198 



Page 4 Hells Canyon Journal August 24, 1994 



^ Letters 



Guest Opinion 



Looking To Ease the Squeeze of 



Sick of Greed and 

 Antagonism 



Dear Editor, 



This letter is being written 

 because I can 't sleep tonight. 

 As a float outfitter and 

 member of the Limits of 

 Acceptable Change task force, 

 over the past five years I've 

 spent way too many sleepless 

 nights mulling over the social 

 problems and possible plans 

 for the Hells Canyon. 



I am sick of it all! 

 Editorials, Letters to the 

 Editor, letters from preserva- 

 tionists, from powerboaters, 

 from outfitters, from paid 

 lobbyists, etc., etc. All are 

 twisting the facts to meet their 

 own agenda and to staJce out 

 their piece of the pie. The 

 actual fact is the only group 

 that hasn't distorted the facts 

 is the United States Forest 

 Service. The final Environ- 

 mental Impact Statement 

 document is very well done. 

 Read it. It appears to have 

 been prepared from the 

 unbiased point of view that 

 Hells Canyon is not a private 

 backyardor aDismyland, but 

 a uniquely special place that 

 deserves a measure of awe 

 and respect from us 

 humankind. 



Pm sick of the greed and 

 antagonism this new plan has 

 exposed. Hells Canyon 

 deserves a lot better. It will 

 sure as Hell be here when all 

 of us are long gone — 

 hopefully without our foot- 

 prints too deeply embedded 

 in the canyon walls. 



Respectfully, 



George Hauptman 

 Halfway, OR 



2% Tax Endorsed 



Dear Editor, 



How would you like to live 

 in a state where there is: 



1. No property taxes. 



2. No state taxes. 



3. No 24 cent per gallon 

 gasoline tax. 



4. No corporate taxes, 

 unemployment taxes, timber 

 severance taxes, replacement 

 tire taxes, cigarette, beer or 

 wine taxes. 



4. No car, boat, RV, or any 

 other vehicle license fees. 



5. Where schools have the 

 money they need to give our 

 children a good education. 



6. Where there is no college or 

 secondary school tuition, (or 

 as near none as possible — 

 projected for 1996). 



7. Where charitable gifts and 

 pensions are not taxed 



8. Where the only state tax is 

 the 2% Equal tax and you 

 "pay as you go' according to 

 what you spend. Spend 

 $40,000 in oneyear.pay $800. 

 Spend $20,000, pay $400. 

 Spend 12,000, pay $240. 



9. Where you have a fair tax 

 that works because everyone 

 pays a little, but no one is 



overburdened. Ataxthatputs 

 you in control of your money, 

 not the state; and tourists, 

 drug dealers, foreigners and 

 tax cheats will help pay. 



YouWILL,ifenoughpeople 

 vote YES on the 2% Equal 

 Tax initiative (tl20) that will 

 be on the ballot this 

 November, 1994. This may be 

 our last chance for a long 

 time toput this bold new plan 

 into effect — let's do it. 



Sincerely, 



Janette Kirkland 

 GUndale, OR 



Hells Canyon Journal 



by Susan Weber 



It is not 6tUT)rising that 

 Americans, who find them- 

 selves in a daily struggle 

 against the social and envi- 

 ronmental decline of their cit- 

 ies, towns and neighborhoods, 

 are fed up with policymeiking 

 gridlock. Often any response 

 seems preferable to this pur- 

 gatory of inaction. 



Help — realhelp, that truly 

 gets at the basis of these prob- 

 lems - could be on its way. This 

 September in Cairo, Egypt, 

 world leaders meeting at the 

 U.N.'s International Confer- 

 ence on Population and De- 

 velopment will be asked to 

 approve a 20-year blueprint 

 for action. The plan will ad- 

 dress the enormous global 

 population pressures that 

 threaten to overwhelm the 

 capacity of governments, 

 economies and environment. 



Partidpanta are looking at 

 a sweep of interrelated issues: 

 an unprecedented growth in 

 human numbers, widespread 

 poverty, social and economic 

 inequality, and wasteful pat- 

 temsof consumption — which 

 together are accelerating the 

 depletion of basic resources, 

 intensifying environmental 

 degradation and undermining 

 human development. 



What isn't clear is whether 

 and how quickly this new 

 framework for population and 

 development policy can be 

 transformed into action here 

 in the United States. 



Since 1940, the VS. popu- 

 lation has doubled, and the 

 latest Census Bureau projec- 

 tions indicate another possible 

 doubling within the next 60 

 years. We have no further to 

 look than our own backyards 

 to see the perilous impacts of 

 thia ever-expanding popula- 

 tion. Farmland, Gsheries and 

 other important natural ar- 

 eas are givingwaytoenczo ach- 

 ing suburban sprawl Land- 

 fills are reaching their limits, 

 even as garbage continues to 

 mount. Water supplies are 

 dangerously scarce through- 

 out the arid Southwest and 



No silver bullet will magi ca: 

 end all our troubles. Instet 

 the experience of success: 

 projects argues for a multifa 

 eted approach that improv 

 women's status, maternal a; 

 child health, education a; 

 environmental protectio 

 This, plus broad access to far 

 ily planning and economic o 

 portunity, is what works. 



It is a lesson we would . 

 well to apply in the U.S. 



We are already paying t! 

 toll for the ardent resistan 

 and hostiUty of past Admin, 

 trations to family planni 

 and the many other comp 

 nents needed in a sound pop 

 lation strategy. Birth and f. 

 tility rates are back to Ba 

 Boom levels. And a shocki 

 60 percent of aU U.S. pn 

 nancies are unintended. 



Worse still, every 67 S€ 

 onds another American tee 

 ager gives birth. In Cact, U. 

 teen pregnancy rates a 

 Number One nmong highly i 

 dustriaUzed countries a: 

 even rival some developi 

 nations. Those young mo' 

 ersface fewer educational a 

 job opportunities and a a 

 tinuing cycle of poverty ; 

 themselves and their childr' 

 Beyond the overwhelm: 

 personal costs, taxpayers i 

 spending an estimated S 

 billion every year to supp 

 families begun by teenage 



Even with a pro-cho 

 president at the helm, thi 

 realities are not eas 

 changed. And the U.S. pol 

 cal climate still carries a c' 

 for family planning and po' 

 lation programs. This is e 

 dent in the availability of c 

 traceptives. Since the 197 

 the number of major pharr 

 ceutical companies resear 



The Beaver State. 



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