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Opinions from past add perspective
Editor’s note: Looking Back reviews opinions published in The Spokesman-Review during this week in history.
May 8, 1946: With the country in the grips of a six-week coal miners strike, an S-R editorial blamed the labor union. It said:
“The coal strike is a wanton abuse of the United Mine Workers’ economic power. The strike, in theory, is a weapon to be used when negotiations between union and management break down because of the recalcitrance of employers. The coal strike was called before negotiations for a new contract between the union and the mine owners began. … John L. Lewis, president of the UMW, has not yet submitted a list of demands which he wants covered in a new contract.”
It concluded: “The Wagner labor relations act is a basic evil and it is time to revamp that one-sided statute.”
Abortion politics, May 3, 1976: An editorial noted a failed attempt by U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms to add a “right to life” provision to the U.S. Constitution. He needed two-thirds of the Senate. He got 40 votes (or 40 percent). It noted the worldwide trend was moving in the opposite direction.
“In 1970, only 38 percent of the world’s population lived in countries where abortion was legal. Now, a scant five years later, 64 percent of the world’s women have access to a legal abortion.”
The reason, the editorial noted, was the women’s movement.
“The women’s point of view is increasingly making itself heard. Another reason is the growing awareness of how much death and illness are brought about by illegal abortions.”
Vote by mail, May 3, 1996: An editorial supported an expansion of mail-in voting statewide. It noted:
“Democracy is about people exercising their right to vote. It’s not about trying to manipulate the vote by making sure only the educated few ever get to the polls, or trying to sway things at the last minute with paid TV ads. Recently in Spokane County two small, special interest groups called off city incorporation votes once the county auditor said mail-in ballots would be allowed. This shows how perverse our democratic process has become, and how vote-by-mail can help it.
“Backers of incorporation for the Opportunity and Evergreen neighborhoods in the Spokane Valley angrily called off the May votes when they couldn’t block mail-in balloting.”
It continued: “If supporters of a ballot issue are scared off by the will of the people, the challenge is to do a better job of explaining the issue, not trying to rig the vote by hoping nobody notices it’s Election Day.”
Medicare Part D, May 6, 2006: Before the Affordable Care Act’s rollout fiasco, there was the struggle to get Medicare Part D up and running. A May 15 deadline for signing up for a prescription drug plan loomed, and an S-R editorial suggested postponing it, especially since it came with penalties for those who missed it.
“The January rollout was botched. Many seniors were confounded as they tried to match their shifting needs with a seemingly endless array of choices. Things have settled down since, but millions of seniors have yet to sign up.”
It concluded: “It is unconscionable for the government to punish seniors for its own missteps.”