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Show A6 Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Vernal Express D H M VERNAL Express BERTHA BUTTERBEAN OPINION- V GET LOST By Patbo Twothy Muiukm Express Editor I've always been a fan of travel and road books - Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley," William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways" and the rambling works of Paul Theroux. To me the thrill is in the journey, not so much reaching reach-ing the final destination. When I drive long distances I like to stray from the interstate, take the Moon's "Blue Highways" and look around at the small towns and roadside attractions. Consequently I arrive days later than planned. I rarely use MapQuest to chart a course, and I wouldn't know how read a GPS to save my life. I rarely ask for directions when lost, and rarely admit, even realize, I'm lost. Back in Vermont, with its miles upon miles of unmarked back roads and logging roads, to ask for directions is to admit failure. Eventually you'll stumble upon your destination - or perhaps find something more interesting than your intended destination. Such was the case Saturday right here in Utah when I headed to the Jarvie Winter Fest - the back way, east on 500 North, past Buckskin Hills, a greenhorn green-horn stumbling into the vast wasteland. The computer printout we used for our road map showed three roads and a few turns, as if the trip were a walk in the park. There were no signs pointing toward Jarvie, and the unmarked dirt roads branched into several directions. About an hour into this dirt-road expedition, heading back in a westerly direction, di-rection, it was obvious we were going the wrong way and lost. We flagged down an approaching pickup and asked the occupants, a father and son, if we were headed toward the Jarvie Homestead. The father took pity on us and told us to follow his truck, which we did, as he flew over miles and miles of unmarked washboard roads. His parting shot: "Continue on through the canyon, and you're almost there." The canyon was Crouse Canyon, of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fame. And the road, more trail than road, is the mother of white-knuckle roads. Once out of that canyon, and still shaking, we were met and saved by a yet another approaching approach-ing pickup - this one filled with equally kind strangers who took us across the swinging bridge and all the way to the Jarvie Homestead. Time elapsed: roughly four hours. "How did you get here?" asked one baffled festival-goer. His real question was, "Why on earth would you two Yahoos take that route when you could have made it here hours earlier?" The answer was obvious: That was the road that got us there. With Berthanomics you feel better already Dana Colovich -if Guest Writer I know that if you spend any part of your day listening to the news, talk shows, talk radio, or reading: the papers, blogs, etc., you might be sick of hearing about the economic crisis we are in. Well, I am here to give you Bertha's perspective on the whole mess, which may or may not be correct, but I do have experience in dealing with messes and this is the deal whoever makes the mess cleans it up. Yeah, right. But that is another column. My theory is this: stock values are down; retirement accounts are worth less; real estate is worth less; the dollar is worth less. We heard last week that financially speaking speak-ing the last seven years have been wiped out. Well, trust the media to give you some meaningless piece of information designed to unnerve you. (It's not the vampire movies that are scary these days, but the six o'clock news.) But back to the economic situation. Yes, our money is worth less, and we have less of it, but in case you haven't noticed, everybody's money is worth less, and they all have less of it at roughly the same percentage you do. Not only that, you have probably noticed that the price of lots of goods, gas, groceries, cars, houses, and electronics, are down and just about everything every-thing else you can get for a deal. So if we have less money but it costs less to get things, we just might come out even anyway. According to Berthanomics, Berthanom-ics, we are all still in the same place we were before the bust. Okay, maybe seven or even 20 years before the bust. But we still buy what we used to. We just pay less for it, so having less of it is okay. Right? There are a couple of positive posi-tive things going on as well, which could help to tip the scales to better than even for some people. The money in our bank accounts remains in our bank accounts. Your banker hasn't called to say that your account now has fewer dollars in it. And most likely no one has cut back on your paycheck either, so the money you have to work with is more than before, relatively speaking. You still have x amount of dollars only now it will buy more. (Just don't think about your stocks, or instead of thinking about how much they were worth at their peak, think about how much it cost to buy them.) It's like playing Monopoly with only half of the money, but making all of the properties proper-ties cost half as well. You still get to collect the full amount when you pass "GO," and so does everyone else. And for once, being on a fixed income is a good thing. Unless or until someone unfixes un-fixes your income, advance to "GO." And remember, Park Place only costs $175. 1 have to admit though that you will probably have to keep taxes at $200. They aren't going to go down anytime soon. As games go, I hate Monopoly; Mo-nopoly; it takes too long to play, it is boring, and I never win. "I knew it," you say, "Bertha is not a closet financial finan-cial genius, she is an idiot. She doesn't even know how to play Monopoly, let alone understand finance." You may be right. I suppose sup-pose you are thinking of all of the things that may never come down in price. But I don't know anyone , who thought that gasoline would ever come back down either. The alternative to Berthanomics Ber-thanomics can look pretty dismal. You find yourself wondering whether you are going to be able to eat bugs when your food runs out, or whether you want to buy a horse in case you can't drive your car. Thinking about going go-ing without electricity could really make you crazy. My daughter says that if she finds herself eating bugs someday, cooked or not, then she has bigger problems than hunger anyway and starving might be a solution rather than a problem. So when you get your next mutual funds statement, think about the Butterbean Financial Institute's Monopoly Mo-nopoly model, or better yet, go ahead and play a game with half of the money kept in the box. (You could always put it into circulation if you decided to.) It will still be boring and you might lose, but it won't take as long to do it, which may or may not mean something. UTAH'S FOSTER FAMILIES NEED MORE SUPPORT By Kbiy Petrsom : Guest Writer The current economy is difficult for all of us. But, imagine you were a foster parent taking care of several children, including three or four children in foster fos-ter care. Such is the case for approximately 1,300 foster and adoptive families in Utah. Recruiting families to provide this care is becoming more and more difficult because of the rising costs of everyday life. Children belong in their homes with their parents and siblings. Unfortunately, Unfor-tunately, there are times when it is not possible for them to remain in their homes, due to abuse or neglect. The families in Utah who come forward to care ' ' for these children and youth are remarkable. Most of them are not -"wealthy." Some of them already have children in their homes, and some are willing to provide permanency through adoption for children who can never return home. These are Utah's children. These are "our" children. ' Foster parents in Utah are not paid a salary. The state provides a reimbursement reim-bursement for the basic cost of living expenses for the children in their home. Depending on the type of care and the age of the child, foster parents receive an average of $16.79 a day. In comparison, the cost for dog owners to kennel an animal along the Wasatch Wa-satch Front is approximately $25 a day. Utah's reimbursement rate does not cover childcare costs, so foster parents must pay hundreds of dollars a month from their own pockets for day care. National research completed last year resulted in a report titled "Hitting the MARC (Minimum Adequate Rates for Children)." According to the MARC report, current reimbursement rates in Utah are inadequate to meet the children's basic needs and should be increased by an average of 43 percent. The report in its entirety can be found at www.family.umaryland.edu. Utah's foster families provide so much more than food, shelter, and clothing. cloth-ing. They are a shoulder to cry on for a frustrated teen with parents who cannot overcome drug addictions. They are the arms who hold and comfort the babies who cry into the night because everything familiar to them is gone through no fault of their own. Foster parents are also the ones who, with meager mea-ger amounts of money, willingly give it to a teenage girl to purchase her first prom dress. And yes, they are the ones who are accused of "doing it for the money" by an uninformed public. Foster families must be recognized as a precious resource in Utah. They must be adequately reimbursed for the costs of basic care for children. We simply cannot afford to lose the families already licensed. If foster parents are not reimbursed for the true cost of caring for children, some will be unable to continue providing this service, and it will be the children who suffer. Without foster families, our children are more likely to be placed in costly institutional facilities or bounced from placement to placement. These unstable un-stable situations harm children and decrease their chances of growing up in a permanent family. If you are interested in increasing pay for foster families, I urge you to call your local legislator. If you want more information on becoming a foster parent, please contact Faith Spencer with the Utah Foster Care Foundation at 435-724-0959 or go to www.utahfostercare.org. Kelly Peterson is the CEO of the Utah Foster Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization that finds, educates and nurtures families to meet the needs of children in foster care. Web opinion poll Each week the Vernal Express offers an online poll to its readers. To participate in the poll, visit www.vernal.com and click on the opinion link. Polls are not scientific and represent the opinions of voluntary Internet users. New polls are posted weekly and printed results represent voting as of Tuesday morning. If you have an idea for an opinion poll, e-mail it to editorvernal.com. Public Forum - Letters to the Editor What is your opinion? The Vernal Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions on contents, if in good taste and not libelous or vindictive. Letters may be edited for grammar and style, length and content. All letters must be submitted exclusively to the Vernal Express and bear the full name, signature, phone number and address of the writer or writers. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in this forum. Submissions may be mailed to 60 E. 100 N., Vernal, UT 84078; faxed to 435-789-8690 or sent by e-mail to editorvernal.com The name or names of the persons submitting letters must appear on all published letters. Letters express the opinion of the writer or writers and are not necessarily the opinion of the Vernal Express. Results for this week Should the county be allowed to interfere with mancamps on private property? a) Yes. (43) b) No. (57) Yes lD A 43 Wkij Question for next week Is speeding a problem on Uintah Basin roads? a) Yes. b) No. Christmas spirit Dear Editor, With all the heartbreak and turmoil myself and family fam-ily have endured this year, Christmas was something I really wasn't ready for. With no luck, I've tried to sell my car, four-wheeler and other things to make ends meet, let alone buy gifts. I bought coats for my girls but was waiting for Christmas Christ-mas morning so they would at least have something to open. The last thing I wanted to do was tell my girls there wasn 't going to be anything this year. Feeling depressed, as a lot of us do this time of year, I was touched by true holiday spirit this time of year: an angel named Kathy from Fashion Express offered boots and hoodies to my girls, a couple of needed things, under our tree without hesitation. I stood there trying to hold back my tears, blessed and amazed and so grateful of her gesture. I wanted to say thank you, thank you for giving during these times of uncertainty. Let it be known it is greatly appreciated. Your friend, . Alycia Johnson Vernal The Decline of Uintah Sports Dear Editor, During the past few years Uintah High School has experienced expe-rienced several losing seasons in Football and Basketball. Multiple theories have arisen to this repetitive and undesirable trend, including the lack of talent and interest on behalf of the students. I think, most people in our community that follow these sports could easily agree that this isn't the case. While we enjoy the luxury of knowledgeable knowl-edgeable coaches in most of our sports programs, there is one individual associated with both Football and Boys Basketball that has served as a detrimental piece to the problem. His control on the offensive offen-sive side of the ball in Football has produced poor play calling call-ing and an unwillingness to adapt to circumstances. His tenure as basketball coach has led to only one winning season in a seven year period. pe-riod. More disturbing than his lack of coaching knowledge is his altitude towards his players. Frequently this man has shown no loyalty to the kids who have worked their tail off for him. Often, this individual is accused by onlookers and ex-players of involving favoritism when dishing out playing time, and as an observer myself I would have to agree. It seems that confidence is something highly stressed to the athletes of these sports, but how is confidence supposed to be achieved when there is a coach that tears it down? As each year passes, Uintah Uin-tah fails to make the playoffs in both sports; while winning isn't everything, it's certainly a much more desired trait than losing. As our teams continue to produce poor seasons I must ask, when is some accountability going to be put on some coaches and in particular one? I am simply expressing the views of many folks in the area and many past athletes that have played for him over the years. Each time I attend a sporting event I constantly hear complaining about this individual, so here I am stating stat-ing the problem. As for the players who worked hard towards their goals and dreams, including my brother who lived and breathed football and the position of quarterback over the summer, I just want to say keep working hard. Sometimes Some-times you don't get what you put into something, but then again sometimes you don't get a fair chance. It's time for a change, and more importantly it's time for a coach with some integrity. Sincerely, Josh Reynolds Vernal The Responsibility is Ours America was made great by the collective commitment of its citizens to forge their own futures and create their own destinies. In that spirit, we the people must resist the temptation of surrendering our obligations to personal responsibility for the limited stability that relying solely on the government might afford. Those before us looked to the government to maintain the American dream, but not to provide it. They looked to the government for the provision pro-vision of essential services, but not the introduction of unearned entitlements. And, they looked to the government govern-ment to monitor capitalism's free market, but never to interfere with it. The hard work and unwavering faith in America that has defined the generations before us must be matched by nothing loss from this one. The responsibility is ours to ensure that the American dream is available to all people who are willing to work hard and play by the rules, and in that pursuit, our country must extol success rather than punish it. The liberal commitment to taxing this country's up per classes to provide for the lower ones is a formula for failure. Already, America's wealthy carry a far greater tax burden than those in the middle and lower classes. Their incomes are taxed at a much higher rate than any other, tax bracket, resulting in vast dividends for the government's consumption. Thus, to the chagrin of liberals, liber-als, the rich rightfully receive a greater portion of tax cuts because they pay much larger proportions. Yet, liberals continue to demand more and more from them, maintaining main-taining that if the rich can afford to pay more then they should. This unfair disparity is the centerpiece of liberal economics, and it manifested itself more clearly than ever when Barack Obama unveiled his economic plan during his campaign for president. Obama proposed raising taxes on capital gains, investments, invest-ments, corporations, small businesses, and those making more than $250,000 per year to provide the revenue necessary neces-sary to fund a tax break for the middle and lower classes. In other words, he offered a plan of wealth distribution that will tax the rich to give to the less-rich many of whom pay no income taxes to b.egin with maintainingthe liberal trend of entitlement rather than empowerment. In the end, tax cuts and economic policy should lend themselves to limiting government and making it smaller. The rich should not have to pay for tax cuts no one should. A tax cut should pay for itself as the government govern-ment decreases both its size and its need for revenue. As outdated and ineffective programs, pro-grams, earmarks, and other areas of wasteful spending are stripped from the government's govern-ment's budget, the need for taxes proportionally diminishes. dimin-ishes. Indeed, tax cuts should also be proportionate to both the government's decreased size and the amount that is collected from individuals and businesses. However, to charge the wealthy the cost of a tax cut to be spread to the lower classes under the ruse of economic fairness represents the institutionalization institutional-ization of a system featuring class warfare. Such a shift in economic ideology would create a society that clings to government hand-outs and devalues the worth of the American dream and the wealth that often accompa-'. nies it. . On Tuesday, November 4, Republicans suffered a staggering loss with the election of Senator Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. But conservatism is not defeated, for America is defined by many of its central tenants. Though John McCain's candidacy was rejected on Election Day, the conservative conserva-tive values and principles for which he fought will undoubtedly guide our country coun-try into the future. We will continue to expect economic opportunity and accountability accountabil-ity in government. We will continue to demand personal responsibility of ourselves and from our fellow citizens even when our elected officials of-ficials offer government as the solution rather than realizing real-izing it as the problem. And, we will never stop believing that this country's brightest days lie ahead, always recognizing recog-nizing that even in its most difficult moments, America remains mankind's last best hope. Congratulations to all those who voted for and supported Barack Obama. It was truly an historic victory. However, I urge you to savor the moment because in four years we conservatives will be back, stronger than ever and ready to recapture the promise of America. Cameron Beech Vernal former resident ML |