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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > August > 12
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Martin Gottlieb: Those town hall disrupters can serve good purpose
Something seems wrong about the fact that the Miami Valley is essentially missing from the great fight about health care.
We’re used to being at the center of things political. Let there be a national election, and all eyes turn to Ohio, most particularly to the parts that swing back and forth between the parties.
But this month we’re seeing something a little like a national election, in the realm of policy. President Barack Obama is pushing hard for dramatic health care reform. The fate of the issue might come down to what the members of Congress decide about public opinion after visiting home for the August recess.
But we’re really only talking about Democrats in Congress, of which there aren’t any from the Miami Valley.
Republican legislators are presumed to be hostile. While the foes of reform see some hope in targeting Democrats in Congress, proponents of reform see none in targeting Republicans.
You’ve heard how people are showing up at Democratic town hall meetings, often with the purpose of disrupting. This is causing the Democrats to reconsider holding such meetings.
Most politicians know better than to take the turnout at a meeting as a good indicator of public opinion. Truth is, the moderate legislators who are being targeted pride themselves on representing the kind of normal, moderate, open-minded people who don’t scream their heads off at public meetings. They typically don’t play to the highly vocal “base” of either party.
So they will be looking at polls, too. But the polls show a tough sell for change. Roughly, the same thing is happening this time as when President Bill Clinton tried to get reform enacted: With most people being satisfied with their own insurance, the opposition is successfully raising the alarm that reform will change things for the worse.
The drama is playing out in Ohio, if not through town hall meetings, then otherwise. This is partly because Democrats hold marginal House districts around Columbus and Cincinnati areas and in eastern and northern Ohio. The attempt to stack and disrupt public meetings is probably a good thing, all things considered. The resulting drama can focus attention on the issue. The more attention the better. Maybe, as a result, actual information will get out. As things stand, misinformation seems to predominate.
At this newspaper, I frequently get this rhetorical question: If the Obama health insurance plan is so wonderful, why don’t the politicians have to sign up for it?
The question makes no sense. There is no plan that anybody has to sign up for. The vast majority of people who already have health insurance through work could keep their plan.
That’s the most important decision the reformers have made: They are not proposing a whole new system.
One of their proposals is a “public option,” wherein some people could choose a health care plan run by the government. The politicians in Congress are already covered by such a plan. One of Barack Obama’s campaign points in 2008 was, if we politicians can have something like this — a great plan — why shouldn’t the public have access?
Another case I often hear against reform is that the Massachusetts plan for universal care is a failure. Actually, the more attention focused on Massachusetts, the better. That state has achieved nearly universal coverage quickly, and has done so without breaking its budget.
There have also been problems in Massachusetts, to be sure. But there are always problems in health care. How severe they are is a debate worth having.
It’d certainly be better than what’s passing for debate now.
The White House has put out the message that when its supporters hear something “fishy” coming from opponents of reform, they should let the White House know. In response, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leader of the Senate Republicans, said this was appalling; he implied that it smacked of President Richard Nixon’s enemies list.
Nonsense. The White House was just saying, if you hear a charge that sounds like it might be untrue — like reform would facilitate killing old people — let us know; we’ll respond.
There are certainly legitimate qualms to be raised about the various reform plans. The reformers often seem to be overpromising when they insist that more people will have coverage even as costs are brought under control.
Such real issues get a lot of attention in Congress. Somehow, though, when the debate extends out into the country — the supposedly “real” world — the debate turns unreal.
Permalink | Comments (39) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns, Martin Gottlieb, National Politics, Ohio politics, Social Services
Editorial: Wayne, Wyoming might need a new dream
For more than four years, the City of Dayton has been trying to get a shopping development at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Wyoming Street in the southeast part of the city.
The land in question starts at the northeast corner of that intersection and stretches about 12 acres into a residential area that has seen better days.
At one stage, Kroger was signed up to build a modern supermarket. But the company pulled out.
The effort at redevelopment made perfect sense.
Located across from the South Park and Walnut Hills areas, the corner seemed to have great potential, as Kroger’s interest suggested.
But when Kroger pulled out, the city went looking for another project. It hasn’t found one. Other big stores aren’t interested.
Of course, this search has been taking place at the worst possible time for the economy.
But how much longer can it go on? The city has the property owners who are willing to sell lined up, but it had to pay them 3 percent of the proposed purchase price of their homes and lots to extend the options, at a cost of $150,000. The options expire at the end of the year.
The people in the neighborhood are deeply frustrated. They say normal upkeep has suffered because of the expectation of change. And upkeep is crucial in an old neighborhood that also has so many vacancies.
Now the Rite Aid drugstore across Wayne Avenue has closed.
Not all the news is bad. A lot of effort goes into keeping up the appearance of the commercial strip. Crime is down. The city is buying up vacated land and removing some blight.
And East End Community Services is about to begin construction of 40 homes just beyond the boundaries of the 12 acres. These homes, subsidized with state government money, will be offered at lower-than-market rates.
That ought to help stabilize the neighborhood — now seeing an influx of Hispanic and other immigrants — while perhaps making the area more attractive to businesses in the long run.
For the short run, the city may have to pull back on its dreams. Developing a reduced portion of the area might have to be good enough.
The city owns properties right at the corner. In approaching businesses, it has found more interest in the corner than in the broader site.
(It still has to get permission to demolish the dilapidated Ecki Building, which some see as having historic value.)
Many residents — especially east of Wayne — really, really wanted a big, modern, suburban- style supermarket. It’s a shame to give up on that dream, given all the work that went into overcoming obstacles.
(Unable to get the land by exercising the governmental power of eminent domain, the city had to get all the homeowners on board voluntarily, without paying exorbitant prices.)
But some good things are happening. The best bet now may be to move ahead with what can be done now and postpone the bigger dream.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Editorials, Local Business, Martin Gottlieb
Guest column: Vibrant, creative cities are bicycle friendly
Bill Pote, who wrote this column, is an IT consultant who lives in downtown Dayton. He is founder of DaytonMostMetro.com.
Portland, Boulder, Madison, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Chicago. These cities are magnets for young college graduates and the “creative class” that so many places, including Dayton, are trying to retain and attract.
What else do they have in common? They are all bicycle-friendly cities, according to a city ranking by the League of American Bicyclists, which sets the standard for cities looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of the bicycle culture.
While Dayton must continue to work hard at attracting businesses that provide good jobs, we must, at the same time, be doing everything we can to make our city an attractive place to live. Bicycles can play a major role.
Columbus is the only Ohio city that ranks on the Bicycle Friendly Community list (bronze level). But Dayton has the potential to join, even surpass, Columbus as a bicycle-friendly community.
Our region already enjoys one of the best recreational trail networks in the country, with main trails converging at Riverscape in downtown, where a new bike hub is being built. We also have the new and popular MetroParks Mountain Biking Area.
Imagine if we capitalized on these recreational assets by integrating them with a city and region-wide transportation network that encourages more people to use bicycles for short trips and even commutes to work.
By transforming our streets to be more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly, we can:
• Provide low-cost transportation options to those unable to afford automobiles, as well as to those who simply want to drive less.
• Decrease traffic congestion and pollution.
• Lower obesity levels by increasing physical activity.
• Add vibrancy and safety to our streets.
• Allow people to spend less on gas and perhaps spend more in our local economy.
The City of Dayton is implementing the region’s first dedicated bike lanes and sharrows (shared lanes that are marked). You’ll see them once the downtown two-way street conversions are finished during the next several months.
(It is a nice nod to the Wright brothers that St. Clair Street will have one of these dedicated bike lanes, since it shares its name with a line of bicycles that the Wrights built and sold.)
Added to groups like Courteous Mass (a grass-roots urban bicycle awareness movement) and the Drive Less Live More campaign, we are moving in the right direction toward a comprehensive plan that aims to put Dayton on the map of bicycle-friendly communities.
This includes efforts as simple as expanding driver/bicycle education and awareness, and as complex as implementing bike share programs and “Complete Streets” plans that truly transform our streets from being designed predominantly for the automobile to being equally accessible to autos, bicycles and pedestrians.
We all know about the Wright brothers and how their invention has helped shape Dayton, though few would suggest that it is their prior work with bicycles that may represent the future for Dayton. However, in this age of rising transportation costs, traffic congestion, growing obesity rate, climate change and culture shifts, U.S. cities are discovering that the bicycle can play a pivotal role in the quest for economic prosperity.
Dayton should join this trend.
CYCLING SUMMIT
When: Aug. 14
Where: 300 College Park
More information: www.metroparks.org/MVCyclingSummit/
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: Bill Pote, City of Dayton, Dayton Creative Class Initiative, Guest Columns
