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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1982)
Page 4 Portland Observer, February 11, 1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION ™el ewfeudalisrn Both major parties agree that the Rights Act and his disastrous posi New Federalism is actually a diver tion on tax exemptions for all-white The level o f A m erican political sionary tactic to abift the political private educational institutions. terrain to the r t ^ t during a period discourse plum m eted to new lows The greatest concern o f all is that o f high unempi^Bient and econom with President R eagan’ s recent once the slate governments assume ic stagnation. K r Republicans, par- proposal to reshuffle Federal and responsibility for w elfare, C E T A , state responsibilities fo r domestic ticulary leaden in the Senate, it does food stamps, e tc ., that even the socio-economic programs. Reagan's tattered “ safety net" provided for not obscure their m ajor worry, and New Federalism is viewed by most the central concern o f W all S tre e t- the poor will disappear. Since Prop Blacks as a retreat in to the nine osition Thirteen, a wave o f tax re staggering Federal d eficits. Most o f dow ntown businessmen— those who have the teenth century, a conservative pro duction referenda have passed many GOP politicians who are not supply- gram to balance the burgeoning pow er and m ake the decisions— w ill to le ra te a siders recognize that Reagan's mas states. Most state governments did Federal liudget on the backs o f wel not increase welfare payments at all sive deficits could create panic in fi strong Black man in a position o f power and in fare mothers, school children and nancial m arkets, causing a new last year, and five states actually cut fluence is debatable. We have not seen it yet. the elderly. The logic behind these benefits. In order to maintain need round o f high in fla tio n , and even Perhaps the m ore serious question is whether initiatives is exceedingly fam iliar to ed social programs, liberal lobbyists another more severe recession some the d is tric t’ s a d m in is tra tiv e s ta ff w ill support Blacks— States’ Rights, laissez faire, time in 1983 or early 1984. “ I f we and C iv il Rights organizations P ro p h e t o r w h e th e r th e y w ill a tte m p t to and an almost feudal conceptualiza would be forced to conduct a series embrace the kinds o f deficits now tion o f the role o f government in the sabotage him by w ith h o ld in g in fo rm a tio n and p ro je cted ," adm itted Republican o f g u e rrilla -lik e campaigns in un social and economic life o f human Senator W illiam Armstrong o f C ol through “ passive resistance.’ ’ This is rum ored frie n d ly state legislatures. In all beings. An assessment o f the pro orado, " th e financial markets will probability, states that maintained to be one o f the problem s th a t ham pered D r. posals conceived by Reagan reminds go nuts." Another Republican sena certain social programs at humane Jim Fenw ick’s early days as interim -superinten one o f a comment made by Goethe: tor informed the W all Street Jour levels might receive massive in-m i dent. Perhaps D r. Fenwick should have cut w ith there is nothing more frightening nal that he was unwilling to embrace grations o f poor and low -incom e a deeper sw ord and gotten rid o f some o f the than ignorance in action. Reagan's new proposals, because people from the more fiscally au On paper, Reagan’s “ financially dead w ood and those w ho were m ore lo ya l to cuts in social programs could never stere states. For Blacks, this could equal swap" appears to be a simplis justify the tremendous expenditure past adm inistrations. His kindness and w illin g result in a pathetic new migration o f tic extension o f his general philoso in m ilita ry h ardw are. “ W h a t we lite ra lly m illio n s o f persons, des ness to give everyone a new o p p o rtu n ity m ight phy o f States Rights and a truncated didn’t figure in all this was that de perately seeking the means to sur have cost him not only greater success but even Federal authority. States would save fense spending would add up to fi vive. Even for political moderates the jo b . J 19.1 billion from the Federal gov nancing a w ar." who have endorsed other Reagan in A n o th e r p ro b le m w ilf be the p r in c ip a ls — ernm ent’ s M edicaid takeover, and For Democrats, the New Federal itiatives, the specter o f m ajor cities would receive an additional $28 bil many o f their incompetent to do the jo b , u n w ill ism could create the first real possi and rural area with large concentra lion from a Federal trust fund sim ing to progress, unaware o f current needs. W ill bility o f recovery from the political tions o f minorities turning into vast ilar to one that finances the In ter Waterloo o f 1980— but it could also poorhouses is simply unacceptable men who tell racist jokes at their s ta ff meetings state H ig h w ay system. T he new widen the split between conserva in the 1980s. " W h a t is the logic in respond positively to a Black superintendent? fund would be financed from addi tives and liberals within party ranks, Federalizing one poverty program We recommend to Dr. Prophet that he watch tional Federal excise taxes on tobac alienating Blacks and L atin o s. but turning back the others?" edi his back ca re fu lly and not hesitate to elim inate co, alcohol and gasoline sales. The Every D em ocrat w ould have a t to ria lize d the N e w York Times. states would receive control o f 43 any whose u n d ivid e d lo y a lty he has reason to tacked Reagan if he had listened to " D o poor people get equally sick in program s, ranging fro m A id to question. his advisers and had introduced tax different places but unequally hun Families W ith Dependent Children gry?” increases in the midst o f a recession. D r. Prophet is on his ow n. A lth o u g h he has (A F D C ), food stamps, public hous But since Reagan didn’t ask for new It is possible to believe that Rea the support o f most o f the Board— at least in the ing, education, community develop taxes, they will undoubtedly attack gan ’ s advisers are convinced (hat beginning— he cannot expect that Board to deal ment and other social service pro the A dm inistration from both the w hite voters and po litician s have w ith the s ta ff problem s that they have tolerated grams. Between 1987 and 1991, the left and the right. Fiscal conserva successfully identified welfare, food fund would be gradually eliminated, fo r years. tives like O klahom a's Representa stam ps/tnd other social programs and states w ould be forced to D r. Prophet is w alking in to the L io n ’ s Den. tive James Jones and other Boll with Black and Latino recipients to choose between higher local taxes or Weevils will charge that they now such an extent that the white ma But he can prevail i f he pulls his sword first. would have to slash programs com jo r ity w ill be w illin g to go along represent economic responsibility, pletely. and that the Republicans are now with the New Federalism. But even For many Civil Rights leaders and the "B ig Spenders." Liberals like this "clo set ra c is t" strategy fails liberals, the scheme had the air o f C a lifo rn ia G overnor Jerry Brown when one examines exactly which unreality. Some pointed out that the charge (hat the transferal o f p ro racial constituencies would lose if W hile the states are sinking in to deep fin a n Federal H ig h w ay Trust Fund has these program s were reduced or grams is a "diversionary tactic, d i cial problem s w ith nowhere to tu rn fo r assist run large deficits since 1980. Drew eliminated. One illustration will suf versionary from the central issue o f Lew is, R eagan’ s T ra n s p o rta tio n ance, Reagan has proposed an obscene increase fice— food stamps. The 1977 Food our time, which is the sick economy Secretary, had already urged the Stamp Act was designed to "perm it in m ilita ry spending. N ot o n ly has he asked fo r and tho 9.5 million people who are A d m in is tra tio n to raise gasoline low-income households to obtain a out o f w o rk ." The irony is that the more missiles, planes, tanks, etc., but he has au taxes from 4 to 9 cents a gallon. Any Democrats have not yet developed more nutritious diet.” According to th o riz e d and w ill fu n d the deve lo p m e n t and a d d itio n a l taxes to finance social an effective programmatic alterna the Bureau o f the Census research stockpiling o f nerve gas. program s would be a burden to o f M arch, 1980, about 5.9 m illion tive to the Right. The New Federal working class and poor consumers. The nerve gas is supposedly fo r use against households received food stamps in ism will serve as a lightning rod for Reagan’s idea for transfering these Soviet troo ps in case o f an atta ck on Europe. all kinds o f criticism, but the fact re 1979. The median annual income o f programs to the states had originally these families was a meager $5,300. This is also the excuse fo r the helicopters and mains that the D em ocrats do not come from two governors, Lam ar 77 per cent had total money incomes have any real solutions to the fiscal fighter jets— but these weapons are not defend Alexander o f Tennessee, a Republi below $10,000 a year. The average crisis o f the state, nor have de ing anyone fro m a Soviet attack, rather they are can, and Dem ocrat Bruce Babbitt face value o f food stamps received veloped any consensus to recapture killin g innocent people in El Salvador. The U.S. o f Arizona. But only one day after in 1979 was $810 per household. the political initiative. the President’s speech. Babbitt care has already used napalm and biological w arfare W ho receives food stamps? 63 per Opportunism makes bad politics. fully distanced himself from the in against the people o f Vietnam , El Salvador and cent o f all household recipients were The New Feudalism w ill create a evitable political fallo u t, claiming white, 3.7 million families. Only 2.1 Cuba, and w ill again. temporal unity among the principal that he would have to oppose the m illion o f 35 per cent were Black; targets o f Reagan’ s States' Rights W ill we continue to w illin g ly buy the utensils plan in its present form. In Babbitt’s 600,000 were Latino, totaling 10 per agenda— Blacks, la b o r, and the o f death, bringing suffering and pain to the peo view, Reagan would have to placate cent. One million householders were poor. But that is a sorry substitute ples o f the w o rld , w hile o u r ow n people suffe r the justifiable fears o f Blacks and 65 years or older. Two-thirds o f the for the hard political work that re Hispanics, especially in the light o f from hunger and neglect? households had children 18 years mains to be done before the forces R eagan’ s record on the Vo tin g old and under. o f Reaganism are defeated. Matthew Prophet: Will they let him do the job? Dr. M atthew Prophet comes to the Portland School D istrict w ith solid support in the com m u nity. He had the unanim ous vote o f the citizen and s ta ff committees that participated in the se lection process. A lthough the School Board was somewhat re lu c ta n t and w o u ld have p re fe rre d one o f the white candidates, six o f the seven finally decided to select him . O nly C harlotte Beeman voted fo r another candidate. The question now is whether the com m u nity and the School Board w ill allow D r. Prophet to succeed. The Board has every reason to wish the new superintendent success. The B oard is seen by m uch o f the p u b lic as weak and disorganized, divided and indecisive. N o one has emerged as a leader. H erb C aw thorne and Steve Buel are the m in o rity ; Dean G isvold and C h arlotte Beeman are followers; Joe Rieke is in a class by himself; and B ill Scott and F rank M cN am ara compete fo r the lead. M c N a m a ra has n o t show n the strength to lead and his constant w rang ling at Scott weakens Scott’ s position. The B o a rd sh o u ld be w e ll aw are th a t they need a Superintendent who can project an image o f intelligence, com m itm ent, strength and com petence. A nything less w ill leave them in a state o f chaos. The only segment o f the com m unity that did n o t s tro n g ly s u p p o rt D r. P ro p h e t was the Chamber o f Commerce, which made a last-ditch e ffo rt to stop his selection. W hether this group Putting death before life The A m erican people are being squeezed be tween Reagan’ s budget cuts— especially in the areas o f social program s, jo b trainin g, and eco nom ic developm ent— and the s h o rtfa ll in state and local tax funds that h urt the same programs. W hile Reagan talks about m aking social p ro gram s— m uch needed help fo r the elderly, the unemployed and unemployable, and children— the respon sibility o f the states, the high rate o f unemployment is affecting the collection o f state taxes to fund those programs. The State o f Oregon, w ith one o f the highest unemployment rates in the nation, is caught in a vicious circle. In a b ility to collect taxes fro m un em ployed people means the jo b placement and jo b trainin g program s so badly needed w ill suf fer. A n d the cycle continues. Cuts in education, health and other areas w ill depress the jo b m ar ket and the tax revenues o f the future. School Board delays Tubman decision (Continued fro m page I co. 3) if Boise is closed and its K in d e r garten through fifth-grade students are put in surrounding schools, the Black percentage o f those schools w ill increase. Also, many students that w ill have to be moved from Beach and King to make room for Boise youngsters will be white be cause o f their geographic location. The Board faces a dilemma. The resto ratio n o f grades to A lb in a schools; the new policy o f allowing A lbina students to attend school in th e ir neighborhoods; and the de crease o f white pre-school students com ing into the area schools has pushed the m in o rity per cent u pw ard. Establishing the m iddle school at either Boise or Eliot would increase that percentage— a situa tion that appauls M cNam ara, Dean Gisvold, Charlotte Beeman and Joe Rieke. To locate it outside the com m unity not only breaks a com m it ment but opens the district to a dis c rim in a tio n charge. I f Tubm an is assigned to E lio t, 450 p rim a ry students w ould be moved. Most are already bused to E lio t and could be placed, as a group, in another building. I f Tubman is located at Boise, 333 lower grade students at Boise would have to be reassigned. Also, to make room for those students in adjacent schools, the fo llo w in g transfers would occur: 100 students from H u m b o ld t to K in g , 60 students from K ing to Sabin, 60 students from K ing to W o o d la w n , 30 stu dents from Beech to C h ief Joseph. A p p ro x im a te ly 663 p rim a ry stu dents would have to be reassigned and the Eliot building would need to be expanded to some 600 students. Use o f the M o n ro e b uilding would have no effect on the neighborhood schools and would not displace students. Joe Rieke favored delay o f the de cision until after the tax levy vote in May. He opposes putting the school at Eliot. M c N a m a ra favors the M o n ro e building and feels E liot would not provide q u a lity fac ilitie s . " A n y choice is going to give considerable difficulty in the community. We will Portland Observer ~ = ■ b s — * B J 8 8 R MIM»!» Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association fi I fi Th« P o rtla n d Observer (U S P S 9 6 9 M 0 ) la published «vary Thur»d»y by Exto Pubtwh.ng Company. Inc., 2201 North Killing» worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Poet Office Bo« 3137, Portland Oregon 97208. Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon Subscription» S10.00 per year in Tri-County area P o e tm e e ta r Sand addraa» change» to the Portland Observer. P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 e W p IA iper A u o c ia tlo n - Founded t888 Name Address City____ MEMBER N Subscribe todayl Receive your Observer by mail. Only $10 per year A. Lee Henderson, Publisher A t McGUberry, Managing Editor 283-2486 A I Williams, Advertising Manager National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publisher». Inc. Naw York .State. Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland, OR 97208 .T ip . take a lot o f heat because o f any i cision.” Scott is opposed to delay and si nothing that will change enough counterbalance the cost to studen staff and administration o f delay. Beeman favors M o n ro e . In sharp exchange with Cawthorne s said she had always opposed Eli because it cannot provide excellen to " th e p o p ulatio n we want serve. C awthorne accused her being on the verge o f "m akin g t same type spectator approach with the school closings." Rieke said it was the Eliot dci sion that placed him in the imposi ble situation o f favoring desegreg lion but not being able to vote in f vor o f the plan. " I t is not consistei with what we need— an excellent f cility for an excellent school." Cawthorne reminded him that i December o f 1979 Dr. Robert Blat chard had proposed middle schoo at Eliot, Hayhurst and Chapm an- and had documented that a middl school could be successful at Eliot. The Board voted to e lim in a t some o f the options: to elim inat Jefferson (Rieke N o); to elim inat W ashington/M onroe (Rieke, No) to eliminate Adams (Rieke and Me Namara, No); Cascade College. Th Board failed to e lim ia te M o n ro (M c N a m a ra , Rieke. Gisvold, Bee m an, N o ), Boise (S c o tt, G isvold Rieke and Beeman, N o). (Buel wa absent for this voting.) Buel called for a vote on siting ii in the Black community to see when the lines are draw n and let the Black com munity know where th« Board members stand: Scott, Bee m an, M c N a m a ra , O is v o ld , and Rieke voted No.
