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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1982)
Page 4 Section III Portland Observer, February 25, 1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION Is the City really committed? The most valuable section in the Portland De velopment Commission’ s economic develop ment program for Northeast Portland is the jobs program. Unemployment in inner Northeast is twice that o f the city; the unemployment rate of inner Northeast non-whites is more than twice that o f non-whites in the city; the unem ployment rate o f inner Northeast males is twice that o f other males. For 16-19-year-olds, the un employment rate in inner Northeast is three times that o f youth from the city as a whole. The proposed jobs program would attempt to match unemployed or underemployed in d iv i duals with existing jobs. An outreach program would Find vacancies throughout the metropoli tan area and assess the needed requirements. A Centralized Clearing House, as part o f the C ity’s CETA program, would provide information to prospective employers and employees. This would ensure that residents o f the area would know where jobs exist and would have assist ance in applying for employment. The program could be extremely useful, espe cia lly in assisting com m unity people to fin d where and what type o f jobs are available. The keys to this program are the commitment o f the City Council and the selection o f a director. ^vn’i th and Staff .t* o Proudly Present o The program was conceived and developed by City employee Jimmy Brown. Brown not only has the experience with employment programs and CETA, but he is perhaps the only person with those credential who also can relate well both to the captains o f industry and to the community at the grassroots level. We can judge the true com m itm ent o f the Mayor and the City Commissioners on this ap pointment alone. Brown in the position w ill demonstrate commitment; his absence will point to lack o f concern for the people o f the area. They always suffer most The House o f Representatives has adopted a budget package designed to raise more taxes to help meet the $310.8 million state budget deficit. The package calls for a 3.9 per cent income tax surcharge to raise $39 million, a 3C-per-package cigarette tax to raise $11.3 m illion. It also calls for a lowering o f the maximum payment through the property tax relief program in which the state general fund pays 30 per cent o f the homeowner’ s property tax. Lowering this pay ment from $355 to $220 would save $42.2 m il lion. The State Senate does not like the plan and is considering dropping the cigarette tax and mak ing other changes. State Senator John Powell, Chairman o f the State Revenue Committee, is afraid the new taxes w ill hit the same people. The man w ith an $80,000 home who gets less property tax relief is the same man who will pay cigarette taxes. Too bad. Senator Powell should remember that it is al ways the same people who are hurt by budget cuts—children, the elderly, the poor. f i COUPLE ITIOK£ STfPS BACKWARD!, F0ÍKS?) (AND I THINK^VCRYTHINfr tl/IU B £ F IN f. J CORA SMITH HAIR DESIGNS FOR WOMEN AND MEN 727 S.W . 12th - 228-0038 Terror in El Salvador (Continued fro m page 1 column 4) sphere— people who would have found their own proper path if it weren’t for Washington’ s political and economic support to that army. It is the generous American people who pay for this support— at the cost o f social welfare programs in the United States. Yet this Goliath o f dollars is used against a people evidently disposed to follow in the footsteps o f our martyred Monsig nor Romero, who believed that the Christian who fights for others lives forever, even though his body may die. Salvadorans admire America’s democracy, but cannot understand the popular campaign mounted by the Reagan administration to pro test the crackdown in Poland, while Salvadoran workers are subjugated, massacred and tortured in the prisons of San Salvador. Meanwhile, we the unarmed, the intellectuals, the non-violent, form part of a wandering caravan of ex- iles, politically persecuted for the crime of attempting to express our opposition to the brute force o f a murdering army and millions of dol lars worth of U.S. arms. I f the government o f the United States would only comprehend that the truth cannot be hidden behind President Reagan’ s certification that the human rights situation in El Salvador has improved. The truth has no political color and it sounds hypocritical to condemn martial law in Poland, while a romance exists between Washington and El Salva dor’s military criminals whose cor rupt martial law regime is being sustained with American money. The ideal would be for those dollars to support the legitimate aspirations of the Salvadoran people. But if the imagination doesn’t stretch that fa r— even though it would earn the U.S. the gratitude of a new nation— at least the dollars should not serve to create in Central America the catalyst for a new world war or a replica of Vietnam. They should serve to arrange nego tiations with the insurgents and the army. The question is whether the dollar ought to serve to exterminate a people which is becoming more rad icalized every day, or whether they ough to serve the advent o f a much wished-for political, social and economic democracy for the Salva doran nation. I believe that is the choice. Our history shows us that here a reprimand by a representative of the White House traditionally has been sufficient to “ put into line’’ a dicta torship sustained by American arms. Meanwhile, the Salvadoran people continue to ask themselves why Americans desire a democracy for themselves, but for us sustain the most fearful, criminal and cor rupt of dictatorships. © Pacific New» Service, 1982 Portland Observer ■U a « Association B V T M P o rtla n d O h ta rv tr IU 8 P S »M -B B 0I la publiahad ovary Thuraday by Exla PuMNMnp Company, H e .. 2201 N o r * KMnpa- w orth’ * * * « * • Orapon »7217, Poat Offloa Boa 2127, Portland Orapon V720». Saoond ataaa pootapa pa Subaerlpdono: »10.00 par yaar In Tri-County i Sand addraaa chanpaa to * a Portland Ohaarvar. P.O, Boa 2127, Portland. Orapon »7208. MEMBER Aaaoctadan • Founded 7BBB A . Lee Henderson, Publisher A ! M cG it berry, Managing Editor A I Williams, Advertising Manager 2 8 3 -2 4 8 6 N a w York National Advartialnp Rapraaantatlva Amalpamatad Publiahara, Inc,
