Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/68877
6A Daily News– Wednesday, June 6, 2012 Opinion Economic fix DAILYNEWS 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 Reagan's and Maggie Thatch- er's philosophy of trickle-down economics. So many bought into that philosophy and pointed to the improved economy as proof, but the improved econo- my actually was due to a huge increase in federal spending, especially for defense. Roosevelt era. It wasn't so much the social programs that he pushed through that brought us out of the depression, as it was WWII. Government spending of itself can be of temporary help with the general economy, but it is also inflationary and in the end increases the national debt. Private investing provides long-term growth and economic stimulus. The same can be said of the us, the way to spur investment is not by allowing the plutocrats to hoard more of their money in the hope that they will buy something, but to make it more profitable to them to increase their income by investing that hoard and avoiding the effect of a raise in tax rates. Of course, as Dev informed The problem with the way we are trying to spur the econo- my now is that we're again using government investment. This is only growing our debt. What we need is real invest- ment. It's a well-known fact that American corporations are sit- ting on trillions of dollars. Editor; Finally, somebody to debunk make it good business for them to do so. Editor: Howdy to all the people of Red Bluff and all of Tehama County, some of which I know, and to the rest I'd love to meet in the future. Branding This is what I understand from reading a lot of articles in the Daily News about branding. You are stuck in a dilemma of one half of your citizens wanti- ng to "build it and they will come." More places to shop, more jobs to keep your kids here and happier, and at the same time attract the spending populous. But look what hap- pened in the Kevin Costner movie. A never ending stream of car lights for as far as you could see all heading to an extremely small baseball field in a corn patch in Iowa. Or, Walt Disney's vision of a little park to keep the kiddies busy. Well, his vision didn't stay little. It turned the best orange orchards I've ever seen into L.A., Holly- wood, Sunset Strip (sin cities). Ok, then, there's the other half of the people that don't want any change. They just want to live in a little, quaint, historic, cowboy/cowgirl town. I've been baffled and bored of hearing all the branding issues of two years time; not to mention the hundreds of thou- sands of county/Red Bluff dol- lars that went flying down the road. Don't ask them to invest, Fred Boest, Red Bluff believe it was thrown away given to that company for noth- ing. In the end you were asking your citizens for their ideas for nothing. Talk's cheap, but like you learned, ideas cost money, sometimes big money. I've talked to a lot of smart people here, young and old, of every race and creed. They love Red Bluff and would- n't want to live any- where else (Well, most of them). You sent your money down I-5 and 99, and your citi- zens are sent to Chico and Red- ding to go to doctors. Well of course they're going to shop there. They just spent all those big bucks for the gas to get there. So, the bigger, so-called bargains of a big town are nice; by the time they get home, they're out of money until next month. Redding and Chico keep their money and you can too. Instead of wanting to attract a whole lot of people from sur- rounding areas, really think about keeping your citizens happier and more content where they are, and in turn, their money will stay here. You've asked your citizens to Like a lot of citizens, I give to fix the pool, get a K-9 unit and now you're worried about the Fairground, one of your biggest assets. I believe there are a storage room of ideas right here staring you in the face and you don't see them. I have many, many good ideas on these subjects and your brand also; If that subject is still open I believe I can help Your Turn your citizens become your ambassadors that will tell any- one that will listen, "You have just come to Red Bluff, you won't believe what's going on." Let's make it more exciting and prosperous. Let's stop let- ting big business drain our little town. We can't rely on big gov- ernment anymore. So let's talk, and the quaint, little, historic cow- boy/cowgirl town it is. Linda Bagley, Red Bluff USPS Editor: let's make "Build/clean up Red Bluff our Battle Cry." Yes, while keeping it regarding the necessity to close USPS centers and offices, sounds eerily familiar during the current effort at absolute privatization, which in this case could result in the lay-off of up to 100.000 unionized employ- ees The rolling drumbeat One might assume FedEx and UPS to be the only plausi- ble suitors, who most likely would be forced to consider a Bain Capital style merger in light of the enormity of that undertaking. A suggestion for the appro- priate name of such newly formed company would be FedUp, which also, as an extra added bonus, expresses the sen- timent many of us hold toward this ongoing scheme of nation- al, system-wide for profit priva- tization. Joe Bahlke, Red Bluff 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), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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. If Obama told the grads the truth Commentary Students, faculty and parents, it is my honor to deliver a com- mencement speech today. I am about to do something I have never done as president: tell it like it is. but an idea -- a blank canvas upon which millions painted whatever image they wanted to see. Back in 2008, I was nothing By my own measure -- I promised the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent -- that program failed. Americans were frightened then, as the U.S. and the world came frighteningly close to an economic meltdown. My words reassured millions. I told you I was going to bridge the political divide, bring people together, get America's fiscal house in order, get the economy going and cut our massive deficit in half by the end of my first term. You elected me. Suckers! The first thing I did, under the guise of greatly improving the economy, was the largest stimu- lus package in world history. Those ninny Republicans wanted to stimulate the econo- my through massive temporary tax breaks and credits. I preferred the old Chicago- Democrat method, using nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer funds to pay off unions and other sup- porters. Still, my poll numbers were high. I could have used my siz- able political capital to tackle our real problems -- a muddled tax system that holds back growth and an explosion in enti- tlement spending that will soon cripple America -- but I had no time for that. So I punted. I established the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co- chaired by Republican former Sen. Alan Simpson and Democ- rat former Sen. Erskine Bowles, and let them figure out what to do about tax reform and entitle- ment spending. grumbling about gov- ernment meddling with religious freedom (by me telling it what pro- visions better be in its employee health poli- cies). Common people, who cling to religion and guns, will never understand hope and change. doing. tant fish to fry: my legacy! I had Democrat majorities in the House and the Senate and an irresistible opportunity to be the first president to create the crown jewel of entitlements: health care for all! Sure, I burned through my political capital in the process. Many were unhappy about gov- ernment meddling with their relationship with their doctors. Now, the Catholic Church is After all, I had more impor- I single-handedly created the tea-party response to my poli- cies. Republicans gave Democrats a shellack- ing in the 2010 elec- tions and took over the House. Soon after those elections, the Simpson-Bowles commis- sion released a blueprint for tax and entitlement reform -- solid ideas that both parties could find common ground on. It gave me a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate real leadership to bring both parties together to reform taxes and entitlements and contribute mightily to badly needed growth. do it. Truth be told, this is the hardest job in the world and I really have no clue what I am But I didn't do it. I couldn't As the economy stumbles, unemploy- ment is high, rev- enues are flat, spend- ing is out of control and our deficit is frightening, my only hope of a second term is to confuse, obfus- cate, point fingers and change the sub- ject. Tom Purcell because you're going to need it. In any event, Class of 2012, here is my advice as you enter the worst job market in years: Good luck And despite the fact that your generation will be saddled with years of high taxation and sluggish economic conditions thanks to my policies, I thank you for your continued support. Suckers! ——— Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.