My opinion, your opinion; we're on the same page

A lot of folks, myself included, have already cast their absentee ballots, so it’s hard to get all that excited as the election cycle hits top speed. The last thing anyone needs is one more opinion about how to vote.

But this is the Opinion page, after all, and there are some important local issues on the ballot that could very well go down to the wire. We’ve also fielded some complaints about our editorial positions, particularly our “no” recommendation on Proposition 8, so it’s probably as good a time as any to explain how they materialize.

Tri-County Newspapers (TCN) is part of Freedom Communications Inc., which operates the Orange County Register in Irvine as its flagship. The Appeal-Democrat in Marysville serves as the “mother ship” for TCN and printed the newspaper you’re reading now. Our news staff is based in Willows with satellite offices in Corning and Colusa.

Conspiracy theorists and critics of the “mainstream media” love to read between the lines, hoping to reveal some bias on the part of the reporter or, even worse, some corporate puppetmasters who spend their days plotting how to slant our news coverage. They’ll decry our papers as “liberal” or “right-wing,” even though a schoolkid could read the same stories and see no evidence of bias at all. If you think all newspapers are run by socialists or commies, just put down the paper and slowly back away; we’re not speaking the same language.

For the rest of you, a more positive suggestion: Spend less time reading between the lines and more time reading the lines themselves. Start with the header at the top of this page, the one that says “Opinion.” If you’re looking for some hidden agenda, look no farther; it’s not hidden at all.

Freedom was founded by R.C. Hoiles, an outspoken libertarian, and he used the opinion pages of his newspapers to argue for the ideals he held dear. Boiled down to its essence, libertarian thought amounts to two words: limited government. That concept was abandoned long ago by the Democrats and then the Republicans, so we’re not talking about party politics. We’re talking about a Nanny State where government injects itself into every aspect of everyday life. We’re also talking about voters who demand action for every ache and pain that befalls them – foreclosures, anyone? – but who refuse to pay taxes for the programs they so desperately want.

Liberals hate libertarians because they oppose entitlements, monopolized public education and social programs that a) aren’t the government’s business, and b) cost enormous sums of money. Conservatives hate libertarians because they stress individual rights over state rights, which raises red flags over everything from this nation’s failed drug policy to abortion to gay rights.

Going back to the list of endorsements, it and many of the editorials we run on state issues are written at the Orange County Register. Others come from Freedom newspapers across the country, and some are written locally. We share them here because we want to, not because we have to, and we hope readers find value in reading them.

On the local front, two ballot measures deserve mention. Measures A and B in the city of Colusa would raise revenues for public safety through a quarter-cent sales tax. They face an uphill battle, in part because of the troubled economy, but they deserve voters’ support.

A sales tax hike may seem unusual, yet the tactic has been used successfully in Sacramento and Fresno to raise money for transportation projects. Academically, a sales tax is more regressive than a property tax, but politically it’s more likely to pass because Colusa residents won’t shoulder all the burden.

Libertarians support both public safety and self-determination, so it’s not a big stretch at all to support both Measures A and B. A more bloated approach to public safety funding, Proposition 6, is an ode to the type of Big Government programs that mostly benefit urban areas. It simply doesn’t pass the smell test.

Contact Interim Editor Michael S. Green at 934-6800 or mgreen@tcnpress.com.