Letters To The Editor

Tue., Feb. 14, 1995

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Wage scale variation hurts taxpayer

I would like to comment on Craig Gruenig’s letter of Feb. 6.

The Davis-Bacon wage law should be renamed the “government wage law.” Many unions have two wage scales: one for government jobs, called prevailing wages; and one for private jobs, at a much lower wage. Why is that? It appears the only reason is that the government has deep pockets.

How about writing a provision in the Davis-Bacon law that for any union that has more than one pay schedule, workers must work at the lower wage on all government jobs?

I have a relative in California who is an electrician. They work for nearly half of the prevailing wage schedule on wiring a house. If they can work for that wage on houses, why can’t they work for that wage on government construction? Unions in Spokane do the same thing.

When unions have more than one pay schedule and use the higher one on government-funded projects, it appears to be a stick-it-to-the-taxpayer deal. Edwin O. Weilep Spokane

Medicare just blindly pays

Everything we read in the paper about Medicare says that Medicare is so expensive, Medicare is breaking the budget, Medicare is this and that.

I just got a $23,000 bill from the hospital for a six-day stay and it’s mighty strange that I can’t find anybody to talk to concerning this bill. There are items on there that I definitely question as ever having had. There’s no way to talk to Medicare about it. They don’t give us a chance to question anything, they just pay the bill and that’s the end of it.

This isn’t quite right. There should be a way to get around this. Harold Head Spokane

Nethercutt not just a vote chaser

I hope everyone appreciates Rep. George Nethercutt. In an interview on TV he stated that he hoped the future of the Bureau of Mines would depend on merit and not politics. Amen.

If only this attitude would prevail on all issues, including the future of Fairchild Air Force Base.

Do we finally have a representative who wants to do what’s right and not someone who is only looking for votes? A.C. Johnson Spokane

Gingrich out to `cook the books’

House Speaker Newt Gingrich has once more demonstrated that power corrupts.

Jane Bryant Quinn, in a recent column, revealed that Gingrich has threatened to abolish the Bureau of Labor Statistics if within 30 days it does not change the way the Consumer Price Index is calculated so as to reduce federal expenditures.

The CPI is used to adjust many disbursements of the federal and state governments and is also used by the private sector.

Many corporate employees have negotiated cost of living adjustments which would be lowered, thus lowering state income. Under Olympia’s Initiative 601, state income (as well as population) determines the level of state expenditures. Therefore, lowering the CPI, as Gingrich demands, would lower WSU budgets, common school budgets and state appropriation to cities and other agencies.

No one questions the need for timely and accurate measurement of inflation, but this is a matter for scientific determination by professional statisticians and not by the fiat of a politician with a desire to “cook the books.” It is clearly an abuse of power for an elected official to use his office to threaten public employees with loss of their jobs if they don’t support his view of the world rather than their professional standards. Reed Hansen Pullman

Contract decidedly un-Christian

As an evangelical Christian, House Speaker New Gingrich’s Contract with America goes against the principles and values of my life and Christian tradition. My obedience is not rooted in electoral politics and winner-take-all schemes but in the genuine living witness of God in the form of Jesus Christ.

What America needs is not a mean-spirited contract against the fundamental rights of some people but rather a renewed covenant blessed by God guaranteeing all God’s people with housing, food, health care, jobs and education and protecting God’s physical creation.

God calls us to work for justice and to liberate the poor. God requires us to be peacemakers, to be merciful, to shelter the stranger and give sight to the blind.

Gingrich’s proposal will oppress, not liberate; will impoverish, not satisfy; will imprison, not break the yoke of oppression. As faithful people, I believe we are required to do justice, show mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

Let us as citizens demand a covenant, not a contract. Connie Copeland-Malone Spokane

Initiative would protect landowners

In reference to Julian Powers’ Feb. 4 letter on Initiative 164, he does not understand the origin of the initiative. The bottom line is that the government can take our land for the public domain without payment unless it takes 100 percent of it, according to the Supreme Court.

Many landowners like myself have property they are now logging as a source of retirement income. We have to leave a certain amount and size of trees in regards to the environment. I am very much in favor of protecting the environment, but these trees are the property of the landowners. If the government decides these trees must remain as a buffer zone or for whatever other reason because everyone else in the state will benefit from this practice, then the property owners should be compensated at a fair market value. Tony Delgado Loon Lake

How can anyone ever spank a child?

I am personally offended and outraged at Rep. Bill Backlund and his ilk, who propose to reinstate spanking in the schools as a “reasonable form of discipline.” As a counselor for almost 20 years, I deal with the anger and associated poor self-image and behavior problems that this form of discipline generates.

I offer the following questions to Rep. Backlund and all parents who consider utilizing corporal punishment, whether it is at home or at school:

Is it OK to strike the buttocks of a 2-year-old? How about age 5, 8, 13 or 16? Is it a swat or two, or five or more swats? Do you use your hand or a belt or a paddle? Should they bend over and grab their ankles?

What should I tell a 13-year-old girl whose dad pulls down her pants to spank her? Where do you draw the line?

What terrible misdeed could a child have possibly done that justifies an assault such as this when we don’t even administer this sort of discipline to even the most vile murderers, rapists and burglars? Randy Thies Colbert

Let’s clarify welfare reform effort

A Feb. 7 letter to the editor referred to a SpokesmanReview article regarding the House Children and Family Services Committee passing a welfare reform measure. The article noted that I said private charities will help if people still need assistance when they are cut off of welfare.

The statement attributed to me was incomplete. I also said that everybody in the community needs to take the place of government in helping those in need. In addition, I said I would be happy to work in a bipartisan manner to allow group homes to house unwed mothers for a period of time.

There is a general agreement that the current welfare system has failed. It enslaves people instead of empowering them. One of the main ideas behind HB 1481 is that we want to empower people, not make them dependent on government. Empowerment means allowing individuals and community institutions like charity organizations and churches to help people in need.

House Bill 1481 would establish a two-year limit, with certain exceptions, on welfare benefits for able-bodied recipients. Those exceptions are if someone is incapacitated or caring for a family member who is incapacitated; caring for a child under age 3; cooperating in the development and implementation of an employability plan and there is no full-time or part-time job available; in an unpaid work experience program; or participating in a high school GED program or job training program.

We don’t want welfare recipients whose benefits are cut off to have no place to turn. The community must join together to help those in need. Mike Padden Washington state representative

Bill would ensure rape of forests

Voters of all stripes should be outraged by Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s introduction of a bill which would deny citizens their right to be involved in decisions regarding the national forests.

His bill exempts timber sales deemed “salvage operations” from environmental regulations and prevents average Americans from appealing questionable sales. In addition, the timber industry would be given the power to petition the government to list areas as “health emergencies.”

Given the recent exposition of the power the timber industry wields with the Forest Service, this bill gives the thieves the combination to the safe. Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of acres are going to become “health emergencies” to allow unimpeded tree mining.

Don’t believe it? Certain timber companies have already stolen millions of board feet off public property while the Forest Service turned a blind eye.

This is your land, folks. It does not belong to Plum Creek or Boise Cascade. Let’s pass something worthwhile on to our children. Tell your congresspersons that the selling off of our country’s future stops right here and that they must oppose Sen. Craig’s bill. Wyatt Davis Pullman

LANDLORD-TENANT ISSUES

Situation not as some suggest

Bagpipes hit a sour note by suggesting it might be possible to feel “sorry for a landlord, too.” I come from a long line of landlords. Most of us are lower middle class trying to care for ourselves.

I conscientiously rent to a variety that has included a single woman with six children. I permit pets and smoking, keep the rents as low as possible and answer complaints within 24 hours.

My property is immaculate when a tenant arrives. Yet, my punishment for being a “rich property owner” has included stolen appliances, insect infestations, shredded drapery, missing fixtures and broken fencing. One tenant, who was allowed two pets, tied eight additional hounds to trees and left the yard knee-deep in dog waste.

We support our schools, give to the federal government, rather than take, and provide work for local tradesmen. It isn’t slobbering greed that dictates a rent increase but the same rising costs that affect gasoline, groceries and newspapers.

Someone who vandalizes a business does hard time. A tenant who vandalizes or leaves filth should be offered a choice of jail or restoring the premises.

Everyone loves to hiss the villainous landlord. It would make more sense to hiss and punish tenants who violate the basic rules of their rental contracts, then are allowed to walk away laughing time after time.

If renting property out is so profitable, why do for sale signs appear on rental properties? We’re considering selling ours. When one less rental is available, let us place the blame where it really belongs. Arlene D. Bigger Spokane

Profit nothing to be ashamed of

It would certainly be a perfect world if every person were to respect the rights and personal property of others. One would think from the responses to the Feb. 5 landlord article that persons who own rental property are not entitled to make a profit.

This is a free-market society. If a store charges too much for goods, you look elsewhere. If a car dealer wants more than you can pay, you can go to another. Landlording is no different. If you’re not happy with the property, don’t rent it. Ask your prospective neighbors if there have been any problems with the property you are looking at. Ask them if the landlord ignores problems with the house. Don’t move into a house based just on its cost.

Please don’t blame landlords for running a business and making a profit. You have tenant rights. Be honest and honorable and exercise your legal, contractual rights. Try to remember that it costs money to buy property. Most purchased recently was bought at inflated values.

If a rental house needs repair after just one negligent tenant, the minimal profit expected for the current year is probably gone. Don’t forget that like any business, as costs go up, so must rent. Don’t expect something for nothing. Steve Wilson Spokane

ENVIRONMENT

Conference not one-sided

I attended a tele-com Upper Columbia River Basin Ecosystem Management Project meeting in Bonner’s Ferry on Jan. 28. Now I hear that some people feel that it was all one-sided, even though they refused to come inside and join the meeting. It was not one-sided at all. The meeting was like this:

First, we listened to a telecommunication of Steve Mealy telling us about the Upper Columbia River Basin Ecosystem Management Project. Then we were divided into groups in which we covered three areas: purpose and need, suggestions and improvements, and other areas. We were all able to tell what we thought should be considered.

Everything was written down. Then each person put a little dot in front of the five items most important to him or her. They were phoned into the Washington, D.C., station for use at the end, when they were back on the air and talking about important things coming back from all of the other meetings being held at the same time in other areas. All of the material was mailed in the next day.

Everyone was welcome and everyone was listened to. This was not one sided! Suzanne Nicholson Kettle Falls, Wash.

Let sockeye, sea lions settle it

Who could have imagined when the government locks were built decades ago that the waters before them would become the killing fields of the marine world? Helpless sockeye, returning to their spawning grounds, are being slaughtered by marauding sea lions, led by the incorrigible Hondo.

Last December, death for Hondo and his ilk was authorized after more humane solutions failed. But wait! Hondo and his buddies are going to live. Holding pens costing $90,000, courtesy of Washington taxpayers, will contain these bad actors. These facilities will be nice, with color TVs, weight rooms and a law library, not to mention unlimited generic fish to eat. The hope is that with these criminals “off the streets,” enough sockeye will migrate and procreate so that they will prevail. Once again, we humans demonstrate our consistency in dealing with controversial behavior or existence.

A few problems remain. More Hondos might appear. After all, the word is out. These guys aren’t stupid. There are more where he came from. This sockeye run might die off still.

Most importantly, whether this little scheme works or not, there remains our troubled human societies and a burning, starving world - areas which legitimately deserve our time, talent and treasure.

Let the sockeye and sea lions duke it out. Let nature decide. Let anyone who wants to argue concern themselves with the wisdom of having built the locks in the first place and an intriguing solution whereby the locks would be removed, allowing Lake Washington and adjacent waterways to return to their native state. Jon A. Holloway Spokane

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