OPINION
Write to us: The Herald welcomes letters from its readers. To make room for as many letters as possible, keep your letter to 350 words maximum. Include your name and daytime phone number for verification. Send to P.O. Box 278, Poulsbo, WA. 98370; fax to (360) 779-8276; or e-mail to rwalker@northkitsapherald.com.
North Kitsap
Page A4
IN OUR OPINION
What we hope to see in 2014 W
elcome to 2014. It’s a new year, with new opportunities and possibilities. Here are some things we hope to see accomplished
in 2014. 1. Expansion of the Poulsbo Port District’s boundaries. Residents will vote on the measure on Feb. 11. Expansion will generate more property tax revenue for the district, which the district can use to invest in economic development that will create more jobs, and in measures to improve the health of our marine environment. 2. Protection of Poulsbo’s marine waters. The Poulsbo Police Department has a police boat, but lacks the resources to regularly monitor activity in Poulsbo’s waters. The Port of Poulsbo has concerns about boats that anchor out; some dump their holding tanks, polluting an already precarious marine environment, and some anchor longer than the state Department of Natural Resources allows. The port and police should share the cost of regular patrols, and should seek the assistance of other stakeholders. That includes DNR, which owns the state’s aquatic lands; and the Suquamish Tribe, which has treaty-protected resource rights here and, with the state, is co-manager of the state’s fisheries. 3. A brand and marketing plan for Viking Avenue. Things are starting to happen on the former auto row. Soon, Sound Brewery or Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater will purchase the former Courtesy Ford site. North Kitsap Fishline is moving to the former Poulsbo RV site, and the Poulsbo Farmers Market may follow. As the thoroughfare fills in and diversifies, businesses would benefit from forming an organization like the Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association; such an organization could market Viking Avenue and help businesses capitalize on the history and amenities of the thoroughfare. 4. A severe-weather shelter in North Kitsap. A coalition of neighbors and non-profits has formed, with the goal of establishing a severe-weather shelter in North Kitsap. The homeless population is largely unseen, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Barb Fulton of the Kingston Food Bank said her organization serves about 10 homeless people; one family lives in a car. According to anecdotal information, a number of teenagers “couch surf” or, when the weather is not inclement, live in local forests. When weather is inclement, the nearest severe-weather shelter is in Bremerton. In fact, all overnight shelters are located in Central or South Kitsap. It’s been said that many of us are a step away from being homeless; all it takes is an unforeseen financial crisis to shake the security and well-being of an individual or family. Numerous organizations make clothing and food available, and those efforts are important. Other organizations, such as Coffee Oasis, connect teens with services that can help them attain a new level of self-sufficiency: health care, housing, host families, job training and job-search assistance, mentoring, and volunteer opportunities. We can’t think of any other issue more deserving of the community’s attention than the issue of individuals and families living on the street, particularly during harsh winter months. We support the establishment of a severe-weather shelter in North Kitsap. The staff of the North Kitsap Herald wish you a year of good health and every happiness. Happy New Year.
NorthKitsapHerald.com
Friday, January 3, 2014 | North Kitsap Herald
Letters Challenges to call for return of ‘laissez faire’ Chris Jacobson’s letter is “royalist” propaganda (“Government is the problem, not the solution,” page A4, Dec. 27 Herald). It reflects the fiction that “capitalistic free enterprise” actually exists. It’s a myth that serves the ends of the rich and powerful. They would like us to believe they are the sole creators of wealth. Increasingly, however, the upward redistribution of the nation’s wealth is the product of Wall Street games, monopolistic price-gouging, worker exploitation, and the overriding influence of campaign financing. The elite are grabbing a growing percentage of the nation’s wealth because of their power to game the system. Every politician understands the sure rewards of pandering to the rich and powerful, and the certainty of punishment for failing to give them what they want. Politicians also know that the public pays little attention and is easily misled. That’s why economic policies over the last 30 years have favored the wealthy at the expense of working Americans. The ultra-rich imagine they are self-made. They conveniently ignore the taxpayer-funded public services, highways, public education and law enforcement and labor that are the foundation of their fortunes. Billionaires like the Koch brothers, who inherited their wealth, hate government regulation. Predators obviously don’t like regulations that protect people from them or hold them accountable for their toxic dumps and oil spills. What’s amazing is that so many conservatives have bought the Koches brand of libertarianism. This ideology pretends that people would be freer without government protection and regulation. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the absence of government regulation and enforcement, the Koches and other “feudal lords” would fill the power vacuum and use it to consolidate their financial control and anti-democratic agenda. Their version of the “golden rule” has always been: “the man
with the gold should make the rules.” Gene Bullock Poulsbo n
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Chris Jacobson’s economy lesson was fascinating. If he is dreaming of the good old days of economic laissez-faire (a super supply-side philosophy) and political laissez-faire (the old spoil system and hands-off government), he may want to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “The Bully Pulpit,” where she describes how large corporations, ran the country, owned the politicians and judges, and the workers who produced the wealth for these monopolies, and mom and pop businesses were expendable commodities. If, as Mr. Jacobson claims, the current government is to blame for the gap between the haves and have nots, how did Mr. Obama manage that? And if Obamacare “encourages companies to hire part-time workers,” why then didn’t “Bismarckcare,” exactly 100 years ago, ruin Germany’s economy? And why did Henry Ford double the daily wages for his workers without going broke? If Mr. Jacobson believes that high taxes, high wages, extensive government envolvement, universal healthcare and education, strong labor unions, are detrimental to an economy, and supplyside economy is the Holy Grail, I suggest that he checks how other countries are doing. Why is Germany — burdened with everything Mr. Jacobson considers detrimental to an economy — doing so well? 19351 8th Ave. NE, Suite 106, P.O. Box 278, Poulsbo WA. 98370 (360) 779-4464 | (360) 779-8276 (fax) Email: (First initial, last name)@northkitsap herald.com
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He may also want to compare the U.S. economy with the economies of countries that feature what Mr. Jacobson seems to favor: little or no government, little or no taxes, no Obamacare, no education — a laissez-faire paradise — and see how they do economically. And, yes, Mr. Jacobson, you are right, the current government “has created a dependency class” by bailing out the banks and car industry. And, no, “the simple act of reinvesting” does not “create growth and wealth,” as you stated. It created bankruptcies and real estate failures on a massive scale. James Behrend Bainbridge Island
This USCG retiree is grateful Regarding the letter, “Congress lies to military retirees,” Dec. 27 Herald, page A4: Your writer urges Kitsap County citizens to avoid military service with strong language: “Do not join.” She is factually correct — George W’s $5 trillion contribution to the now-shrinking federal deficit occurred more than five years ago. (Invading small foreign countries is quite costly!) However, for some, facts can be challenging. Even the “no-compromise” conservative House of Representatives got its act together long enough to pass a two-year budget. That military pensioners will get a smaller pay raise perhaps is a price we military retirees can afford. Sick, hungry and homeless vets in Kitsap County may question the need for any pay raise. See LETTERS, Page A5
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