Page 2
Portland/Observer
Thursday. August 30. 1973
WE SEE THE WORLD I
THROUGH BLACK EYES
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EDITOR/PUBL1SHER
9.
EDITORIAL FOCUS
Labor Day 1973
Ten years later
Ten years a g o M a rtin Luther K ing a n d others led
th e "M a rc h o n W a sh in g to n fo r Jobs a n d F re e d o m ."
In th a t ten ye a rs th e re h a ve b e e n m a n y changes.
Three o f th e le a d e rs — King, W h itn e y Y oung
a n d W a lte r R euther, a re no lo n g e r w ith us. John F.
K ennedy, w h o sat in th e W h ite House, a n d his
successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, a re d ea d. The era
o f the mass d e m o n s tra tio n s fo r c iv il rig hts has
a lm o st e nd ed .
V o te r re g is tra tio n in th e South has b ro u g h t Black
m ayo rs to Cities w h e re Blacks w e re o nce b e a te n
a n d ja ile d in th e ir e ffo rt to register. The b ro th e r o f
M e d g a r Evers, w h o w as m u rd e re d th a t sam e ye ar,
is n ow m a y o r o f Fayette, M ississippi.
The C iv il Rights B ill o f 1964 w as passed. Public
a cc o m m o d a tio n s a re o pe n. It has b e co m e p o p u la r
to a p p o in t Blacks to g o v e rn m e n ta l p ositions.
But the past ten years h ave b ro u g h t little ch an ge
to those w h o s till liv e in p o v e rty — closed o ut o f
o p p o rtu n ity fo r e m p lo y m e n t a nd e d u c a tio n b e
cause o f th e ir race.
Little has ch a n g e d fo r the
reside n ts o f th e g he tto s w h o do not b e n e fit fro m
th e fe d e ra l p ro g ra m s d e sig n e d to im p ro v e th e ir
sta nd ard o f life .
The past ten years h a ve b ro u g h t little ch a n g e to
the p h ilo s o p h y a n d th e structure o f A m e ric a n
society.
It has b ro u g h t no "B ro th e rh o o d ", no
a cce p ta n ce o f th e e q u a lity o f in d iv id u a ls , no rea l
e q u a l o p p o rtu n ity fo r the b e n e fits o f A m e ric a n life .
This ten years com es to a close w ith an a d m in is tra
tio n steeped in c o rru p tio n , w ith a fo re ig n p o lic y d e
sig n e d to p e rp e tu a te a gg re ssion on the p e o p le o f
Southeast Asia, w ith a d om estic p o lic y d e te rm in e d
to w ith d ra w fro m th e A m e ric a n p e o p le the fe w
p ro gram s th a t h ave b ro u g h t e c o n o m ic security a nd
s e lf-d e te rm in a tio n to the p o o r a nd to m in o ritie s .
Study disproves
Welfare myth
W e a re o fte n to ld th a t W e lfa re re c ip ie n ts w o u ld
ra th e r d ra w a "h a n d o u t" th a n w o rk a n d th a t if
fin a n c ia l a id w e re w ith h e ld th e y w o u ld have to
fin d a job.
The im p lic a tio n th a t fin a n c ia l assis
tance breeds laziness has bee n used to fig h t the
u p g ra d in g o f w e lfa re standards a n d e s p e c ia lly th e
e sta b lish m e n t o f a g u a ra n te e d incom e.
A fo u r ye a r study co n d u cte d fo r th e O ffic e o f
Econom ic O p p o rtu n ity by th e U n ive rsity o f W is
consin re fu te s th a t th e o ry a n d show s th a t g iv in g
cash to poor fa m ilie s does n o t re d u ce th e ir in c e n
tiv e to w o rk.
Those re c e iv in g a cash inco m e
w o rk e d as o fte n a n d e a rn e d as m uch as o thers
w h o d id not re c e iv e th e subsidy.
The study s h o w e d th a t Blacks re sp o n d e d to the
cash subsidy by e a rn in g m o re m o n e y on th e ir jobs.
The subsidy a p p a re n tly p ro v id e d th e e n c o u ra g e
m e n t to c o n tin u e w o rk in g , e ve n on lo w p a y in g
jobs. Y o un g p e o p le a n d th e b e tte r-e d u c a te d p oo r
used th e subsidy to ta ke tim e o ff w o rk to fin d
b e tte r jobs, a n d so raised th e ir e c o n o m ic leve l.
The o v e ra ll fin d in g o f th e study w as that the
m o n e y d id n ot c h a n g e w o rk in c e n tiv e -- it just
im p ro v e d th e sta nd ard o f liv in g .
W ith o u t th e fe a r th a t a g u a ra n te e d a n n u a l
in c o m e w o u ld cause a n im m e d ia te a n d w id e
spread rush to q u it w o rk a n d liv e on the g o v e rn
m e n t subsidy, m a yb e Congress can g e t on w ith the
jo b o f p ro v id in g an e c o n o m ic base fo r a ll lo w -
in c o m e fa m ilie s .
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company,
2201 North Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing
address: P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. Telephone:
283 2486.
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Second Class Postage Paid at Portland, Oregon
The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only
in it’s Publisher's Column (We See The World Through
Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the
opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
■ 1
M E M B ER
Oregon
S ’
Newspaper
Publishers
S i9 Association
MEMBER
NÊWA peh
Attocialion ■ Founded TM5
member
O R G A N IZ E D LABOR:
O P P O R T U N IT Y FOR L E A D E R S H IP
As a n o th e r Labor Day a p p ro a ch e s w e pause to
h o n o r th e la b o re rs o f the U n ite d States — the
m en a n d w o m e n w h o h a v e b u ilt the n a tio n .
Ever since the shackles o f sla v e ry w e re b ro ke n
Blacks h ave b e e n in v o lv e d in th e s tru g g le fo r
h u m a n rig h ts th ro u g h la b o r o rg a n iz a tio n s .
This
s tr u g g le ta k e s p la c e to d a y in m a n y fo rm s
—
te a c h e r strikes, co nsu m e r boycotts, d e m a n d s fo r
prison re fo rm , " w ild c a t" strikes a g a in st fa c to ry
ro u tin e .
D u rin g the 1930's, w h e n Black tra d e unionists
h e lp e d o rg a n iz e m illio n s o f u n o rg a n iz e d w orkers,
p ut an e nd to sw e a t-s h o p c o n d itio n s , a nd g a v e real
d ig n ity to the in d u s tria l w o rk e r, o rg a n iz e d lab or
e n jo y e d th e respect o f th e n a tio n . O rg a n iz e d lab or
w as th e c h a m p io n o f the p e o p le a nd a ll segm ents
o f th e p o p u la tio n c o u ld id e n tify w ith th e m o v e
m ent.
Today o rg a n iz e d la b o r has to o o fte n b e co m e the
so cial clubs o f the w h ite m id d le class. The c ra ft
u n io n s a re la rg e ly closed to m in o ritie s by re s tric
tiv e m e m b e rs h ip re q u ire m e n ts a nd u n re a lis tic a p
p re n tic e s h ip p ro gram s.
Rather than le a d the
n a tio n in the quest o f e c o n o m ic security fo r a ll, the
la b o r u n io n s h ave b e co m e a p ro te c tiv e so cie ty fo r
th e m o re fo rtu n a te .
W ith fe w e xce p tio n s, the
u n io n s a re p re o c c u p ie d w ith w ag es a nd b e n e fits
a n d o v e rlo o k the b ro a d e r social goals.
The m o ra l le a d e rs h ip o f th e la b o r m o v e m e n t
m ust be resto red by re tu rn in g its a tte n tio n to the
needs o f the A m e ric a n p e o p le — q u a lity e d u c a
tio n fo r e v e ry c h ild , b e tte r h ou sin g, fu ll e m p lo y
m en t, a d e q u a te m e d ic a l care.
The u n io n s must
b ro a d e n th e ir ranks by a d m ittin g a ll o f th e w o rk in g
p e o p le o f th e n a tio n , by fo rm u la tin g a gressive
a p p re n tic e s h ip a nd tra in in g p ro gram s, a n d by
u n itin g a ll o f th e ra c ia l a n d e th n ic fa c tio n s o f the
la b o r fo rce . O n ly th e n w ill la b o r be an e ffe c tiv e
v o ic e a g a in s t the d e h u m a n iz in g p ro fit m o tiv e o f
b ig business. O n ly th e n w ill la b o r have a v o ic e in
th e o p e ra tio n o f th e c o rp o ra tio n s th a t c o n tro l the
e c o n o m ic a nd p o litic a l life o f this n a tio n .
In O re g o n w e fin d fe w Black m e m b e rs in the
la b o r u n io n s — th e resu lt o f years o f conscious
a n d p u rp o s e fu l d is c rim in a tio n .
The p ra c tic e o f
e x c lu s io n is ille g a l -- but th e la w s a re n o t e n
fo rc e d . Black w o rk e rs a re b e c o m in g im p a tie n t. If
a c tio n is not ta k e n to in c lu d e Blacks, th e w o rk
sto pp ag e s a nd v io le n c e th a t has h it o th e r cities
w ill soon be seen in Portland.
What other
Black Editors say
T H E A T L A N T A INQ LTRO R
Usually when one pictures welfare, one thinks of poverty
stricken, needy people, many of them from minority races
who cannot work to support themselves. Welfare, then,
could be defined as a system where public funds are given to
the poor. Some critics, many of them politicians who smell
political profit in the issue, have attacked welfare because
they say it encourages people not to work and it gives them
something for nothing. Yet if one defines welfare as gifts of
public money, then it is not only the poor who are receiving
welfare. In fact, some of the most vehement critics of the
welfare system are getting what amounts to free money gifts
from the federal government, only no one dares call it
welfare -- although that is what it is.
Take the case of a congressman who, until recently, was
paid as much as $250,000 a year by the government for not
planting crops on his farm. Eventually the amount was
reduced to $50,000 per farm. But this did not disturb the
congressman, as he then divided his farm five ways and col
lected the same $250,000. The congressman did not work to
earn this money; indeed he had been paid not to work.
President Nixon himself, who has often criticized what he
characterizes as welfare chislers, has also been the recipient
of a form of welfare. This welfare came in the form of
federal funds spent to improve two of his four homes. The
General Services Administration (GSA) states that the
government paid a total of $1,283,274 to improve the Key
Biscayne and San Clemente Nixon residences.
Certainly the American people cannot complain about that
portion of the money which was used for the security needs
of the president. The $340,(XX) spent for a helicopter landing
pad and the $128,708 spent on bulletproof windows seem
reasonable amounts to pay to protect this nation's leader.
But what of the monies disbursed for such non security
improvements as landscaping and a sprinkler system
($76.000) and an electrical system ($184,174) for what is. after
all, Mr. Nixon's personal property?
Free gifts to the
President at the taxpayers' expense? Why, then, the huge
outcry about poor people using public funds to supply the
necessities of life, when the President, who is hardly a poor
man, receives thousands of dollars to water his lawn?
Yet, President Nixon vetoed the child development bill
which both houses of Congress passed, and he cut bark Model
Cities and other poverty programs. Apparently he feels that
the public funds are too limited to be thrown away on these
humanitarian programs. He seemingly thinks that scarce
public money is better spent continuing the bombing in
Southeast Asia or servicing the private estates of Richard
Nixon. The rationale seems to be: welfare is bad if spent on
those who really need it; good if spent on the rich, who can
always use sophisticated means to conceal or disguise the
dole they have received.
72 20 N. Fessenden
•
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■ I e
.
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2 8 6 -2 2 9 6 |
ROY BURNETT SAYS:
D eal w ith the
SALES LEADER!
N o . 1 C h ry s le r P lym o u th
D e a le r in th e N o rth w e s t!
CW W TÍ
CHECK US BEFORE YOU BUY!
Th« poor are not the only on« on welfare
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6 cyl, radio, heater, auto, power steering.
Welfare system:
poverty
bv Representative G un Hawkins
In 1969 the President's
Commission on Poverty found
that of the working poor, one
of every four worked 35
hours a week or more for 50
to 52 weeks, but still re
mained poor.
The commission observed
that the assertion “the poor
are to blame for their cir
cumstances and should be
expected to lift themselves
from poverty" is incorrect.
The commission addition
ally noted "the simple fact is
that most poor people remain
poor because access to in
come through work is cur
rently beyond their reach."
Mindful of its obligation to
all of its citizens, rich and
poor alike, the federal gov
ernment recognizes its re
sponsibility to provide social
welfare services to the poor
of this nation as a bulwark
against poverty, ignorance
and disease.
These welfare services are
not perfect; however, they
are inordinately controversial
and greatly misunderstood.
Perhaps the most pressing
issue regarding welfare is
the plight of the welfare
recipient and the abusive
nature of the attacks leveled
against this helpless victim
of the disease of poverty.
Not surprisingly, myths
about welfare sometimes be
come substitutes for actual
knowledge and cause the real
facts to become obscured or
distorted.
Obviously we cannot dis
cuss all of the factors con
tributing to the myths sur
rounding welfare, but some
myths are so unfounded they
beg for truth.
Myth: Hard work is the
answer to the welfare prob
iem.
Fact: Less than 1 percent
of the nation's able bodied
men are on welfare. In most
states employable males are
eligible for welfare only after
they have received certifies
tion that no suitable jobs are
available for them. Seventy
four percent of those on
welfare are mothers and
dependent children (70 per
cent of whom are under 12).
Myth:
Most welfare re
cipients are Blacks who have
moved to northern cities just
to get on welfare.
Fact: About 55 percent of
welfare recipients are white:
39 percent are Black; 6 per
cent are American Indians
and others.
The average
rural migrant hoping to find
employment when he moves
to the city lives in the city
for five years before re
questing welfare.
Myth:
Most welfare re
cipients cheat the welfare
system.
Fact: The vast majority of
welfare payments are made
to persons legally entitled to
them. Most studies of wel
fare "fraud” (conducted by
both state governments and
the federal system) indicate
that less than 1 percent of
the welfare recipients are
involved in fradulent con
duct.
Myth: Welfare recipients
get more than those who
work.
Fact: $3,600 a year is the
national average welfare bud
get for a family of four.
$4.275 is the official poverty
level for a family of four.
Obviously, the life of a
welfare recipient is not easy,
and is becoming more diffi
cult with the continuing rise
in the cost of living. There
are some other interesting
farts concerning the plight of
the poor in this nation:
• 25 percent of the Ameri
ran population lives below
the minimum decent stan
dard.
• 55 («Trent of the welfare
rolls are made up of children.
• 20 percent of the welfare
rolls are made up of the
blind, disabled, and the aged.
• 2 years is the estimated
time the average family re
ceives assistance.
• 60 percent of welfare
mothers are:
working, in
training, waiting for training,
or waiting for jobs, or wait
ing for decent day care.
Clearly, facts by them
selves do not solve the
problems of welfare. They
do, however, allow us the
opportunity of understanding
the nature of ‘he welfare
system and there.,/ thinking
more intelligently about solu
ons.
Jobs for all:
issue of basic significance
by Vernon Jordan
For the past several years
national debate over domes
tic issues has been largely
confined to artificial, politi
cally inspired issues such as
busing, "law and order”, and
quotas.
Now that the demagogues
have had their day, it is time
to move on to a real issue of
basic significance to many
millions of people and to the
future of this society
jobs
for all.
If you read the official sta
tistics that show unemploy
m ent trending downward,
or the glowing stories about
the booming economy, or if
you have a good job yourself,
you might not know just how
bad the situation really is.
The government admits to
an official unemployment rate
of 4.8 percent of the labor
force.
That sounds small enough
until you realize that it
represents some 4.3 million
people, many with families to
support, who can't get a job.
• The labor force is in reality
split in two.
There is the upper tier of
workers with good jobs, good
salaries, union membership
and fringe benefits. Then,
there is a lower tier of
people who have no job,
work part time when they
really want full time employ
ment, and those who do
work full tim e but make
below poverty wages.
This lower tier of Ameri
can workers is made up dis
LABOR DAY SPECIALS
proportionately of Rlack peo
ple and other minorities, wo
men, young people, and Viet
nam veterans.
The latest poverty figures
tell the story very well. Last
year about one million white
people moved OUT of pov
erty, but some 300,000 Black
people became poor. In the
past four years, more than
60,000 Blacks became poor.
Black poverty has become
something of a hush hush
subject as emphasis is placed
on the progress Black people
have made in education, in
obtaining better jobs, and in
higher family income.
But most of the economic
progress has been confined
to relatively few Blacks with
the education and skills to
take advantage of the waning
discrimination in industry.
W hat o u g h t to be of
greater concern is that one
out of three Black people is
poor; that nearly half of all
Black children are growing
up in poor families; and that
the typical Black family last
year earned about $700 LESS
than the government ac
ceptable living standard.
There are about 10 million
people
white and Black
who work all year round for
less than $5,000. A third of
all Black full time workers
make less than a living wage.
And these are the lucky
ones, the people with jobs.
What about those who
aren't lucky enough to find a
job?
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Radio, heater, auto, power steering.
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6 cyl.. radio, heater, auto trans.
61 Dodge Land Cruiser I dr. sedan ............................ *.195
6 cyl., radio, heater. 3 speed.
69 Chrysler Newport 2 dr II I
S I495
Radio, heater, auto, trans . (lower steering, a real buy.
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Radio, heater, 4 sp.. 383 engine, real sharp.
69 Dodge Comet I d r ..................................................... *1(195
Radio, heater, auto, power steering
69 Pontiac Tempest LeMans 2 dr. Coupe .............. *1195
Radio, heater, («iwer steering, auto, trans.
68 Huirk Wildcat I dr. sedan ..................................... (1395
Full power plus factory air conditioning.
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Radio, heater, auto, trans, power steering.
ROY BURNETT
CHRYSLER-PLYMOUTH
"P o rlla n d 't U n t i l A utom otive D e a le r"
IMPERIALS — CHRYSLIRS
P l YMOUTHS — VA LIA N TS— BARRACUDAS ,
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U led Corj 2 2 2 -1 8 9 3 /
Exie Publishing
Company
2 8 3 -2 4 8 6
Med you/ fljprmatùto ûktwt
‘foyuiremMt f a ¿afy w y /
The government says there
are 4.3 million of them. But
Contract your printing to a minority firm
that is only because the gov
ernment counts only people
actively looking for work
who can't find it.
The fact is that there are
Photo Typesetting, G raphic Arts and P rinting
millions of people who are
not officially counted as being
unem ployed because they
N ew spapers - N ew sletters
Posters
Fliers -
have given up looking for
S tationery
-
Business Cards
Program s
work, or because they are
Pam phlets — P ictorial D irectories.
working part tim e, even
though they may prefer to
hold full time jobs.
P rinting to m eet your needs.
If you add th ese dis
couraged job seekers and
2201 N orth K illin g s w o rth
Portland, O regon
underemployed workers to
the officially unem ployed,
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
you'll find that there are
actually about 10 million un
employed people, over two
million of them Black.
Instead of the official rate
of 4.8 percent unemployed, a
more accurate picture shows THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
10 percent ol the labor force P.O. Box 3137
out of work, with a 20 P ortland, O reg on 97208
p e r c e n t r a te for Black
Pl«ase a rra n g e to h ave the OBSERVER m a ile d to m y
workers.
hom
e.
..
This grim reality has been
• $5.25 per year in the Tri County area.
hidden behind doctored sta
• $6.00 per year elsewhere.
tistics, misleading rhetoric
N
a
m
e
-
about a supposedly booming
economy, and other diver
sionary issues.
-
But it is clear that the Address
economy doesn't seem able
to provide everyone with
C ity —
State & Zip
work, and it is time this
issue esme out into the open
and the nation started a
Apt. ( if a n y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ T e le p h n n e —i_ _ _ _ _ ^ _ ^ _
great debate on what should
be its No. 1 priority
a
full employment policy.
Use minority printers
I