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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 11B
COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
"McClintock explains opposition to debt bill
WHERE I STAND credit rating agencies have
............................................................................................................. warned is necessary to pre-
TOM McCLINTOCK serve the AAA credit rating
CONGRESSMAN, 4TH DISTRICT
Statement of Opposition
td S. 365 "Budget Control Act
of 2011"
The Budget Control Act of
2011 increases the debt limit
by between $2.1 and $2.4 tril-
lion, the biggest explosion of
debt in American history. It
allows the government to
avoid spending reductions
for the next two years while
squandering our last best
hope of averting a sovereign
debt crisis.
I am opposed to this
measure for the following
reasons:
The purported cutS, even if
realized, are far below the $4
trillion deficit reduction that
of the United States govern-
ment.
It blows the lid off the
House budget passed in April
by more than a half-trillion
dollars over 10 years.
Itmakes no significant
spending reguctions for at
least the next two years,
essentially freezing spending
at an unsustainable level.
While the debt increase
occurs this year, significant
spending cuts aren't to be
made for many years and
can be ignored or reversed by
future acts of Congress.
The spending caps are
easily circumvented by de-
claring appropriations to be
an emergency, a response to
a major disaster, or neces-
sary for the "Global War on
Terror."
The balanced budget amend-
ment provisions are illusory
because the amendment is
completely undefined.
Act flirts with credit
downgrade
Let's not forget the gorilla
in the room. America faces
an unprecedented fiscal
crisis because of an unprece-
dented spending binge by
this administration and the
last. Credit rating agencies
have openly warned that the
nation's Triple-A credit rating
cannot be sustained without a
credible plan to reduce the
projected 10-year budget
deficit by roughly $4 trillion.
This bill averts the threat
of downgrade for failure to pay
our current bills, but it also
gives the most spendthrift
administration in American •
history a credit line to con-
tinue spending at unsustain-
able levels through the next
election. And it falls far short
of the measures demanded by
the rating agencies as neces-
sary to maintain the Triple-A
credit of the United States
government.
• If the nation's Triple-A
credit rating is downgraded
as a result of this failure, it
will mean higher interest
rates to maintain government
debt. Given the enormity of
that debt, even a small in-
crease in interest rates can
add crushing additional costs
to government. Furthermore,
interest rate increases would
ripple through the economy,
causing higher mortgage
interest rates, higher credit
card rates and a severe addi-
tional drag on the economy.
This would occur on top
of the inherent economic
damage this bill does. The
borrowing authorized in this
measure is not theoretical: it
amounts to more than $7,000
for every man, woman and
child in the nation or roughly
$28,000 for a family of four.
This debt must be repaid
through that family's future
taxes just as surely as if it
appeared on their credit card
statement. In a real sense, this
act means that every family
in America has acquired the
obligation to make the same
payments as if they had just
bought a new car.
Predicting the future deci-
sions of the credit rating
agencies is a fool's errand.
Much of their economic
analysis is marred by percep-
tion, psychology, political
pressure and self-interest.
• But there is no blinking at
the fact that on many occa-
sions in the last month their
senior analysts have called
for immediate adoption of a
credible work-out plan for $4
trillion of genuine deficit re-
duction in Order to maintain
a Triple-A rating. We ignore
these repeated and explicit
warnings at our peril.
Editor's note: Congressman
McClintock has posted a
comprehensive analysis of the
Budget Control Act of 2011 at
mcclintock.house.gov.
LETTERS r o the EDITOR
Thanksl
On behalf of the Gold
Mountain community we
want to thank all fire dis-
tricts, law enforcement and
EPHC emergency personnel
who responded to a mutual
aid call the afternoon of July
31 to quickly extinguish a
brush fire that threatened
several homes, ours included.
We often take for granted
the sacrifices and risks
of firefighters. Without the
Forest Service, CalFire and
volunteers from the Portola
Volunteer Fire Department,
Graeagle Fire Protection
District, Plumas-Eureka Fire
Department and the Beck-
wourth Fire District (apolo-
gies to anyone missed that
day) the lives and safety of
our community would have
been at great risk. These ded-
icated volunteers willingly
risk their personal safety.
They train for many hours in
their spare timeto protect
those~around :them/They do
it for no compensation, other
than the good feeling they get
from helping others.
If you know a firefighter,
give them a well-deserved
cheer. Thank you firefighters
and all responders for your
swift action and professional-
ism on July 31. If not for your
effort some of us could now
be sifting through a field of
charrBd memories rather
than celebrating another
awesome summer day.
Len Fernandes and
Jeanne Harper
Gold Mountain
Don't feed them
This letter is aimed at all of
the Portola residents that
regularly put out food for all
the cute beautiful wildlife
and feral cats in our commu-
nity.
Three nights ago both my
neighbor and myself had our
hummingbird feeders torn
down and emptied. The only
animal locally that could
have stood high enough to
reach them is a bear. Bears
are omnivorous, they'll eat
anything from leftover tuna
casserole to tall grass.
Several days prior a coyote
the size of a German shep-
herd killed a feral cat run-
ning within a couple yards of
a resident where I live. They
also will eat almost anything.
The point is this: in a
town this small chances
are anyone maimed or killed
by wildlife (bears in particu-
lar) will likely be someone
that we at least know on a
first-name basis; it could be a
close friend or relative, it
could be you.
Think about it citizens
before you put out that cat
food, leftover meatloaf, etc.
Please.
Cas~ Lindner
P0rtola
Good job
I would like to express my
appreciation to Sheriff Greg
Hagwood for the excellent job
he is doing as our sheriff.
Whether it is dealing with
civic leaders, leading dia-
logue with the CHP, handling
a music festival~or simply in-
teracting with individuals in
the community on a personal
level, he personifies what a
sheriff should be.
We are fortunate to have
Greg Hagwood as sheriff of
Plumas County.
Rajinder Singh
Quincy
More information
I read your article regard-
ing the grilling of Plumas
County CHP Commander
Bruce Carpenter. As a traffic
engineer I decided to look
into a few more details about
the comparison made be-
tween Plumas County and
Nevada County enforcement
by the CHP. The information
I found in the CHP 2009
Annual Report of Collisions
paints a different story.
While it is true that Nevada
County has almost five times
the population as Plumas
County (98,800 to 20,500 re-
spectively) Plumas has more
state highway miles than
Nevada County (182 to 129)
and only slightly fewer total
roadway, miles (885 to~9~4):It
makes sense that a similar
number of patrol officers
would be needed to enforce a
similar number of miles.
There are other reasons to
have greater enforcement in
Plumas County. The average
fatality collision rate per
driver over the last 10 years
in Plumas County is more
than double that of Nevada
County. Motor vehicle owner-
ship per driver in Plumas
County is higher by 20 per-
cent. Most significantly the
alcohol involved injury colli-
sion rate in Plumas County
is 18 percent higher. Drivers
in Plumas County own more
vehicles, are involved in
more collisions and are more
likely to have been drinking
when involved in an injury
accident. The weekly pic-
tures of collisions in the
newspaper should remind
us that we need as many
enforcement personnel and
first responders as the state
can provide, not fewer.
Nobody enjoys being
stopped by a CHP officer even
if they may have don~ some-
thing illegal or unsafe. Speak-
ing from personal experi-
ence, I was recently stopped
on a return trip from Reno,
and I was treated respectfully
and courteously. The officer
was looking out for the safety
of the road and all of its
users. We personally appreci-
ate the efforts of CHP officers
to make our roads safer for
all.
Ron Marquez, P.E.
Blairsden
Get over it
All right people let's get
over the paranoia. Not every-
one is afraid of the CHP.
If you do what is right and
follow the rules, you have
nothing to worry about, If
you drink, have a designated
driver. Try slowing down and
follow the speed limit signs.
Be courteous.
Too many people up here
in Plumas County feel enti-
fled. Yes, the younger officers
may be a little more gung-ho,
but they are trained to right
a wrong. Why should they
not do their job in Plumas
County because a few of the
entitled have to change their
ways? These are young men
and women who have had six
months of the best training of
just about any law enforce-
ment agency in the United
States.
A little aecret for the
"afraid" is that your attitude
has a lot to do with an
officer's reaction to you.
To Mr. Logue, Mr. Hollister
and Ms. Brakken: This is dot
south Sacramento and Stock-
ton Boulevard. Flat-landers
come up here with the
attitude they can drive up
here like they do down there.
No, we are a different culture
so abide by our rules and
leave your attitude down
there and we will all be fine.
Maybe there's a reason there
isn't a crime wave up here?
Think about it.
Donna Mack
Greenville
Optimistic
During the past few
years, some communities in
community, including local
law enforcement, wish to
address this or any other
issue, please do not hesitate
to contact me.
David Hollister
Plumas County
District Attorney
Enjoy the music
I strongly encourage every-
one to attend the free concert
at the fair on Friday, Aug. 12,
in the grandstands. I had the
privilege to see their per-
formance during their last
tour and it was awesome.
Fivacious, a group of siblings
singing a cappella gospel,
delivers a positive and en-
lightening message. Please
hupport their: gift of music.
Hans Holtz
Meadow Valley
Aristocracy
During the summer of 1954,
a graduate business student
at UCLA boasted to me that
That leaves the other 50 per-
cent to shoulder the burden
for the remaining nonpro-
ducers. The continuing calls
for "taxing the rich" do
nothing more than decrease
the number of taxpayers
paying into the system there-
by reducing the amount of
taxes collected.
It is a known fact that
when tax rates are reduced,
the government coffers re-
ceive more revenue as the.
private sector is incentivized
to invest more in job-creating
ventures. As to the "robber
baron" corporations, billions
of dollars of these entities are
currently sitting in foreign
countries due to the confisca-
tory corporate tax rates im-
posed by the United States
which has the second highest
tax rate of all democratic
countries. Politicians that
want to truly reduce our
deficit have only to reduce
these draconian rates and
Their political careers are
more important than their
service to their country and
those they represent.
Don't they get it? We don't
trust them! They have
never lived up to their
promises of cutting spending,
and we don't expect them to
do it now.
The president has abdi-
cated his role completely in
leading this country and he
is focused solely on his re-
election campaign.
The Democrats in Congress
are playing political games,
desperately trying to main-
tain the bloated and unsus-
tainable size of government,
while trying to help the presi-
dent get re-elected.
Republican leadership is
avoiding responsibility, try-
ing to convince the American
people with their rhetoric
that this time we can trust
them, while their actions
lead us down the same path
our~county have traversed he was going to be in on the '.that
a rough patch in their
relationship with local law
enforcement, particularly
CHP. These difficulties re-
cently culminated in a meet-
ing organized by Assembly-
man Dan Logue in which I
was asked to attend. During
and after Assemblyman
Logue's meeting the dialogue
has evolved to a point where
it has seem, ingly fractured
these already strained rela-
tionshipg. I am, however,
optimistic we will be able to
resolve our differences and
continue to strive towards
making Plumas County a safe
and just place to live, work
and visit.
The men and women of
our local CHP office(s) do an
outstanding job. However,
there have been some patrol
and enforcement issues
which have become problem-
atic. This is not to say all
CHP officers are doing some-
thing wrong all the time but
rather enough issues have
arisen enough times to cause
concern from our residents,
merchants and visitors.
For some time now I have
been working with the
administration of CHP in
an effort to address public
complaints and issues which
have arisen with cases sub-
mitted to the DA's office.
Over the past six months I
have met to discuss these
matters at our monthly chiefs
meeting, in personal meet-
ings and during regularly
scheduled legal trainings.
The success of CHP is
mutually beneficial to my
efforts as a resident of
Plumas County and as the
district attorney. In other
words, I want them to
succeed for the sake of my
office's success,as well as
for the betterment of our
community. Recently, I have.
been very impressed by some
ideas of Lt. Bruce Carpenter
to address these issues. While
this controversy may be
divisive I remain optimistic
Lt. Carpenter and the men
and women of CHP will
9vercome whatever difficul-
ties exist and "provide
the highest level of safety,
service and security to the
people of California."
Should any members of our
money would mo=v:e' ~'tli~t:the DgmocratS would'
ground floor of the new
aristocracy and neo-feudal
system being planned by
large corporations. He men-
lioned that one supermarket
chain was moving into neigh-
borhoods that long supported
independent markets. The
chain was funded to lose
money for at least 20 years in
order to undersell the inde-
pendents and run them out of
business.
I do not know just where he
got his information, and, I
must say, while I remember
his boast vivi.dly, I did not
give complete credence to his
seemingly outlandish con-
spiracy claim.
Over the years, however,
his scenario seems to have
been playing out as he had
boasted it would.
How many independents in
the oil, banking, insurance,
media, pharmacy, grocery,
plumbing, stationery, etc. in-
dustries have gone under
since that time?
Luckily, Indian Valley still
has a few independents.
Many have folded, but we
still have a few locally owned
independent grocery stores, a
hardware store, a pharmacy-
stationery store, a locally
owned independent news-
paper, two locally owned
independent gas stations, an
independent bank and a few
independent restaurants.
The only way we can keep
our remaining Indian Valley
businesses independent is by
supporting them.
Salvatore Catalano
Taylorsviile
No such thing
I am always amused by
the liberal writers to your
paper when they refer to the
government as "our" source
of income. They should be
reminded that government
does not earn income, it takes
income from the productive
workers in our country and
redistributes it to the nonpro-
ductive ones in order to se-
cure the latter's votes come
ballot time.
Numerous studies by rep-
utable research organiza-
tions (including the IRS
itself) indicate that virtually
50 percent of Americans pay
little or no income taxes.
onshore in a New Yot~k
second.
As for corporations fund-
ing conservative political
campaigns, the contributions
to liberal politicians and
causes by the public sector
unions far exceed those made
by corporations to conserva-
tive ones. And, to top it off,
the members of those unions
have no say in where those
contributions go at the same
time deductions in their
paychecks are made for
involuntary union dues.
Taxes aside, I would like
to know how refusing to
cut spending and reduce
the deficit translates into
patriotism.
Bryan Hansen
Graeagle
Enough is enough!
This is n.o longer about
Democrats or Republicans.
This is about the ,future of
America. The current crop
of politicians has zero credi-
bility when it comes to
promising to cut spending.
Iike to take us.
This really is a tipping
point. It's time for the politi-
cians in Washington to
decide whose team they are
on. If the Republicans only
care about what is best for
the Republican Party and the
Democrats only care about
what is best for the Democrat
Party, then who is looking
out for what is best for the
American people?
The stakes are high. We
must remain resilient be-
cause if we don't stop this
spending path of destruction,
where will we turn if in
America -- liberty cannot
survive?
Call your congressmen and
senators and tell them
enough is enough. The Amer-
ican people will no longer
stand for promises of the
future. We demand real cuts
and real action now!
Larry Larson
Lake Almanor
See Letters, page 12B
Contact your elected officials...
PLUMAS COUNTY SUPERVISORS - 520 Main Street, Room 309, Quincy,
CA 95971; (530) 283-6170; FAX: (530) 2836288; E-Mail:
pcbs@countyofplumas.corru Individual supervisors can also be
e-mailed from links on the county website, countyofplumas.com
PRESIDENT - Barack Obama, the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW Washington, D.C. 20500. (202) 456-1414. Fax: 202-456-2461.
E-mail: whitehouse.gov/contact/
U.S. SENATOR - Dianne Feinstein (D), 331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-3841; FAX,." 202-228-3954; TTY/TDD: (202)
224-2501. District Office: One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707; Fax: (415) 393-0710 Website: feinstein.senate.gov.
U.S. SENATOR : Barbara Boxer (D). District Office: 501 1 St., Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814. (916)448-2787; FAX (916) 448-2563; OR 112 Hart
Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-3553. FAX (202) 22843454.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 4TH DIST. - Tom McClintock. 508 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515. (202) 225-2511; FAX (202) 225-5444.
mcclintoc.k.house.gov. DISTRICT OFFICE: 8700 Auburn Folson Rd., Suite
#100, Granite Bay, CA 95746; (916) 786-5560, FAX: (916) 786-6364.
STATE SENATOR, 1st DIST. - Ted Gaines. State Capitol, Room 3056
Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 651-4001, FAX: (916) 324-2680. Roseville office:
2140 Professional Dr., #140, Roseville, CA, 95661. (916) 783-8232, FAX (916
783-5487; Jackson office: 33 C Broadway, Jackson, CA 95642, (209) 223-9140.
STATE ASSEMBLYMAN, 3RD DIST. - Dan Logue, State Capitol,
Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 319-2003; FAX (916) 319-2103.
District Office, 1550 Humboldt Rd., Ste. #4, Chico, CA 95928; (530) 895-4217,
i FAX (530) 895-4219.
I OVERNOR J rry Brown, office of the G0vernor, State
t Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814. Website: gov.ca.gov/ '
~(91~6) 445-2841. FAX: (916) 558-3160.