Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/259054
6A Daily News – Wednesday, February 12, 2014 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Opinion Get this: The government is incentivizing people to not work. So said the head of the non- partisan Congressional Budget Office last week. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf told law- makers that millions of workers could either cut back their work hours or opt out of the job mar- ket completely because of Oba- maCare. The CBO report says millions of people will opt to keep their income low to stay eligible for federal health-care subsidies or Medicaid — resulting in losses equivalent to 2.3 million full- time jobs by 2021. But who can blame them? Working is no fun. I've been doing it a long time now and that has been my conclusion. Every Sunday night I get the blues about the stresses and projects that are due that week. Every Monday, after I wake, stay out of my way until I've had a few cups of coffee — and until about 11 a.m., when I finally have some idea of what I have to complete that week. Of course, I am a writer. My job is easy compared to many others. I don't have to work out- side in the brutal cold every win- ter, as my father had to do for many years. I don't even have to sit in traffic for hours, as mil- lions of working Americans must do. Besides, if you have a modest middle-class income, you have a choice. Hunker down, grow your tal- ents and skills and do what many millions of Americans have always done: get promoted. Or start a business. Or do a mil- lion other things to increase your income over time to live the American dream. Or you can go the other direc- tion and find ways to avoid work and minimize your income on paper, so that others will help cover your costs. I took a cab from the airport recently and the driver, a native of Africa, told me he'd just signed up for ObamaCare and qualified for sizable subsidies. His monthly payment is only a few hundred bucks — whereas my health-insurance payment recently doubled, in part to sub- sidize his insurance policy. He also told me he has a nice suburban home and he and his family are living very well in Pittsburgh. So how did he qualify for such grand government subsi- dies? Because he is able to keep a sizable portion of his actual income, which is paid in cash daily, off the books. He appears much less well-off on his tax return than he is. The trouble is, the less money he reports in income, the less our government receives in badly needed tax rev- enues to, ironically, pay his subsidies and whatever other govern- ment benefits he is tak- ing advantage of. There is a reason we still are bringing in at least $500 billion less than we are spending every year. Now the CBO tells us our newest entitlement is going to cause millions of others to aspire to use the system to their advantage — to qualify for free food, health insurance, housing subsidies, free utilities and on and on. It wasn't so long ago that peo- ple came to America asking for nothing more than the freedom to make their own way. They wanted to live the American dream and work hard so their children could enjoy an even better American experience. How did we arrive at a point where gov- ernment policy is dis- couraging these aspi- rations on such a grand scale? How did we get to a point where millions of people would rather call it a day and happi- ly accept government benefits than work hard to improve their skills and rise into the highest levels of the middle class and beyond? Sounds like bad government policy to me — pol- icy that is helping put nails in the coffin of the American dream. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Discouraging work Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Tom Purcell STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@sen- ate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558- 3160; E-mail: governor@gov- ernor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Wash- ington, DC 20515, 202-225- 3076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393- 0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Your officials Reasons can't be disclosed Editor: It would be very refreshing to see the Daily News just report the news, not try to create news. Case in point, taking stands against board decisions to remove individuals of which are accountable to them. Or by allowing weekly columnists to do so. As Mr. Hansen recently pointed out, all of the reasons of such decisions are not made public knowledge for good rea- sons. In many cases the main reason being, protection of the terminated individual's reputa- tion should the problems a board has with them be made public which could affect future positions for that individual should those issues be made public. That's why it's a board deci- sion and is confidential. Not a single individual's decision. These boards don't pull issues and problems out of thin air. Without knowing all the facts regarding a board's decision, speculation and innuendos can run amok. This is bad for every- one involved. Except newspa- pers trying to generate a news story. And in my opinion is why these decisions should not be made subject to a public forum. Which is what has now occurred thanks to media cover- age. As far as the fair decision goes, I'm personally glad to see any kind of change, because in my opinion that fair has been going down hill every since it got moved to September. Also the removal of the Friday west- ern and Saturday upbeat street dances were all bad ideas. The destruction derby also was not being promoted properly. These things were all fair tra- ditions and people used to return to Red Bluff just to go to them. And now, that fair is just plain boring. Also, they have put up a min- imum — if any — county exhibit at the State Fair in Sacramento. Maybe a new direction was needed for the fair. To back before they started trying to change it. On the school issue, typical of Don Polson's rumor mill, no wrong doing exists I'm sure, except in Polson's conspiracy theory filled mind. Terry van Dyke, Red Bluff Dogs killed by jogger Editor: Was it really necessary to shoot and kill those young dogs? I am not convinced. How come his name is protected? If I did this my name would be all over the front page. Why is it a done deal? Is it law enforce- ment protecting law enforce- ment? These are the questions I have. I am a resident of the Bend area and have animals. This is very upsetting to many of us in the area. My heart goes out for the Torres family. While working a yard sale the first weekend of the new year my girlfriend was attacked by a very large and aggressive bulldog. She was bitten twice before I was able to get to her across the street. I am recently recovering from a difficult illness which has left me cur- rently disabled. How- ever, I was able to sub- due this 120-pound dog. The police in town were called by a witness and the dog was taken into quarantine. This dog was eventually destroyed. It was deemed necessary for the safety of others in the future. My point, I did not need to use a firearm or deadly force to deal with the situation. The proper channels were taken and the judgement was made. I find it very hard to believe these two pups of the same breed were a threat any more than stating their territory. Was this officer actually touched or harmed physically and then had to draw his firearm and kill to protect him- self? I find it very hard to believe two dogs who intend to attack and harm a human would not succeed at some level. Six shots were fired. Did this man have too much time to just shoot and kill these dogs? Or could he have taken a firm stand and made peace with the dogs? Unless I hear that these dogs had a history of aggressive attacks I am not convinced that this officer showed no more than an act of fear and coward- ly aggression that I am not okay with since I reside in the same neighborhood and also drive the same roads that he monitors with the same firearm he killed these questionable young dogs. I believe that law enforcement officers have an extraordinary job with great respon- sibility to deal coolly, calmly and collectedly with the many threats of harm they endure by being in harm's way due to the nature of their occu- pation. I have great respect for their courage and ability to remain calm in the face of adversity. They have an amaz- ing responsibility to the public. I admire the integrity these brave men and women have for protecting the citizens in the line of duty. They chose a very dangerous occupation. I am concerned though. Is this officer a loaded gun? Is he an officer being protected by other ranking officers? How come the door is closed and there is no further investiga- tions? I am not convinced his actions were justified. Maybe this should be pre- sented to local Grand Jury to decide if this man's actions are justified or questionable. Let them decide if he should be indicted or not. It would be a terrible shame to hear about him again in the future for mak- ing a horrible irreversible deci- sion while on or off duty. This should be considered. Randall Woods, Red Bluff Your Turn