From the Editor's Desk: Take the money and run
By Pat Caldwell
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:52 AM PDT
If the 2009 Oregon Legislature fits into the “you get what you pay for” scenario then I want my money back.
Last week, voters watched from the sidelines while lawmakers coughed up enough enthusiasm to pass a series of tax boosts. While watching that particular game play out can be unsettling, at least there was some action.
Yet, it isn’t the tax boosts that linger in the mind’s eye when it comes to the legislative session, though no one likes a tax hike.
To some extent, lawmakers in support of more taxes and higher fees can make a case. They can delve into statistics and cite reports and show us all the stark financial reality of a recession.
When the spotlight falls on some other, frankly, bonehead initiatives, however, the logic runs dry. That’s because these other initiatives are clearly stepping over the line from a real state concern into our front room.
We were forced, as taxpayers, to sit by and watch our elected brethren think up, and then draft and OK, bills to keep us from eating too much and to make sure parents did not smoke cigarettes around their children.
There were other initiatives — one in particular involved cell phone-use while driving — but you get the point.
The cell phone initiative — designed to enhance safety — could probably secure more than a little traction because most of us can see the potential for danger.
But calorie counts on menus? Forcing police to chase down mothers who smoke around their kids in the car? You’re kidding, right?
Nope. This is Oregon.
Over in Idaho they have real issues to contend with, and they spend a lot of effort arguing and debating — and, yes, wasting some time — but no one is trying to pull the wool over the body politic’s eyes with catchy, one-size-fits-all legislation.
That’s because, despite all of their faults — and there are many, just like anywhere — state lawmakers keep the focus on what matters, not what sounds good.
Legislation such as the calorie count on menus is a good idea. The concept even makes a great deal of sense.
Should the government, whether at the state or local level, be in the business of telling people to watch what they eat?
Even those inclined to promote more intervention eventually weary of too much of it. No one on the right side of the political aisle likes that notion, but, the fact is, most Americans, Democrats or Republicans, are an independent bunch.
That means we’ll take some government intrusion, up to a point, and then the backlash will occur.
I’ve never thought the idea to list calories on a menu or the concept to cite people who smoke in a car around their children were bad.
But what really created a sense of lingering unease was the sense that the legislative priorities were skewed. At a time when the state faced an unprecedented recession and some of the highest unemployment ever recorded, it just seemed time was of the essence and spending it worrying about whether someone eats too much fast food was missing the whole point.
Oregon faces real problems with real consequences. Wasting time on nice-sounding ideas for the good of mankind is admirable, but it doesn’t keep the trains running on time nor keep schools open.
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com
