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4A Daily News – Monday, September 5, 2011 Opinion The labors of Labor Day 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 The labor union movement has traditionally espoused a set of val- ues-solidarity being the most important, the sense that each should look out for the interests of all. From this followed commit- ments to mutual assistance, to a rough-and-ready sense of equality, to a disdain for elitism, and to a belief that democracy and individ- ual rights did not stop at the plant gate or the office reception room. Sadly these values seem to be increasingly foreign to our culture as wealthy Americans exercise their political might to further dis- tance themselves from middle and lower income persons by limiting worker rights to organize while reducing taxes for government programs to assist the growing number of unemployed and underemployed citizens. The impacts of this shift in cul- tural values hits particularly hard here in the North State where unemployment rates continue to hover well above national aver- ages, workforce education, health and earnings are well below national averages, and state and local governments struggle to con- tinue, much less increase funding for job creation, health, education, and welfare services. As the gap between the percentage of total wealth in the accounts of a few versus the accounts of the majori- ty widens, it is inevitable that issues of the fairness and effec- tiveness of taxes, wages, unions, employment practices, and public programs come to the forefront. We can and do argue endlessly about the costs and benefits of par- ticular policy options, taxes, laws, social contracts, program features, and levels of responsibility to solve these problems with grow- ing animosity and division with- out consensus on how to proceed. This is clearly a case where exec- utive and congressional leadership is locked in a battle of basic human values, to which no com- promise seems to be forthcoming. This logjam must be resolved if our society is to continue as a bea- con of democracy in action. The acrimony of debates over our national debt, federal deficit, bud- get, and tax policy offer little com- fort to those that finance our econ- omy or are dependent upon it for their livelihoods. In my opinion this situation is due to our collective reticence to discuss and debate our basic val- ues as a culture and how they relate to the care and fair treatment of fellow citizens. I see two funda- mental values at issue: 1) the rights and virtues of mar- ketplace competition in a capital- istic culture to determine income and resource distribution, versus 2) the basic human rights and desires for food, shelter, and the pursuit of happiness guarantees in a socialistic culture. In my mind neither of these extremes is practi- cal — instead human history and contempo- rary realities suggest an amalgam of the two is needed to prosper as a country. We seem to be "stuck on stupid" argu- ing the two extremes. So how might we enter a productive dia- log that through com- promise might achieve consensus that our lead- ers can put into effect? God how I wish I knew the answer to that ques- tion, so perhaps that is the place to start. To this end we would benefit from facilitators that can calm the passions of opposing sides and help maintain an objective and problem solving atmosphere for negotiation. Who and where, you might ask, are these facilitators? I suggest that they are folks like you and I that see the ineffectiveness of extreme positions, and feel the pain of our dysfunctional state and federal governance. What I am suggest- ing is that in 2012 voters unite to elect moderate representatives to office, instead of heavily financed extremists. We need a resurgence of true Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point believers in the democratic process to represent us, instead of those put forward as advocates for either the "capitalist/Republican camp" or the "social- ist/Democrat camp" that seem incapable of compromise, either due to party affiliation and indoctrination, or thru campaign finance lever- age. Let this Labor Day be one where you try to balance the simplistic views of capitalists and socialists to fashion an appreciation and respect for the art of compromise so our democracy can contin- ue to meet the needs of all our citizens. There is no lack of wealth or resources, but a lack of will to do what is right for the common good of all who labor. 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 Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle and operate a babecue equipment and supply business. 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: 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Not enough labor to go around on this day Commentary Today is Labor Day and I some- times think back on all of the phys- ical work, hard work, sweaty, dirty work, that I did when I was young. Roofs, ditches, bathrooms, hot stoves and ranges, steamy bowels of cargo ships, blast furnaces, mold foundries with clouds of hot ben- tonite, sea coal and wood shavings; knocking on doors in desert subdi- visions wearing out shoes. Even being in management usually involved doing just about any job the clock punchers would do, if they didn't show up, whether mop- ping, scrubbing, equipment clean- ing and on and on, and then the paperwork still needed filling out. 45, 50, even 60 hour weeks and then taking time on days off to go put out some fire or fill some other manager's shift. Hiring people in the thousands and firing them by the hundreds over the years. Get- ting robbed at knifepoint. Figuring out if employees were stealing, who was doing the stealing and let- ting them go. Then having some- one file a complaint over it. Sheesh! It makes me tired just thinking about. Maybe I'll take a nap. Too many Americans are with- out work. There are almost 2 mil- lion fewer people working than there were two and a half years ago. You see numbers for jobs cre- ated and someone adds them up to say "Hooray, jobs were created" but then you have to look at the weekly numbers for first-time unemployment claims of over 400,000 and realize that means over a million and a half every month. It is a sad state of labor on this Labor Day. Politics aside, my fervent hope is for an improvement in our economy so that those with skills, motivation and energy can put it to use for an employer, their family and their community. Whether in a labor union or not, private sector jobs are the only source of social health and eco- nomic wealth. Those working for government are worthy of recogni- tion and thanks for their service, too. Any job lost can mean a fami- ly in crisis. Let us all hope and pray for better times. Can I get an "Amen"? I'm hustling on this last column to send to the editor before heading for that special Oregon lake that lets us recharge our batteries and enjoy some real down time. If the column is less than polished, I hope readers understand. For those who check on blog posts at Polecat News and Views, keep going there (use "Blogs" link at online Daily News, or enter "DonPolson.blogspot.com" in a search window). You'll see arti- cles, news items, analysis and opinion pieces that I find around the world of the Internet – items that will inform you better than the usual 3 minute segment on broad- cast or cable. You won't find ads, banners or auto-start videos (I hate them). At the very least, you'll be able to know what your usual news sources are leaving out (a lot, believe me). There have been almost 2,300 individual articles placed there daily over the last two and a half years; over 17,000 page views have occurred. Posts just in the last few days: "The crum- bling cult of Obama," "Let the Perry hatred begin," "Federal judge throws out Obama drilling rules," "Unem- ployment to top 8 per- cent, according to WH economist," "In-kind contributions to Obama campaign from NY Times," "Disarming citi- zens and enabling crim- inals in Britain," and "There's not much fur- ther we can cut". That last one is a direct quote from our President com- plaining how hard it is to reduce spending. Yeah, right. I thought I might respond to the various critical brickbats printed on this page over the months but, in looking them over, few really deserve dignifying. However, I did find it disappoint- ing that, in drawing conclusions from my column on my experi- ences with transients and panhan- dlers, conclusions that I never actu- ally wrote (in other words, making stuff up), fellow columnist R. Minch actually lobbed a rhetorical cheap shot. "You can't be a Christ- ian while booting the homeless out of town." I made no such recom- mendation for dealing with the homeless (see "making stuff up"). Don Polson The way I see it In addition to being rather pre- sumptuous in pronouncing what I can and can't do or say and still "be a Christian," it also strikes me as historically blind to think that the only way to do good and right by the less fortunate involves gov- ernment funding. Whether you know it or not, prior to the great Progressive leap forward (terms I would dispute as applied to the advent of publicly funded social and retirement services) starting in the 1930s under FDR, the churches of America were the pri- mary, the most effective, and the most compas- sionate, way to tend to the less fortunate. I don't think the end result of grand govern- ment programs is partic- ularly desirable in the long term. Witness the financial shortfalls, bureaucratic controls, undermin- ing of personal responsibility and gratitude, and the creation of masses of millions that think of themselves as "entitled" to "bene- fits" that basically come from their fellow citizens. That's the way I see it. Also, ask yourself this: How many times in your life have you asked a poor person for a job. I did- n't think so. Don Polson can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.