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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1970)
To be poor im h o By VERNA L. HENDERSON / PORTLAND/OBSERVER Dec. 24, 1970 The Northwest’s Best Weekly A Black Owned Publication Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 714'-2 N.E. Alberta, Portland, Oregon, 97211. Subscription rates: 60 cents per month by carrier, $5.00 per year; $6.00 per year by mail in Tri-County area; $6.25 per year by mail outside Tri-County area. Phone 2 8 2 - 0 9 2 9 ALFRED LEE HENDERSON. Publisher and Editor W hat is poverty? The magnitude of the problem facing the American people is astounding. Figures show that 35 million people are without s u f f i c i e n t food, shelter and clothing. That is one out of every five Americans. Counted by families there were 47 mil lion families, 1/5 of the total number, had income below the $ 3 ,0 0 0 annual income poverty level. In 1962 1/6 of our youth, full 20 million youngsters were in the poverty category. Probably one of the most con tested questions these days is the best monetary level to de termine whether a person is in the poverty category. The Coun cil of Economic Advisors in 1964 considered as poor a fami ly unit of four persons whose annual income for all sources was less than $3,000 before taxes and expressed in 1962 prices. To arrive at this figure the Council used a study made by the Social Security Adminis tration setting up a basic econo my budget for a city of four at $3,165.00. So for all practical purposes I will use the $3,000 figure to determine who is poor. Nevertheless, I will admit that thousands technically live above the poverty level but are sur v iv in g on a bare subsistance budget. And who are the poor? Most of the contemporary poor are non-white f a m i l i e s with no breadwinners, families who are run by females or men 14 to 25 or over 65 years. They are also those with less than an eighth grade education, and members of families with more than six children under 18 years of age. There remains another America besides our prosper ous country. In fact it seems like another nation where 9.3 million families try to find s h e l t e r , clothes and feed the family, starve of malnutrition and disease, and somehow try to build a better tomorrow on less than $60 a week. And 2/3 of these family units attempt to get along on less than $40 a week. There are 1.5 million persons out of work in the United States, 5% of the total population unem ployed. These people swell the ranks of the poverty areas. Of those who are unemployed and poverty stricken only one out of four receives financial assis tance from one form of govern ment. In fact they prefer to fend for themselves and reject the gift of a welfare agency. Seven out of every ten mothers on re lief in Portland prefer to work for pay instead of staying home at public expense, our research report shews. What we need in this country in welfare offices is individual attention going beyond the im personality of a mere welfare state; their problems run too deep to be cured by a panacea. In this country alone 15.6 mil lion occupied dwellings, 27 per cent of the total number of homes are substandard. The personal problems which derive from that fact are vast and as tounding: severe cold in winter, intense heat in summer, poor plumbing, no hot and cold water, no oil o r,g a s, paper thin walls w h ic h destroy privacy in the slums and which let in the ele ments on the farm . They are drained of any finances by the landlord and the neighboring merchant. It is very expensive to be poor. Those on the lowest economic scale almost never pay cash, even for the basic ne cessities. During this season when we think of sharing happiness with others, ask yourself the ques tion, what is it like to be poor? The psychiatrists will say: The poor is rigid, suspicious, and have a fatalistic outlook on life. They rarely plan ahead. They are prone to depression, have feelings of futility, lack of be longingness, friendliness, and a lack of trust in others. Anthropollglst Thomas Glad win describes the life of the p o o r as dominated by two themes: a sense of pow erlessness about events in ev eryday life (l.e., a sense of fail ure in the control of the social environment) and a sense of pessimism about the future. The word "poverty" must also include more than lack of a d e q u a t e biological mainte nance; it must take into account lack of individual fulfillment and unsatisfactory involvement In the larger society. We must re ject any theory which might claim poverty to have been caused by evil. People, on the contrary, find themselves in "sic k " situations. They do Qot have a sense of Individual ful fillment and do not have a part in society as a whole. Work is o n e of the vital part in the mainstream of American life, but the poor live in a nation with one of the world is highest rates of unemployment often they find themselves in states and coun tries without funds for relief or if they do live in otherwise prosperous area, the social worker is hostile toward wel fare applicant. If we can afford to put men on the moon, if we can afford our police activity in foreign countries around the world, WE CAN DO SOMETHING TO HELP THE POOR. r HOLIDAY WISHES This is the tim e of year when fam ilies reunite, friends seek each other out. and 1 warm greetings are e xch a n g e d by a ll. May we join the hap py thro ng to wish you a joyous Noel. X X X 8 Mr. & Mrs. Willie Jenkins Mr. & Mrs. George Simmons Mr. & Mrs. James Lee Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Cage Mr. & Mrs. lewis Winchester Mr. & Mrs. Lee Hendrix Mr. & Mrs. W. M. Spencer Mrs. Betty White Mrs. Alberta Polk Mr. & Mrs. Luke Duckett Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. Mrs. Evelyn Mrs & Mrs Mrs & Mr. Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. Mrs Pearl Albert Parker Henry Scott Nelson Manuel Scott Joseph Ward Carlos Martin John T. Blow Joe Flowers William Taylor Washington Mr. & Mrs. Henry Ellison Christmas o f 1970 A m essage from G overnor Tom M cCall Everything is bought on cred it; so they pay the high cost of installment buying in addition to being subject to higher prices than at stores in more prosper ous areas of the city. The poor also may pay more taxes in proportion to their in come than the wealthy. A study of the tax foundation calculates that 28 per cent of the incomes under $2,000.00 goes for taxes in contrast to 24 per cent of the in c o m e of families earning $10,000 to $15,000 a year. • In the cold of deepest winter - before Ihe earth tilts its axis once again toward the sun - mankind for centuries has prayed by fire and starlight to the God of his Destiny. All of man's religions have felt the holy tremble of mid winter and have responded to it with immortal longings. On Christmas, 1970, those of the Christian faith cele brate the birth of Christ, and the message of liope and glory which was bom with Him in Bethlehem. But Christian prayers are only part of the human chorus that calls to God for mercy and rebirth during this darkest time and longest night. On Christmas, 1970, 1 think we can all Join in a song of prayer; asking mercy on us for the terrible mistakes we have made; asking rebirth for the dream of human dignity; asking mercy for the men who are bound in the chains of war; asking rebirth for the ways of peace; asking mercy for the millions who are hungry and home less and afflicted; asking rebirth for the millions who perceive misery but turn away. And, above all, can we not Join in one great voice, im ploring that love and trust may yet rule the world and that the sovereignty of the Meek will come at last? If we are men of good will and compassion, no b arrier, can keep us from joining to build the kingdom that hauntsj 'o u r winter dreams. To that, can we not say: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Amen. Tom McCall Governor of Oregon % Happy Holidays From all the Folks at Ü Harder Mechanical Contractors 2148 N.E. Union 281-1112 Î