Or at least for Betsy Hammond and the Oregonian to change. It seems that the Salem Statesman Journal has found religion and has decided to report on the PERS situation as it is now, not as it was once upon a time. Steve Law's piece in today's Statesman-Journal does an excellent job of summarizing all the recent data PERS has compiled on the effects of the various changes brought about by the 2003 reform legislation, the litigation, and the settlement agreement in the City of Eugene case. As I've been trying to explain to Betsy Hammond and the Oregonian, the lame canards of the past are no longer germane to any report on the state of PERS today. I challenge Betsy Hammond and the Oregonian to get off their collective nasty, biased, a**es and write a fair piece about the current state of PERS and recent PERS retirees. Moreover, I want to see such an article NOT repeat any "used to be" stories and partial truths. But if she does, at least put it in a relevant context, such as that which Steve Law does. Otherwise, we've heard it all before and it is no more relevant today than it was when the Oregonian first reported it years ago. The Oregonian needs to stop resting on its Pulitzers and get back to the job that won those awards - first rate reporting, accurately and fairly! You don't need to be the anti-government hacks your absentee East Coast owners seem to expect. Be independent. Get some intelligence. Give people the NEWS, not your biased opinion. Oh, and in case you want to read some enlightened reporting, you can read Mr. Law's piece here.
We'll be watching you Ms. Hammond. Will you be a mensch and report fairly, or will you continue to massage the data into another anti-public employee screed, or will you simply ignore the topic altogether because it doesn't conform to your biased world-view?
No comments:
Post a Comment