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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1981)
9 m Portland Observar March 20. 1901 Pago 3 Survival first issue Business never had it so good... By F'ungai Kumbula Economists call it the ‘ ‘ free en terprise” or market economy and the U nited States o f America professes to practice it. In a market economy there is very little i f any government interference. The price o f commodities is supposed to be determined by the laws o f supply and demand. Essentially, it works like this: a surplus o f any com m odity w ill drive its price down while a shortage will drive the price up; the more o f a product there is, the less it costs and vice versa. The idea behind the free enter prise system was to encourage com petition so the consumer will have a wide variety o f products to choose from . In a com petitive business, supposedly the entrepreneurs will be forced to keep improving the quality o f their products while selling them at a price predetermined by the con sumer. The consumer is supposed to be a very im portant cog in this wheel. The American consumer, o f late, would never know this. As the economy reels drunkenly from one crisis to the next, the poor consumer is buffeted from above and from below. The curious thing is, as long as the economy has been on the skids, one would have expected the news media to have had a field day. Can you see the media being this silent were it the Russian, Chinese or some other centrally planned economy that was in this mess? How many times have you seen the headlines: ‘ ‘ Soviet U nion Faces Another Severe Grain Shortfall” or “ Chinse To Im port More Western grain?” Instead, the American media, in reporting on this c o u n try ’ s economic difficulties, has focused on budget cuts, cuts in social ser vices, cuts in government spending. What is not mentioned, o f course, is that, fo r the past seven years, the U.S. has been experiencing decling standards o f living. Along with the other western “ democracies,” the standard o f living has declined con siderably. W hile you may read about cuts in social services, you w ill never read anything about the failure o f the American economic system. Unemployment lines keep getting longer and more and more companies and in d ividua ls are delcaring bankruptcy. Isn’ t that irrefuatable evidence that the system is failing? The sins o f the government, however, w ill be visited upon the governed. As the economy flo u n ders, it is the poor, elderly, m inorities and the disadvantaged who feel the fu ll weight o f these hard times. The consumer is primed to expect less and less fo r which he/she w ill pay more and more. And, business never had it so good: just look at Chrysler. How many lit tle businesses and m in o rity enter prises have gone under in the past five years? How many times did the government raise a d o lla r to bail them out? Welfare is bad unless it is welfare fo r the rich! Shouldn’ t Chrysler’ s problems have been at tributed to poor performance and a fa ilu re to provide what the con sumer needs? Instead, taxpayers’ money is taken to bail out this white elephant. What does Chrysler do? Chrysler turns around and offers this same taxpayers’ money as rebates to woo consumers to come and buy the same, in e ffic ie n t gas guzzlers the consumers have rejected in the first place! At the same time, there is a concerted effort to lim it the number o f Japanese and other imports into this country again to force the con sumer to buy the same D etroit “ cazoonkas” they passed over. I f the imports are doing so well, isn’ t that an indication that maybe these foreign auto m anufacturers know something that D etroit does not? That they have been able to read the Am erican consumer better than Detroit? The overall effect o f this w ill be that the consumer w ill be denied a product he/she has shown a pre ference for. Limiting the number of imports also w ill have the effect o f driving up the price o f the few im ports that will be available. With the American consumer forced to buy those “ cazoonkas” from D etroit which will be in the shop every other month, the cost of getting from here to there just goes through the roof. Bv Calvin O. L. Henry Since American cars usually are less gas-efficient than the soon-to-be scarce imports, the consumer will be forced to use more gasoline at ever increasing prices. O f course, that is part o f the strategy! I f consumers use more gas, they will be that much more dependent on the o il com panies! Business never had it so g o o d ...F o r the consumer, talk about the rock and the hard place! Not too long ago, there was a candidate who campaigned on a platform o f reducing dependence on foreign o il. The same candidate decried government regulation o f private industry and vowed that, should he occupy the Oval O ffice, he would do something about elim inating most government con trols. On the first count, it seems to me the way to cut dependence on foreign o il w ould have been to switch to sm aller, more fuel e ffi cient cars - the same type the con- sumber has shown a preference for but now the consumer will nothave that op tio n since he/she w ill no longer have access to the most fuel cars - the imports. W ith this com petition eliminated, what w ill force Detroit to switch to more efficient autos if it has been reluctant to do so when such s tiff competition was available? M ore power (and money!) to the oil companies. The (il)lo g ic behind removing controls on gas was to encourage the o il companies to look fo r a lte r native sources o f energy and so cut this c o u n try ’ s dependence on foreign o il. A more p le n tifu l gasoline supply would supposedly drive the price o f gasoline down. Now, can you see the oil companies searching for more oil so they can cut down their own profits? Can you? There is supposed to be more gasoline available now than there has been for quite some time but, have prices come down? Not on your life. And they still call it "free enterprise” ? The Am erican consumer; b u f feted from above and below and, this is only the beginning... And Chrysler still has the nerve to ask you (an honest citizen) for a credit check! This is the 1980s and some Blacks in Oregon still have questions about whether to hold Black officials ac countable on the records. On March 6, 1981, the Oregon Assembly fo r Black A ffa irs (OABA) wrote to all the members of the G overnor’ s Commission on Black A ffairs and questioned them about their meeting places and minutes while the 1981 Legislature is in session. Governor Vic Atiyeh established' the Black Com m ission, last Oc tober, without funds for operation, but he did budget for its operations beginning July 1, 1981, i f the legislature approves its budget. The appropriation b ill fo r the com mission is SB 5559, and it is Sub committee #1 o f the Joint Commit tee on Ways and Means. When the subcommittee met on this ap propriation bill last month, several subcommittee members did not know that the Black Commission had been established by executive order. No action was taken on the bill, other than it was suggested that the budget be cut by 15°/o. When the Black Commission was established last October, a member In its letter to the members o f the G overnor’ s Black Comm ission, OABA stated, “ It is clear to us that this Commission is destined to fail unless immediate actions are taken to insure its longevity and effec tiveness.” Also in this letter, OABA stated, “ It is im perative that you hold your meetings in Salem, and work, now, for the passage o f the budget for the Commission” during this crucial period. OABA asked the Commission members to reconsider their meeting schedule and to give top priority to their budget passage while the 1981 Legislature is in session. Several Blacks including a mem ber of the Governor’ s staff are upset that OABA is holding members o f the G overnor’ s Commission on Black A ffa irs accountable fo r the Commission’ s longevity and effec Understands Portland's Schools Outstandinq Retired Teacher — 18 Years Cleveland High School MY ONE AIM — to work to restore to the children ot this district a truly excellent school system this is an unpaid position which requires the time and etfort I am now tree to give ✓ C haired School Board Teacher S a la ry In centive C om m ittee E xperienced N egotiator A««i«tant Director. S p ecia l E ducation Senior C ltlie n s. Marylhuret ► x Board« ot Director«: Morrl»on Center tor Youth an d F am ily Service« M etropolitan Crl»l» Center Portland Retired Teacher« A w ociation . C orporate Buaine«« E xperience M ultnom ah County D eleg a te to Oregon'« Pre W hite Houae Conference on A gin g M arried 35 year» to Chart«« S. M a.on: d au gh ter Mr«. Robert Daane; ■on. Van M aion tw o grandchildren Bauman voice for people have caused the educational decay o f other large urban school systems. I believe that the election o f Steve Buel and the appointments o f Herb Cawthorne and Sarah Newhall have put us on our way to meeting these goals. But the election on March 3 ls t places this new m a jo rity in jeopardy. U n til recently I believed that the school district was destined to return to its old ways. I gave serious consideration to running for Wally Priestley’ s seat, but personal matters precluded me from running this tim e. When Rick Bauman decided to run, and to run a serious campaign, I saw the opportunity to maintain a school board that would assure a free exchange o f ideas and continued support for the new direc tion o f the board. I firm ly believe that Rick has the integrity and experience (including his chairm anship o f the House Education Committee) to keep the dream o f an im proving school system alive. This could very well be the race that determines the course o f Port la n d ’ s schools fo r the 1980s. I, strongly urge you to support Rick. even the establishment press emitted editorial screams - but where were the rest? Is Ivancie the Mayor o f us all? Is he even in town? What about the C ity C ouncil? Has the N A A C P gone broke and out o f business? Does the Urban League sta ff keep their heads down in fear that the white business elite at United Way w ill cut their purse strings? Every so often there comes a time when conscience demands that good citizens must protest. Paralle. d with those times when they occur, the tim id are seen to shiver and shake - and the political cowards hide from the light. ”, . . 1 will not use this position as a stepping stone to political office, nor lor personal gain. MY BARE BONES BUDGET REELECTS MY ATTITUDE TOWARD COST CUTTING IN THE SCHOOLS.. As the liaison person at that time between the Mayor’s office and the school board, neither the Mayor nor Ms. Beeman, spoke in behalf o f equity for the Black children who were forced to bus all over the City. Sincerely, M ike Vebout Vote for MARGARET STRACHAN City Council Paid lor by Ken Fong, Teacher Jefferaon High School Slr«ch«n lor City Council Commill»« Fred R Chown U»««uf«r PO Bo2^MZ^^0f1l«nd O>«gon 97£ 0M 5O 3l£ZgU £*^ Ear! D. Jelneck RICK BAUMAN Ms. Beeman attended a lo t o f coalition meetings but never took part in the controversy, giving no indication o f concern. I feel there was no concern then, and I feel there won’t be any if she is elected. I have not agreed with all o f Herb or Sarah’ s votes or decisions, but I do feel they have shown sensitivity, concern and leadership. I feel that Herb and Sarah are the two best candidates running fo r their positions and that is why I am supporting them, and asking you to get out and vote on March 31. PORTLAND SCHOOL BOARD - POSITION #2 Working for Quality and Equality in our schools. W ith your help, Rick will help build a new tradition of community involvement and responsiveness in Portland's schools. L et’ s keep the children first. There will be a Citizen Who Cares Candidates Fair, Friday night 7:00 - 9:00 at Boise. Please come. You are invited. The fair is sponsored by Vesia Loving and Ernestine Broadus. Sincerely, Paid: Bauman for School Board Committee, C. Fra alar, T i m ., 6627 BE M th . Pordend. Oft 97206 - 776 2306 Vesia Loving i .* • V , . • • • V f ■ I - . • « . School Board Position ft2 Tuesday. M arch 31 "Margaret has not forgotten the lesions she learned as a parent and teacher. Quality schools are essential to a livable community. Students, parents and teachers can rely on Margaret.” Supports Newhall, Cawthorne To the Editor: The March 31, school board elec tion is a crucial and important one fo r Herb Cawthorne and Sarah N ewhall. Sarah N ew hall's o p ponent, Charlotte Beaman is a con fessed businessman’ s candidate, and I feel she w ill not be sensitive or concerned about the com m unity's problems. I have checked Ms. Beeman’s reactions at school board meetings, when she came from the M a y o r’ s o ffic e , when the Citizen C o a litio n fo r School Integration was meeting for over the past three and a h a lf years and there was no word or gesture o f concern. X VOTE HELEN V. M ASON Pr»»»nt»d by the Commit!»« lor H»l»n V Mason lot Portland ■ School Board G ertrud» L K»»i» Treasurer 7100 SW Burlingame Panland. OR BT11B Where? To the Editor: I would like to add my comments to the observation by Ron Herndon that other organizations had been asked, but refused, to join in a press conference protesting the shocking oppossum incident. The silence was indeed deafening in many corners o f the community. The a ffa ir was so outrageous that tiveness. One o f these individuals feels that such things should be done behind closed doors. One o f the objectives o f the Oregon Assembly For Black Affairs is “ to encourage public officials to become more accountable, respon sive, and productive to the Black co m m u n ity.” Can any public ot fic ia l be held to be accountable, productive or responsive to the Black com m unity, i f they do no' know the truth about the condition< o f Blacks, whether good or bad? Should the Black community hold white public officials accountable it it is not willing to hold Black publu. officials accountable? Should white public officials be responsive to the Black community if Black public o f ficials are not? What kind o f productiveness in the Black com munity can be expected from white public officials if none come from Black public officials and leaders. It is the position o f the Oregon Assembly For Black A ffa irs that Black officials as well as white o f ficials should be held accountable publicly and on the records by Blacks in Oregon. A ll Oregonians will benefit from such officials. HELEN V. MASON Letters to the Editor To the Editor: M y candidacy fo r the P ortland School Board in the past has been based on the belief that, w orking together, we could turn Portland’ s schools around. We could create a school system where decisions are genuinely made in the best interests o f children, where each school in the city would be treated equitably and fairly by the administration and the school board, where each idea could be considered on its own merits. By doing this we could develop a school system which could withstand the external and internal forces which of the Governor’s office stated that the in itia l members o f the Com mission would have the task o f w orking to get the legislature to fund the Commission. However, the Governor's Commission on Black A ffaairs does not plan to meet in Salem before May or June. * . •’/ -. ■
