I recently received a flyer in the mail from GreaterIdaho.org. There was a lot of information presented in favor of Eastern Oregon joining the state of Idaho.

I will not try to address it all but I find most of this flyer to be at least misleading. Almost half of the argument compared Idaho and Oregon.

Since I do not live on the western side of Oregon, I believe those arguments do not apply to this question. For instance, a comparison of Wallowa County with Bear Lake County, Idaho, a similar population and an economy of agriculture and tourism, shows average hourly incomes in Oregon to be $23.55 where Idaho is $18.52.

Idaho’s claim of second best state for gun owners is hardly a positive point, particularly when compared to the metropolitan area of Portland.

The complaint of no Republican Legislature in Oregon until 2033 through redistricting may not be realistic considering the recent track record of the Republican Party. And so far as critical race theory being taught in Oregon schools, no primary school teacher has ever been accused of this. It is a Republican “dog whistle.”

Homelessness is not a problem isolated to Oregon. It is a common problem throughout the nation. To claim Idaho has no homeless problem is just not true. 

Finally, Idaho claims no taxpayer-funded abortions and that is true. In fact, there is a near-total ban on abortion and women’s reproductive health care is limited. The Idaho Legislature has now included a law to make anyone assisting with an abortion, including medical, subject to two to five years of jail time.

This organization, GreaterIdaho.org, has managed to get a measure on our May 16 election to require our county commissioners to revisit a question of incorporation into Idaho twice in every future year. Please vote this bill down and not waste our county commissioners’ time on issues that are going nowhere. 

David Ebbert

Enterprise

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