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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1981)
Portland Observar August 6. 1981 Paga 3 From the Capitol Congressman Ron Wyden more than $200,000. A t a tim e when we have cut the tin y $122 per m o n th m in im u m Social Security benefit fo r 70-year- old widows, I fin d this kind o f tax cut unfair, if not unbelievable. 1 am also concerned about what th is tax cut w ill mean fo r o u r economy. In many ways it is like a false prophet -- p ro m ising what it cannot deliver. It is impossible fo r the federal governm ent to re tu rn w hat it does not have. A n d the federal g ove rn m e nt, w ith its $1 trillio n debt and its $40 b illio n an nual o p e ra tin g d e fic it, c e rta in ly doesn’ t have the $750 b illion this tax Q. C o n g r e s s m a n W y d e n , although you voted fo r one o f the tax cut proposals, you did not sup port the bill that eventually passed the House. Why? A. Because the tax cut plan which passed the House doesn’ t give all our citizens the same opportunity to get under the tent o f tax re lie f. Instead o f spreading the b en efits evenly th ro ug h ou t society, it gives m ore than 35 percent o f a ll the benefits to just 5.6 per cent o f the Am erican taxpayers. In fact, a fu ll 10 per cent o f all benefit under that plan go to taxpayers w ho make cut w ill cost over the next 6 years. So where it is going to get th is money? From the Am erican public. To finance this tax cut, the govern ment w ill have to issue T reasury b ills at higher and higher interest rates - th us sucking b illio n s o f d o lla rs fro m the very people to whom it is “ handling” the tax cut. W hat th a t means is th a t the American taxpayer w ill not get back cash on the barrel head. He w ill get back glided lOUs -- lOUs that must be paid someday by the w o rk in g men and wom en o f A m e ric a who got so lit t le when so m uch was promised. W hat th is tax means is m ore deficit spending. Higher and higher interest rates. Higher in fla tio n rates. Fewer and fewer jobs. I wanted a tax cut Be a good one. A tax cut th a t reduced the tax burden on m iddle-incom e w orking Americans, provided incentives for savings, p ro m o te d research and development by in d u s try , assisted small business -- and still allowed us to balance the budget. Pacific Citizen Power o f the Week We cannot achieve those goals sim p ly by th ro w in g m oney at in fla tio n . R egretably, th a t is a ll the tax cut passed this week w ill do. From the Boardroom By Gladys McCoy Multnomah County Commissioner i The tremendous need for jobs is a m a jo r issue fo r M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty . T his is the u n d e rly in g reason why the B oard o f C o u n ty Commissioners supports County ac tiv itie s and program s in economic development: the creation o f jobs, the start o f new businesses, the ex pansion o f existing business and in dustrial firm s, and improvement o f the kinds o f things that a ttra A a n d keep businesses, such a^Hood housing and tra n s p o rta tio n ^ ^ The C o u n ty ’ s efforts in stim ulating economic development are all the more needed in view o f current high unemployment. For in stance, M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ’ s estim ated u ne m p loym en t rate in M a y, 1981 was 7.9 percent; th a t translates to an unemployed labor pool o f 24,065 people, representing more than 19 percent o f O regon’ s unem ployed la b o r fo rce . In ad d itio n , it is w ell docum ented that m in o ritie s , adolescents, o ld e r w orkers and single parent households have une m p loym en t rates even h ig he r. For exam ple, m in o rity unem ploym ent is at least 12 to 13 percent in N o rth and Northeast P o rtla n d , where almost 80.5 percent o f O re g o n ’ s Black people have their homes. You can see w hy the jo b s that come from econom ic development for the citizens o f North and N orth east P o rtla n d creates an issue o f great im p o rta n ce fo r me, fo r the C ity o f P o rtla n d and fo r M u lt nomah County. On a co u n ty w id e basis, the unem ploym ent s itu a tio n is in te n sified by the fact that the C ounty's population includes 40.7 percent ol all Pacific Islanders, 18.3 percent o f N ative Am ericans, 17.1 percent o f Spanish o rig in , and 22 percent o f “ other’ ’ m in ority groups in the en tire State. T hu s, the B oard o f C o u n ty C om m issioners is faced w ith the problem s o f how to fa c ilita te the creation o f jobs, encourage business activity growth and diversification, provide needed public services and fa c ilitie s , encourage m anpow er recruitment and training programs, slow down the exodus o f middle and upper m id d le incom e households and business to the more suburban com m unities, provide developable sites fo r business and in d u s try , re vita lize d e te rio ra tin g n e ig h b o r hoods, p ro tect n a tu ra l resource areas from urban incursion and im prove incom e o p p o rtu n itie s fo r M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty resdients and firms. The fo llo w in g is a lis tin g o f C E T A and C o u n ty m anpower ac tiv itie s and o n g o in g p rogram s in economic development: • The M u ltn o m a h -W a s h in g to n Private Industry C ouncil to recruit and train C E T A eligible people fo r jobs in the private sector; • The Oregon Industrial Revenue Bond P rogram to assist business and industry and expand or locate in Multnomah County; • F unding o f n o -in te re st loans fo r housing re h a b ilita tio n fo r low and moderate income homeowners; • C o n s tru c tio n o f the A ir p o rt W ay East in d u s tria l a rte ria l, a p ro gram in w hich c o n s tru c tio n , engineering and o th e r firm s can request C E T A -fu nd ed tra in in g fo r both new employees or employees who need new job skills; • Co-sponsoring o f a Region-wide L a b o r Force M a rke t Study (to be released in e arly A u g u s t) th a t assesses both the vocational training needs o f households and the local lab or fo rce needs o f business and in d u s try , in c lu d in g N o rth and Northeast Portland; this is the first time that an effort has been made to look at the p o in t o f view o f both households and businesses; the Study includes a survey o f 13,000 in d iv id u a ls in households and businesses; the Study includes a sur vey o f 13,000 in d iv id u a ls in households throughout M ultnom ah County, in terms o f who are the jo b seekers and how they see th e ir needs; the S tudy loo ks at the problems and incentives fo r under employed people to use training op- p o rtu n itie s th ro u g h C E T A or at c o m m u n ity colleges; it also asks business and in d u s try em ployers why they do not always hire people tra in e d by C E T A or c o m m u n ity colleges so that the training centers can p in p o in t problem s and o ffe r better market packages; the market study is also gathering up-to-date in fo rm a tio n on p ro file s o f M u lt nom ah C o u n ty households fo r minorities in general, single parents, h a n d ic a p p e d , u n e m p lo y e d , discouraged and u nem ployed, veterans, lower income and the em ployed to come up w ith the most re a lis tic program s th a t meet the needs o f these households; • D eve lop in g s a n ita ry sewer program s fo r fa s t-g ro w in g East county to serve both existing and An Open Letter «g By Ron Still Chief o f Police 1 One o f the purposes o f my w ritin g an a rtic le fo r local newspapers is to provide the citizens o f P o rtla n d w ith a better u n d e r standing o f it ’ s Police Bureau. It is my b elief that th rough understan d in g , tru s t and co nfid en ce is established. It is important to me, as well as all employees o f the Police Bureau, that citizens have faith in our ability to serve the city. We attempt to use techniques that are successful and cost effective. We m ake changes when the need becomes e vid en t. One area that needed an alternate m ethod to the patrol car was the city parks. A way to respond to these needs was to fo rm the M ou nte d P a tro l U n it. Two o ffic e rs and a Sergeant were in itia lly assigned to the p ro je c t. I t ’ s in itia l goal was to reduce the number o l stranger-to- stranger crimes in the South Park B locks. The crim e rate there was high. We needed new ideas to stop ihe crimes and the M ounted Patrol U n it was one way we approached the problem. The u n it fir s t w orked in J u ly , 1979. D u rin g the next three months, they were responsible for a 93 percent re d u c tio n in the crim e rate in the South Park Blocks It was during these three months that the unit had to prove itse lf e f fective. As you can see. the results were impressive. Based on the initial months a ctivity, the M ounted U nit was funded fo r fu ll-tim e operation. The unit consisted o f one Sergeant, five Patrol Officers, and one civilian em ployee to assist in horse fa c ility m anagem ent and horse tra in in g D u rin g the fisca l year 1980-81, the M ou nte d U n it was deployed in d o w n to w n P o rtla n d w ith p rim a ry re s p o n s ib ility to the “ O ld T o w n ” area. An e valuation was completed which identified a 63 percent reduction in street crim e in the “ O ld T o w n " area d u rin g the specific time the M ounted U nit was working. During December, 1980, the tran sit supervisor co nta cte d the U n it and requested M o u n te d Po ice in the Bus M a ll to reduce the row dy and disorderly conduct. The M oun ted U n it’ s time was divided between “ Old T o w n " and the Bus Mall. As a result, the calls for service in the Bus M a ll went fro m eight (8) calls per week to one ( I ) call in a month. In A p ril, 1981, the Mounted Unit reverted to C ity-w ide operations at the request o f the in d iv id u a l Pre cincts. The M ounted U nit was dis patched to M t. Tabor Park, Kelley Point Park, W ashington Park, the N eighborfair and the Rose Festival Fun Center along w ith many other large crowd ac’ ivities. The Mounted Patrol U nit is an ef fe ctive e nfo rce m en t to o l and has proven very p o p u la r w ith the citizens o f Portland. I f you have com m ents or questions re g ardin g the P o rtla n d P olice Bureau, send them to me through the Public Inform ation O f fice, 222 S.W Pine, P o rtla n d , Oregon 97204. I w ill not be able to respond in my open letters to each and every concern, but w ill select those which w ill assist in im proving communications and relations with the community. College aid available Several kinds o f financial aid are still available for the fall term at Mt. Hood Con mumty College, accord ing to C arl Rawe, fin a n c ia l aid director for the college “ We s till are a w a rd in g basic grants, Oregon state need grants, and guaranteed student loans to qualified students," Rawe said The a p p lic a tio n process takes about fo ur to six weeks. Interested students should contact the M H C C financial aid o ffice now Tall term classes begin M on da y, September 28. “ We also have selected scholar ships, including recognition awards, available th ro u g h o u t," Rawe ad ded. Qualified students must enroll for at least six credit hours in a college c u rricu lu m leading to an associate degree o r c e rtific a te to be co n sidered for financial aid. For more inform ation contact the M H C C F in a n c ia l A id O ffic e at 667-7262 or stop by the office on the Gresham campus. new homes, plus business and in dustrial firm s , so that gro w th w ill not be slowed by disease and water pollution; • C onstruction o f the L ig ht Rail System in the unicorporated areas, where the C o u n ty is responsible, th a t translates in to c o n s tru c tio n jobs, jobs resulting fro m com m er cial development around the Tight Rail passenger stations and jobs that are accessible from e fficien t public tra n s p o rta tio n to and fro m P o rt land and East County because office and warehouse developm ent is inevitable; l ight Rail w ill pull both ends o f the C o u n ty m uch closer to g e th e r, e xpanding jo b o p p o r tunities over a greater area. W h ile the o u tlo o k fo r M u lt nomah C ou nty is good, much w ill depend upon the actions at the State and fe d e ra l levels to fa c ilita te economic recovery. U ltim a tely, the private sector is the jo b and income generator. W ith growth and expan sion in the m arket place, needed jo b s , incom e, goods and services w ill be available The benefits from private sector development and wise use o f governmental regulations and program s w ill p ro vid e m ore jo b s, broaden our tax base, support the provision o f pubic facilities and ser vices, enhance o u r urban c o m m u n itie s and preserve o u r ru ra l areas. Helping to produce jobs is vitally im p o rta n t to me and the Board o f County Commissioners. I f you need more in fo rm a tio n about economic developm ent in M u ltn o m a h ( ounty, please call my office at 248- 5219. Dr. Reginald D. Baugh is a 1981 graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. His undergraduate work was done at the University of Iowa. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Baugh of Portland, Reginald attended West Linn High School, graduating in 1974. He will begin his residency in Otolargnology at the University of Michigan and afterward intends to per sue an academic career. During medical school he was a member of the Admissions Committee and the Health Professions Outreach Committee. Dr. Baugh was recently selected as one of 50 medical students to receive the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Merit Award. The award, which includes a $4,000 stipend, acknowledges his academic excellence, leadership and community ac tivities in his medical school years. BROUGHT TO YOU BY Pacific Power
