Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/26558
6A – Daily News – Monday, March 7, 2011 Opinion The conservative plot of plunder D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 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 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 Economists say consumers seem increasingly divided into "haves" and "have-nots." The haves are more secure in their jobs. Their finances are solid. So is their credit. They dominate the highest-earning 20 percent of Americans, who contribute nearly 40 percent of consumer spending. Among managers and profession- als, for instance, unemployment is just 4.6 percent — less than half the overall unemployment rate. Meanwhile, the have-nots are struggling with shaky finances and job insecurity. In Tehama county unemployment continues to hover around 15% and many families have exhausted their sav- ings, are underwater on their mort- gages, and at risk of losing all they have. Consumers across all income groups froze up in 2009 as the Bureau of Labor Statistics record- ed the first annual drop in con- sumer spending in records dating back to 1984. Since then under the leadership of Democrats our economy has added over one mil- lion jobs and last month over 220,000 new private sector jobs were created as the number of people applying for unemploy- ment benefits, a proxy for the pace of layoffs, declined by approxi- mately 400,000. Last month unemployment dropped below 9% and all evidence suggests that the fear factor of economic doom has subsided. The steady decline in layoffs is giving the vast majority of adults who have jobs the confidence to spend more freely and help ener- gize the economy. Most no longer worry so much about losing their jobs so their renewed confidence has boosted retail sales — just what's needed to spark what econ- omists call a "virtuous cycle" where higher consumer spending raises company profits, which spurs hiring, which fuels more spending and growth. Consumer spending is steadily rising as the vast majority of work- ing-age Americans breathe easier despite high unemployment. Peo- ple who had jobs feared being laid off during the recession, which ended in June 2009, and for months after. Fewer worry now, because most companies have stopped cutting staff. Workers who survived the job cuts of the past three years have begun to conclude "if they haven't fired me by now, they're not going to." Consumer spending powers about 70 percent of the economy. It has risen for the past nine months and brought us the strongest holiday shopping season since 2006. Auto sales rebounded 11 percent in 2010, the first increase since 2005 as many shop- pers bought new cars. This strongest showing since the peak years of the last expansion signals that the broader economy is on the threshold of renewed growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed that point when he told a Senate panel he sees evidence that a "self-sustaining" recov- ery is taking hold because consumers and businesses are spend- ing more. A 20 percent run-up in the Dow Jones industrial average since July has skewed the consumer rebound in favor of upper-income shoppers and the luxu- ry stores that serve them. During the hol- idays, high-end retail- ers like Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Inc. reported the strongest gains. Apparently after hun- kering down during the recession the wealthy rewarded themselves with expensive gifts. The main reasons are that their investment portfolios recovered from losses due to the financial crisis and Republicans ensured that their temporary tax credits and cuts continued in spite of the fiscal crisis. Newly minted Tea Party mem- bers and conservatives are reticent to appreciate these improvements and instead blame our governor, president, trade unions, and any- one with liberal sentiments for budget deficits. They fail to acknowledge that the deficits are primarily due to reduced tax and fee collections during the reces- sion, the necessary expenditures to keep Wall Street and banks from collapsing, and the egregious continuation of Bush era tax cuts for millionaires. Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point As the consequences of cuts in programs for the elderly, sick and poor; family planning, public broadcasting, Pell grants, environmental protection; and schools and infrastructure invest- ment become evident Americans will make their voices heard and their votes count in 2012 to end this conservative plot of plunder. Those that care about Ameri- cans in need will not tolerate being vilified and denigrated by those that prosper. Working people and the burgeoning number of have- nots rightfully demand that corpo- rate bailouts cease and that the haves bear their just burden to keep our nation solvent, secure, and strong. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molino. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: governor@gover- nor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893- 8363. 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 Mont- gomery St., Suite 240, San Francis- co, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224-0454. Thoughts on death, opinions and taxes Commentary Reading recent pontifications on the death penalty prompted me to search for a column from distant archives, responding to another death penalty opponent. What drives opponents of capital pun- ishment is a visceral objection to a policy that has possibly resulted (or could result) in the death of an actual innocent per- son for a crime they never committed. Fair enough. They clearly wish not to be responsible as citizens for such potential injus- tices, and believe those who support the death penalty are morally cul- pable. The first myth in this debate is that the anti- position is the only course that spares innocent life. Au contraire! In my first year I wrote, on January 23, 2006, “Tens of thousands alive today because death penalty works.” First, it is indisputable that convicted mur- derers have, can, and will inflict injury and death during confine- ment, either personally or through associates, upon prison personnel, other inmates or targeted non- criminals outside. The longer their time prior to execution, the greater the likeli- hood of innocents dying. Oppo- nents need to acknowledge this reality in their high-minded, princi- pled stand. I wrote, “Exhibit A would be the just-executed 75-year old Greg Allen, who effected the murder of 3 people while serving Don Polson The way I see it time for another murder.” I know of few verifiable cases where DNA evidence has defini- tively proven innocence (as distinct from proce- dural, technical, or wit- ness issues overturning a conviction). I must weigh the greater good or evil in the fact that the justice system, like the humans that admin- ister it, is less than per- fect. It is the best we have come up with in the history of criminal prosecution, however; failing to exact the ulti- mate penalty condemns innocents to die, also. But “Tens of thou- sands alive” because of executions? Another myth must be correct- ed. Criminals will, for the most part, weigh the risks of apprehension and conviction for their crimes, take measures to avoid capture and, unless con- sumed by passion, drink or drugs, make calculations about “getting away with it.” They’ll even apply what they have learned on crime shows or from other criminals to their advantage. Being executed for murder is one factor. I wrote, “Executions came to a virtual halt from the mid-1960s until 1980 — during that same period, the murder rate (homicides per 100,000) doubled, that’s right — doubled. Annual murders rose from about 10,000 per year to over 23,000 in 1980. Executions then resumed. The murder rate then fell by 44 percent over the next 20 years to about where it was in 1965. As the number of annual executions rose from zero to 71, the innocent people that weren’t murdered, based on crime patterns that occurred over the previous decades, would have totaled tens of thousands.” The statistics don‚t lie. Oppo- nents can still take their principled stands, but they cannot reasonably and honestly deny that innocent people are killed when the death penalty isn't carried out. Most mur- derers want to live, or else they’d put up less of a fight to avoid exe- cution. The new comment system is welcomed by this columnist. How- ever, in spite of my being anything but anonymous, with public email, a column and a blog (“Polecat News and Views‚” at donpolson.blogspot.com), I am out of the comment business until I do something called Facebook (sigh). Anyone who has followed the online free-for-all, complete with insults, character assassination, smears and ad hominem attacks, and barrages of left wing lunacy passing as coherent thought, knows full well how inappropriate the format was becoming. As the editor says, we who write weekly are public figures and will receive the slings and arrows. Anyone who has read my column for 6 years, as well as my detrac- tors and critics, has seen the name- calling, accusations of dishonesty and above-mentioned attacks, in print and by name. You all know that the left wing sources of such vitriol are quite content to ply their intimidation, even to the extent of advocating this column be can- celled. Such are the fine folks on the other side with dubious devo- tion to free speech. Yes, speech is free, but not without consequences — hence the need for courage. I’ll respond with respect, with facts, with truth, if I respond at all, and let readers make up their own minds. If I can just offer this piece of my mind to the redistributionist/socialist voices we read from time to time: Your moti- vations are transparent and consist of envy, greed and covetousness (a sin, if you forgot). You rationalize your avarice by demonizing and vilifying those better off than your- selves and, without establishing how the so-called “rich” have per- sonally done anything but pay massive tax burdens and given generously when so inclined, cry for them to be punished for having succeeded in pursuit of economic wealth. Being rich doesn’t make others poor. Consider this: the poor in America are far better off than the poor in any other country, better off than some middle-classes else- where. The poor in America are vastly better off than their counter- parts decades ago. Many in the poorest class will better themselves over time, even becoming rich, while some rich folks will lose it all and end up poor. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.