Oil: Always an excuse

I read with great interest the article on the front page of the D-H (Feb. 17) regarding the anomaly of the price of crude oil compared to the price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump. I expected to read how the refineries have been producing more heating oil for the winter and less gasoline - supply and demand, yadda-yadda-yadda. In the past there has always been an answer for the high fuel prices: "planned maintenance" and lowered production at several refineries during peak gasoline usage periods; refinery fires; and, of course, the high price of crude oil.

The latter is now certainly not the case, with crude oil at less than $40 a barrel - but lo and behold, Big Oil always has a Plan B in their back pocket. This time it's simply a matter of the wrong kind of crude oil!

It's akin to listening to your 6-year-old's inventive, albeit implausible, reasons why the living room lamp lies broken on the floor.

Douglas Bauer, Albany

Recall Reagan recession

In his editorial of Feb. 16, Hasso Hering does his readers a disservice by distorting the history of the Reagan recession of 1981-1983. The recession was brought on by high interest rates and the contractionary monetary policy pursued by Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. This policy was needed to tame the twin problems of inflation and slow growth that stemmed from the end of the Vietnam War and the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979. Believing in supply-side economics (otherwise known as the trickle-down theory), Reagan cut taxes in 1981. Though the tax cuts were accompanied by some harsh cuts in domestic programs, the federal budget plunged into deficit spending, and the federal deficit ballooned. In 1982 Reagan was forced to acknowledge the severity of the recession and the consequent reduction in revenue. He agreed to tax increases, especially for corporations, rolling back about one third of the earlier cuts. The economy recovered as a result of the successful taming of inflation and massive deficit spending. Tax cuts had little or nothing to do with the recovery.

Our current recession bears little resemblance to the Reagan recession. Interest rates are at historical lows, and we are faced with the strong possibility of deflation. Demand has dropped precipitously, and our economy needs real stimulus to restore demand. According to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, the greatest stimulus will come from increasing funding for food stamps, unemployment benefits, infrastructure, and aid to states. The least stimulus will come from tax cuts. Indeed, measures such as tax cuts for corporations or making the Bush tax cuts permanent will cost the Treasury more than they return to the economy.

Robert Waterhouse, Scio

Back to old values

Kudos to the letter from John Robinson (Feb. 10), especially the question "When are integrity and honesty going to become the standard?"

Keeping in mind that the IRS is simply another arm of today's political system, my answer to the question is: Not until we as Americans wake up to the fact that we have denigrated and abandoned the Judeo-Christian value system on which our nation was founded.

The subject of the editorial in the same edition titled "Clunk & murk" in a sense related to the same problem. So-called political correctness, aka PC, is an example of the same mentality. Compromise so as not to offend is the name of the game.

Gil Helvie, Albany

Gambling on stimulus

I think this stimulus bill was an act of desperation, a huge gamble, like a guy who is at the end of his rope so he takes everything he has and/or can steal, and buys a bunch of lottery tickets, hoping for a miracle.

Mr. Obama has made lots of people happy, at least for the short term, with this stimulus package and hopes he gets the same kind of miracle so he can wind up in the history books as our best and brightest president. An added dividend for the Obama administration is all the new control the feds now have over agencies that participate in his feeding frenzy.

I felt an instant of surprised pride when I saw this morning's Albany Democrat-Herald, and saw a headline "DeFazio votes no on stimulus." It immediately reminded me of Oregon's Wayne Morse, who was the only senator to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. Remember that? It was shoved down the throats of the legislative branch of our government by the Johnson administration and got the Vietnam War rolling. Like the stimulus bill, which was delivered only hours before the vote, the actual facts were murky but there was a huge sense of urgency and panic,

Like Wayne Morse, Mr. DeFazio may well wind up in the history books as the only Democrat House member astute enough to oppose this disaster, but the books may not remember that the reason he voted against it was because it let too many people keep too much of what they earned via tax cuts.

In the fourth paragraph of the article it says the bill has too much money for tax cuts. Doesn't that kind of sound like he feels the government starts out owning the money and only relinquishes it when there is a tax cut involved?

Randy Altstock, Albany

It would block Mom's view

The Eugene Freezing and Storage Co. is proposing to increase the size of its cold storage facility near Marion Street and Lochner Drive. This will have a significant impact on those property owners who live north of the city water canal.

My mother, a homeowner who lives within sight of the proposed expansion, purchased her first home on 38th Avenue S.E. over 35 years ago. Since that time, she's had a stray cow or a few deer roam in her backyard; someone's pet goose or duck would swim up to her backyard; the neo-tropical birds would visit her garden every year; and, the migrating waterfowl that still abound - all have added value to her personal lifestyle.

When the cold storage facility was initially built, it blocked the view of Marys Peak from those who lived nearby. Now, this Eugene-based company wants to expand the size of its facility to within 100 feet of 38th, creating more congestion, environmental dust and increased traffic, blocking the remaining view of the distant skies.

It won't put hundreds of laid-off workers back to work, and few, if any, will be hired from the local labor force. It will put more money into the hands of a Eugene business owner and have very little impact on the failing economy of Albany.

Do not allow the expansion of this facility to further devalue the lifestyles of those who live near this cold storage company.

Let's tip the balance of the scales toward helping those on 38th Avenue. What's more important, the value of one's lifestyle or the expansion of a nonlocal business, bringing less than a handful of jobs, to an already failing economy?

Arnold W. Bradley, Albany