Portland Observer July 10.1081 Page 3
From the Capitol
Congressman Ron Wyden
Q. This week trustees fo r the
Social Security System said the
system will go belly-up by the end o f
next year if we don't drastically cut
benefits or hike taxes. Do you
agree?
A. First, l think it is important
to remember who -- and what -- we
are really talking about here. Those
Social
Security
beneficiaries
everyone is ta lkin g about are not
some unknown quantity -- they are
our own mothers and fathers -- the
ones who provided us with the prop-
serity we now enjoy.
There is no call to subject these
people to a campaign o f terror - to
frighten them bv telling them they
w ill lose the benefits they depend on
to meet their daily expenses. Rather,
what we need is to sit down and
come up with a well-reasoned ap
proach that w ill guarantee a sounder
economic future fo r the system --
and s till give today’ s retirees their
due.
The best available estimates in
dicate we need to come up with $3 to
$5 b illio n in savings in the near
future i f we are to keep the Social
Security system afloat. To achieve
that goal, I would:
• A llo w in te rfu n d borrow ing
between the Old Age and Survivor
Fund, the Health Fund and the
Disability Fund.
From the Courthouse
By Donald E. Clark
Multnomah County Executive
A fte r analyzing the results o f
M ultnom ah C ounty’ s three-ycar,
$5.1 m illio n serial levy election, it
was very apparent that voters in the
inner Northeast neighborhoods
strongly supported both measures. I
was very heartened by this positive
response to the County and to the
important services we provide in the
community.
Voters overall supported part of
the serial levy, providing some im
portant revenues which w ill
allow the C ounty to m aintain a
number o f basic services that were
in jeopardy.
Measure 3, which w ill provide
$2.13 m illion was passed. Measure 4
o f $2.94 m illio n however, was
narrowly defeated.
A lthough passage o f both
measures was necessary to restore
most o f the program cuts in the
1981-82 budget, the passage o f
Measure 3 makes those reductions
less severe, and provides for an im
portant two years o f fiscal stability.
It does not however, make up fo r
the loss o f funds at the State and
Federal levels for services that con
tinue to be desperately needed.
In the N orth/N ortheast areas o f
the County, passage o f Measure 3
kept the A lb in a Branch and fo u r
other branches o f the M ultnom ah
County library from closing. In ad
d itio n , services provided through
the North/Northeast mental health
clinic, the Albina Multiservice Cen
te r’ s fa m ily planning c lin ic , and
C ounty dental clinics such as the
Buckman, will not have to shut their
doors to a substantial number o f
community’ s residents.
Failure o f Measure 4 however,
w ill reduce services provided
through A nim al C o n tro l and
Project H ealth, and make it
necessary for the Central Library to
close all day each Monday.
The C ounty’ s revenue sh o rtfa ll
forced the County to eliminate 237
positions for the 1981-82 fiscal year.
One o f my principal concerns was
the impact those reductions would
have on our employees - especially
m in o rity employees. W ith that in
mind, we created “ Project Save” to
c o n tro l hirin g u n til we could at
tempt to transfer existing employ
ees, whose jobs were in jeopardy,
into vacant positions maintained in
the budget.
The jobs o f 133 employees were
endangered by the budget cuts, and
they were actually given termination
notices in m id-June. (The other
positions cut were already vacant.)
O f those 133 employees, 21 were
minorities. I was extremely pleased
that the considerable efforts o f the
D ivision o f Employee Relations
made it possible to save jobs fo r
20 of those minority employees. The
one m inority employee who left the
County did so voluntarily to exer
cise other job options.
Thanks to your support, the
C ounty was able to m inim ize the
im pact that our fiscal problems
presented to the well-being o f our
employees, as well as ensuring two
years o f programs and services to
those who truly need it.
It is important to note, however,
that the serial levy is only a tem
porary re lie f. The fa ilu re o f
Measure 4 and the continuing fiscal
conditions which affect C ounty
government w ill require a long-term
solution in the very near future.
I hope that we can continue to
rely upon the support o f many o f
you so that Multnomah County can
provide a level o f services that ad
dress the quality o f life we want for
our community.
Life on the street
(Continued from Page 1 Col 5)
because when i t ’ r ra ining or
snowing they're not out because you
have no one to tell you when to get
out. WonIFn who have a man do not
like women who don’ t have one. To
them they’ re just taking up tim e.
They are there fo r a m inute so
they’ re not dedicated to the life. I
was out there fo r five years and
made thousands, and gave it to
the fo o l I was w ith. A pim p is
somebody who is stuck on them
selves. I doubt i f they have any
feelings for you, and if they do, they
can’ t show it because they have to
stay hard hearted.”
In the street life the pim p is the
most over-glamorized o f all. There
appears to be two kinds o f pimps;
the street pimp and the professional
pimp. The street pimp deals mainly
w ith petty hustling and does not
depend on the e xp lo ita tio n o f
women to maintain his lifestyle. The
professional pim p m aintains his
lifestyle entirely on the ability o f his
women. Despite the glamorous
image the pimp conveys, his life is
far from being colorful. It's a con
stant struggle to outw it his women
and keep one step ahead o f the
police. Their lives are erratic and
their fortunes disappear as soon as
they are made.
Another type o f street lady that
is seen often is the teen-prostitute.
A ccording to Janice B u rre tt, a
Juvenile C ourt Counselor, some
teenage prostitutes are turned on to
the life because they’ re runaways.
‘ ‘ They become involved after run
ning away from home. They are out
on the streets and they need some
way to support themselves. Many go
to a pim p because they’ re there.
H a lf the girls who come are out
there by themselves.”
Whatever the glamour, whatever
the glitter, most street ladies end up
w ith no marketable tra in in g , and
with counterfeit golory in their past
and no foreseeable future.
Phon«jJt4-1007
H O T C U T S S P E C IA L
<
Congressman Ron Wyden reads to children at
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held each summer at Irving Park. The program en
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(E d ito r’ s Note: Lanita Duke is
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butch caar<;
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• Pick up part of the financing for
Social Security w ith general fund
dollars -- secured by making cuts in
some o f the sacred cows, such as
tobacco subsidies and synthetic
fuels.
• L ift the outside earnings
lim ita tio n that prevents retirees
from earning more than $5,500 in
outside income each year w ithout
having their benefits reduced.
• Consolidate some o f the social
components o f Social Security
within other agencies. For example,
educational benefits should be com
bined w ith other program s under
the Department o f Education -- thus
e lim inating extra costs and
duplication of services.
No one can pretend to have the
magic solution to all the ills o f the
Social Security system. But it is im
portant that we all begin to pull
together to solve its problems -- in
stead o f allow ing the stresses o f
hard economic times to p it us
against each other.
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