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.
* . •’/
-. ■