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Editorial: Honeymoon not in the gov's cards The (McMinnville) News-Register Jan. 4 These are difficult days for Gov.-elect Ted Kulongoski, who may not get the traditional honeymoon period for new governors. He and other Oregon leaders need to hit the ground at full pace as financial challenges unfold in 2003. True, he will have the pleasure, when the Legislature convenes Jan. 13, of watching the secretary of state bring sealed November election returns to the Speaker of the House and hearing the results read before a joint session. After that, he can be inaugurated. But between now and then, he and his staff must prepare a 2003-05 budget, which legislators will promptly trash, if the past is precedent. And he also must ready a state of the state report to chart a course for the next few years. Neither is an enviable responsibility. During the good times, the governor and Oregon legislators found multiple ways to spend the revenue that poured into state coffers. During these not-so-good times, they have to go back to basics, concentrating on the core functions. There's no other way for the state to get spending under control. One approach is to apply across-the-board cuts for departments, but that's an irresponsible copout. The alternative is to put some programs on a starvation diet or abolish them outright. That is inordinately difficult, particularly with popular services that people have come to expect and from which they benefit. Private companies facing financial crisis will reduce personnel compensation to survive, but government can't seem to emulate business in that respect. Those seem to be the choices, causing some to forecast an extraordinarily contentious legislative session in 2003. But after five special-session go-rounds last year, there is neither time nor public patience for a repeat. Raising taxes doesn't seem likely in today's climate, especially with PERS hanging around the neck of any tax-hike proposal. Unless government fixes PERS soon, the weight of that albatross will grow as fast as the pension system's "unfunded liability." The incoming governor in addressing the Legislature must prepare Oregonians for a new era, one alien to many people for whom spending comes easy. By nature he's a can-do person, and if he can inspire the public to join in tackling the tough problems with integrity, civility and spirit of volunteerism, the job will get done. Guest forums: Docs' hypothesis is a flawed one By Susan Saladoff, Ashland I have been an advocate for ordinary people who have been harmed by medical mistakes for 20 years. I get numerous calls daily from people who believe they have received substandard medical care. Although I cannot help most of the people who call, nor is there evidence of malpractice from each caller, nonetheless many of the calls are valid complaints where serious injuries have occurred. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has published a study showing that more people die each year from medical mistakes than in car crashes. The IOM also estimated the costs to society for these medical errors at $17 billion to $29 billion. These costs include disability and health care costs, lost income, lost household production and the personal costs of care. Given these extraordinary facts, it is unsettling that instead of mobilizing to enact patient safety measures, doctors and their insurance companies have mounted a massive political and media campaign which provides misinformation and changes the subject. They would have you believe that medical malpractice insurance rates are climbing 20-30 percent a year around the country because of a crisis in the legal system. The fact is that new malpractice claims and malpractice awards did not all of a sudden jump 20-30 percent a year over the last two years when the big jump in insurance rates started to occur. From the mid-1980s until today, the nation's largest businesses have been advancing a legislative agenda to limit their liability for causing injuries. Doctors state that they are leaving the practice of medicine, insisting that the tort system is fueling increases in malpractice insurance. They blame the legal system and have lobbied hard for "tort reform" - laws that restrict the rights of injured consumers to sue wrongdoers. They claim that the enactment of "tort reform" will cause insurance rates to stabilize or even to fall. This hypothesis is flawed. Even the general counsel for the American Tort Reform Association, the leading advocate for restricting patients' rights, has admitted, "We wouldn't tell you or anyone else that the reason to pass tort reform would be to reduce insurance rates." Undercutting patient's legal rights will not solve the problem, because the tort system is not the problem. Americans for Insurance Reform - a coalition of 100 consumer organizations nationwide, show definitively in an Oct. 10, 2002 report on medical malpractice insurance that: (1) Over the last 30 years, the amount medical malpractice insurance companies have paid in jury awards and settlements directly tracks the rates of medical inflation; and (2) The premiums charged by malpractice insurance carriers do not track losses paid, but instead rise and fall in concert with the state of the economy. When the economy is booming and investment returns are high, companies maintain premiums at modest levels to attract new business, however, when the economy falters and interest rates fall, companies increase premiums in response. Despite these facts, doctors continue to blame victims of malpractice and their lawyers for their increased insurance premiums. This is unfortunate because doctors and patients should be allies on this issue - not be pitted against each other. Doctors should join together with patients and consumers and work hard to reform the insurance industry, rather than blame the victims and their lawyers, and to better police the very small number of their profession who commit most of the malpractice. Road work ahead: It's all about future growth By Ken Gosling, Talent It is important as you sit in your cars during the years of construction delays ahead to realize why you are sitting there. Why there are so many construction projects on our streets and highways. The answer is simple: Except for the viaduct repair (definitely needed for safety) and I-5 surface repair from Medford to Ashland, ALL of the highway projects (which will last until 2009) are happening for one purpose only: to prepare for and accommodate the many thousands of new residents that we need to accommodate as they move here, and the uncountable vehicle trips this will add to our vehicle mix. Anyone who thinks these projects will make the valley more livable in 25 years will be sadly mistaken. Interchange projects, highway widening and other infrastructure changes are never able to accommodate the increased use caused by the inevitable growth, rather they only encourage greater congestion, more vehicle trips and a decreasing quality of life. It is time to look at growth for what it is. Increased pollution, increased crime rates, rising tax rates, more crowded classrooms and crowded streets. A decreased quality of life. It is sad to me to see us measuring our success as a community by the rate with which we foul our nest. Think of the good we could do with these millions of dollars. A real bus system. Community sponsored carpooling. Subsidies for less polluting cars. Subsidies to businesses to provide carpooling vans. And most importantly decreased personal and property taxes as we stop subsidies to foster growth that brings wealth to a few and little positive benefits to the rest. Don't just get mad about the construction delays. Stand up and say no to this level of growth. Understand why you are being inconvenienced, and what it will be like to live here in 25 years. Fortunately there is a ray of hope to counter the propaganda that has us believing that we need to only accommodate growth, not stop it. I am pleased to support Alternatives To Growth Oregon. www.ago.org They present a fresh and clear view of the present and where we are going in the future. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. 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