electorate by wanton fiscal irresponsibility and blatant misuse and abuse of power.

Yes, we have the right to be upset.

A danger lies in getting trapped in the emotions of issues, losing proper perspective and making irresponsible decisions.

Our forefathers, in writing the Constitution, dealt with emotional issues but their deliberate actions created the finest government document created by man. Fortunately, they also recognized the dangers of government by emotion and made the process of amending the Constitution an arduous one.

The balanced budget and term limits amendment proposals are not needed. Folks, we are the government. It is our responsibility to know what our representatives are doing. We are in debt because we have failed to meet these responsibilities.

If we, as well-informed voters, exercise our authority at the ballot box, we utilize the term limits already established by our forefathers in the Constitution: two years for representatives, six years for senators. We then must hold them accountable for their actions.

Let’s not dilute the value of the Constitution. Let us accept the responsibilities and authority our forefathers passed on to us in the Constitution. Be informed on issues and vote as though it’s your money they are spending. Harry A. McLean, Jr. Spokane

Raise minimum wage, kill jobs

Ross Woodward (Letters, Feb. 5) has some strange concepts. His theory that a government-mandated minimum wage is “really none of their (business people’s) business” and that, “since a minimum wage applies to all businesses at the same rate, the competitive climate is the same” is ludicrous.

It’s hard to believe anyone conscious hasn’t noticed companies fleeing across our borders and coasts. Business doesn’t casually move away from home. It does so only when the mandated costs of creating jobs here become too high compared to the costs elsewhere.

The problem larger businesses have with a minimum wage is not so much the cost of the employees making that wage - less than 3 percent of all workers. Their problem with it is that the mandated minimum is used in labor contracts as a floor from which other wages are computed. Raising the floor ratchets up all other wages.

It’s just as hard to believe that anyone can look at our horrendous teenage unemployment problem and fail to see the direct connection between the governmentmandated minimum wage and unemployment among entry-level workers.

In small businesses, the only way to control mandated labor costs is to fire employees. A rise of 90 cents requires firing at least one minimum wage employee out of every six in order to maintain the same labor cost.

Personal recollection: When Washington raised its minimum wage to $4.90, two just-hired teenagers were laid off at a local fabric store and their duties fell to other workers. The business subsequently failed. Curt Messex Cheney

IN IDAHO

Your `gains’ look like losses to me

Eric Torbenson’s front page assertion that “getting” Micron and its projected 4,500 workers to come to Post Falls would result in a “gain” for North Idaho (Jan. 28) continued a very disturbing patter.

Your assumption, passed off as news reporting, that most residents here would welcome Micron as a next door neighbor, is journalistically unprofessional and factually incorrect.

A few weeks ago, your paper reported pluses and minuses for various possible Micron sites. Boiseans were credited with at least understanding the downside of having this plant come to their city. This report noted that the added population and pressures on land uses would exert unacceptable demands on infrastructure in the Boise area, not to mention the negative impact on the lifestyles and pocketbooks of existing residents. Doesn’t it occur to any of you that these very same concerns exist about Micron coming here?

Growth might be good for some but I think most people would argue that growth, particularly big growth, makes this a more expensive and far less desirable place to call home.

Anyone who wants to live among industrial developments has plenty of choices where factories already clog the landscape. There are few places, however, like ours, where open space still exits and where residents still have a degree of choice as to whether to urbanize.

I urge those who don’t see industrial development here as positive to make their views known to their elected officials and to the local media, so that what the residents think of as “gains” and “losses” may be accurately reported. Cameron Phillips Coeur d’Alene

Parent group wants better schooling

In response to the Jan. 25 article concerning the influence of an activist group on the school board, two issues must be addressed.

The first pertains to the label “conservative.” Only one common link is to be found in this diverse group of parents: Our goal is to see an improvement of academic opportunities in this district.

The second concerns Carol Lindsay’s statement, “… the large majority of parents are satisfied with their children’s education …”

We cannot imagine a majority of parents would be satisfied if they realized how poorly the schools in this district performed when compared to others nationally. The 1994 Iowa Test of Basic Skills for fourth graders revealed that only four schools scored above the 10th percentile in math computation. One school hit the 10th percentile and the remaining four scored below. Ninety percent of U.S. schools achieved a higher standard.

The Spokesman-Review reported that test scores had bounced back this fall. The paper did not make it clear, however, that the test was replaced with a different test which de-emphasized basic skills such as math computation, spelling and reading. Even with this short, watered-down test, some schools still performed below the 21st percentile for math computation. Parents for Academic Excellence does not find these scores satisfactory.

Lack of parental involvement has always been cited as a contributing factor for the sorry state of public schools. Yet when parents band together to share ideas in the hopes that solutions may be found, they are accused of trying to micro-manage the school board. Elizabeth Brinton Coeur d’Alene

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