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4A Daily News – Thursday, June 30, 2011 Opinion 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 Flags Editor: 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 The community of Red Bluff has been blessed to see the Ameri- can Flag displayed all over town on each of the major holidays throughout the year. This has been the sole responsibility of the dedi- cated membership of the Red Bluff Lions Club- past and present. At well over 100 locations, it has been our honor and distinct pleasure to see to it that the flags are always flying on these holi- days. It is remarkable to note that this program was started by the Lions in 1961 and has been suc- cessfully carried on for 50 Years! Sadly, our membership has declined to the point where it isn’t possible for this club to continue the program. We decided that the flag program must continue and we have worked to find a suitable answer to our dilemma. I am delighted to report that the Red Bluff Moose Club has gra- ciously accepted the responsibility of taking over the flag program. This will be a seamless transition and you will see the flags flying on the Fourth of July under the new leadership. I would like to extend our thanks on behalf of the Lions Club to the community and the many flag sponsors who have supported this program over the years. We would hope that you extend the same support to the new adminis- trators of this program - The Loyal Order of the Moose- Way to Go Guys! Patrick C. Scott, President of Red Bluff Lions More to the Story Editor: In her letter to the Editor, Sharon Eliggi quoted some statis- tics from the 2011 Homeless Sur- vey conducted by Tehama County Continuum of Care in response to a federal mandate to do so. While 60 percent of those sur- veyed reported drug or alcohol users, 49 percent of that number identified themselves as using pre- scription drugs. Because of this, they identified themselves as fre- quent users. How many of us are on diabetic, high blood pressure, possibly mental health or other meds? We need to use them daily. 25 percent identified themselves as alcohol users. My first experience with a homeless family was a woman coming to a church service asking for help with diapers and food for her family. Because the older fam- ily station wagon had broken down, the husband could not get to work; therefore he lost his job and they lost their housing. Four young children and their parents were liv- ing in one room at the Lassen Motel (where the new Taco Bell is now). He had no idea of how to ‘fix’ their situation. (The happy ending was that he hired on at a prune dryer, another employee picked him up for work and they were able to have money to change their situation.) 48 percent of those surveyed reported having experienced domestic violence in a relationship and were maybe homeless because they were fleeing from it. The three primary causes of homelessness in Tehama County are “Loss of Job/Income (30 percent), “Lost house/Evicted” (15 percent) and “Other” accounted for 25 percent. How many of us have lived pay check-to-pay check when some- thing like a car breakdown or a lay- off would mean that we could not pay the rent? The face of the homeless is complex. We have moms with their children (and others) living in their car, people going to work each day but living on the street, seniors who cannot afford housing, medication and food expenses on their limited income. School choice Editor: The typical school choice Your Turn voucher of $5,000 yearly per char- ter school child and $4,500 per child for parochial or private schools harms no one while reducing the $10,000 average annual taxpayer cost of a public A permanent shelter would allow these people a place to be clean and do their laundry, a loca- tion for an employer to contact them for an interview or a job, a place to connect with services, and a place to live while they save first/last/security deposit toward a place of their own. Why would we deny a person this opportunity to do what they need to do to make a better life? Butte and Shasta Coun- ties, being larger and having had their permanent shelters longer, offer much more in the way of life- changing services. I do not see peo- ple coming from those counties because we have a shelter. Be a part of the solution, help- ing a person or family make the necessary life-changes to turn their life around, to once more be pro- ductive in society and to become self-sufficient. As chair of the, Tehama County Continuum of Care I invite you to attend our meetings on the second Tuesday of the month, 8 a.m. at Tehama County Department of Education, as we work to end homelessness in our county. Gail Locke, Red Bluff school education. Private and parochial schools, for more than a century, have been successful in graduating nearly 100 percent of their students versus the typical 60 percent urban high school gradua- tion rate. Charter schools, with signifi- cantly reduced funding, usually matches or exceeds the academic performance of urban public schools. Seldom will more than 20 percent of urban public school par- ents transfer their children to high performing charter, private, and parochial schools because of the lack of open slots or the lack of vouchers. Most parents are unwill- ing to get involved with the man- date of parental involvement in the more academic charter, private, and parochial schools. Every parent should be allowed to use their education taxes for school choice, rather than the only option of the teacher’s union public school monopoly. We have seen academic success from our 11 grandkids in small town public schools as well as large urban area charter, private, and parochial schools with significant cost sav- ings for taxpayers. Joseph J. Neff, Corning 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: gover- nor@governor.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 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Taxpayers should stop subsidizing Wal-Mart Commentary Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the world. It boasts of having 1.2 million Americans on their payroll. Its reported annual profits are around $13 billion. So it's safe to say since it is so big — and so ubiq- uitous — and so obviously suc- cessful — the government can now stop subsidizing it. Let me explain: I was covering the first stop for the Progressive Caucus' "Speak Out for Good Jobs Now" listening tour held in Min- neapolis attended by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) among others. The first audience member to speak was one Girsheila Green, a young mother from Compton, California, who has worked at Wal-Mart for three years. Ms. Green told the crowded church how in her tenure with Wal-Mart, she's received two raises and is now a manager. She makes nine dollars an hour (one dollar above the laughably-low California minimum wage). She pulled from her pocket three cards she claimed most Wal-Mart employees at her store have: a 10% Walmart employee discount card, her employee ID and her EBT card (what used to be called food stamps). She relayed that 80% of her store is on food stamps. I'd argue one is too many. It's true, Girsheila doesn't have to work at Wal-Mart if she feels she's not being paid enough. She can go work somewhere else. She's not being forced to work for a wage that won't feed her family. The same argument can be made for child labor, dangerous working conditions and other labor issues settled in the 20th century by work- ers standing up for their rights. Girsheila's individual choice is not the issue at all. Since Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the country, generally doesn't pay its "associates" or "Wal-Mart family members" enough to live on — the giant multi-national corporation is relying on the U.S. government to feed its employees. We, as taxpay- ers, pay for Wal-Mart's cost-cutting tactics. Profit? Privatized. Nutri- tion? Socialized. Think of how many employees use their food stamp cards to buy groceries at the store where they WORK. It's like a nurse having to file bankruptcy due to medical bills. It would be different if Wal- Mart were a struggling little startup where loyal employees believed in the company's vision, so being temporarily paid less than an intern is understandable. But since Wal-Mart is by all measurements a success — it's no longer okay for them to benefit from government handouts. They need to pay people who work for them like people who work for them and not like disposable volunteers in blue vests. Rep. Michele Bach- mann (R-Minn.), just- announced candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, testified in 2005 to the Minnesota Senate. She stated if we eliminated the (laughably low) minimum wage, we could wipe out unem- ployment. Yes, instead of paying one person eight dollars an hour which makes him eligible for food stamps and (in some cases) Medicaid — let's pay eight people one dollar an hour and they can be eligible for food stamps, Medicaid AND General Assistance. Basical- ly, allow the government to take care of the work force so private industry can have the profit. This is corporate welfare. This is also cor- porate socialism. The government covers what Wal-Mart gets away with not covering. To those who enjoy Wal-Mart's ample profits — it's welfare check money laundering. To those who tout "free market" principles, it's not one of them. Tina Dupuy Bachmann, who hopped on the tea party bandwagon when it first rolled out on socialized roads, has decried the government even though her family farm and husband's clinic have received govern- ment money. Bach- mann denied this money has benefitted her personally; her financial disclosure forms completely con- tradict that statement. Bachmann and the tea party are like a 30- year-old who lives com- fortably in the family home while railing against parental tyranny and bemoaning the mediocrity of the meals his mother cooks. In the real world, taxpayers should stop subsidizing Wal-Mart's low wages. Let them pay their employees a living wage. Better yet, let them live up to their own rhetoric when they hire their legions of working poor — let them be treated like "family." Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.