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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1983)
Page 4 Portland Observer, February 23, 1963 EDITORIAL/OPINION Fight sales tax now The Oregon Legislature’s Democratic Party leadership— led by the so-called liberal wing o f the Party— is caving in to the sales tax proposal offered by a group of Portland businessmen. Rather than fight the sales tax with all their might they are passing the buck, abdicating their responsibility. ’ ’Put it on the ballot,” they say. "Let the people decide.” Fine in theory, but un just when they know that the corporations will pour millions o f dollars into the election cam paign, using confusion and half-truths to buy the vote. The citizens who will have to pay the tax do not have (he resources to fight such a media blitz. The Democratic leadership seems to forget the philosophy on which their Party is founded— that government should serve the needs o f the people, that the cost o f government should be born by those with the ability to pay. They elo quently say in public speeches that a sales tax falls most heavily on the backs o f the poor, o f the working class. Yet they are willing to put an unfair tax on the ballot. Perhaps they forget that the State Democratic Party platform opposes a sales tax. Perhaps they forget why we elected them and not their Repub lican opponents. W hy attack Libya? President Reagan's intrusion into the territor ial waters and the airspace o f Libya last weekend might have a more devious reason than meets the eye. It might be an attempt to ju stify a massive U.S. arms build-up in the Middle East. The largest new U.S. military command since Vietnam was born on January 1— the Rapid De ployment Force. Originally conceived by Presi dent Carter as a small expeditionary force, the Command has grown into a massive unit that will include a half-million troops. Tw o army di visions, one Marine division, five A ir Force tac tical fighter wings and three aircraft carriers will be added with a $20 billion start-up cost. Originally planned to "protect Persian G u lf oil and trade,” the R D F has turned into a mas sive m ilitary wing that will guard " U .S . inter ests” in an area encompassing at least 20 nations of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The R D F will be a threatening U.S. presence — reminding such "frien d ly” nations as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Pakistan that it would be foolish fo r them to consider a more non- aligned approach that would preclude the U .S. government from using them as military bases. C IA reports of rumors that Quadafi planned to assassinate the president o f Sudan and take con trol o f that country sound too much like the highly publicized C IA rumor that Q uadifi was sending assassins to dispose o f Reagan and other U .S. officials. The quick m ilitary response by the U.S. was a good cover story for the deploy ment o f thousands o f men and machines to the desserts o f the Middle East and it will provide a good response if any U .S . taxpayer bothers to ask why. Letters to the Editor Unemployment brings stress To thr tditor: Not tong ago, an article in Psy chology Today Magazine said that people living near an unsafe nuclear plant— the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania to be specific— were under more mental stress than people who lived far away from such a plant. A later study in the same maga zine said that unemployment was the cause o f considerably more stress and worry than living near an unsafe nuclear plant. With the worst unemployment in this country since the 1930 Depres sion, it might be worthwhile to look into one cause of it. U .S . corporations are taking p rofits made in this nation and building factories in foreign coun tries. When the factories go over seas, so do the jobs. Why are U.S. companies moving their factories overseas? Mostly, to take advantage o f the low wages. For example, the head o f the Irish Development Association, who was in this country recently trying to persuade American businessmen to move to or build factories in Ir e land, said, "T h e Irish worker does two-thirds as much work as the Ger man worker, but we pay him only half as much.” In Ireland alone, three hundred U.S. companies have factories there with Westinghouse, by itself, having seven. Many other nations are brag ging about their low wages and low taxes in an e ffo rt to attract U .S . companies During his campaign for the Pre sidency, Ronald Reagan promised to put people back to work. Instead, he has put millions of people out of w ork. He has perm itted the con tinued movement o f U .S . industry to low-wage foreign countries so it seems to me that he did not take his own promise very seriously. Henry Korman Opposes sending teenagers to adult prisons Sending teenagers into adult pri sons would only breed more rape, related and perverted young people, insanity and syphilis. Can you see the moral decay in Prophetic Sym- bilical Babylon (Amerikkka) similar to the Roman Empire? Crime will not be stopped until the "w h y” of crime is answered. As long as unem ployment continues, the high rate of crime will remain. The problem o f unemployment, induces the socio-pathic personality resulting in anti-social behavior. Yet. no human is predestined to be a crim inal. To deny any person the right to work is in itself a criminal act. It's dangerous for the unem ployed to start doubting their own abilities. The toughest part o f crime pre vention is making him or her believe in himself as a person. Building more jails will not solve crime in our community. Within those walls, ju veniles would have to fight like ani mals to protect their manhood. The thrust or e ffo rt to combat crime should be to demand employment for the unemployed. Think o f the breakdown o f our public schools, and the non-teach ing atmosphere that produces alien children, creating boredom, leading to delinquency, the outcome o f which results in crime. I don't believe the proliferation of drugs within our community could exist without the law enforcement agencies having knowledge o f it. Who would want to put a teen-ager in prison, warehouses o f human degradation. In this nation, prisons manufacture crime rather than dis courage it. Ninety-five percent of all the expenditures in the entire field of correction in this nation goes for custody— iron bars, stone walls, guards. Forced homosexuality is openly tolerated. It would be d ifficu lt to devise a better method o f draining the last drop of compassion from a human being than confinement of teen-agers in adult prisons as they exist today. Rape and homosexual culture invilves most of the inmates by choice or force. Studies have shown that most teen-agers suffer from some mental disturbances at the time they com mit their crime, but treatment for mental illness in prisons is virtually nonexistent. Human dignity lost, drug usage is common in prison and many inmates become addicted. Most au thorities agree that sexually segre gated adult penal institutions are breeding grounds for homosexual ity; and homosexual practices are so commonplace in many prisons that o fficials adm it at least privately, their inability to adequately cope with the problem. Sending teenagers to adult so-called correctional insti tutions would be a travesty of jus- ‘ tice. Enforced sexual segregation and the inevitable homosexuality, would prove itself thoroughly detrimental to the rehabilitation of teenagers in adult Sodomy factories. I ’ m inclined to believe, most crime is a manifestation o f psycho logical aberration. Disease o f the central nervous system can cause de viant behavior have been discovered and they can be recognized and handled by internists, neurologists and neurosurgeons using standard methodolody. Dr. Jamil Cherovee Field Director for CORE Portland Observer M« MR I The P o r tla n d O b s t r r t t IU S P S M S 6801 is published «vary Thursday by E .w Publishing Company. Inc . 2301 North Killings worth. Portland. Oregon 97217. Post Othcs B oi 3 ,3 7 . Porttond. Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon The Portland O b a rrrrr was aatabHahad in ,970 by A . Lae Han daraon. founder and Prsaidan, Subscriptions 9 ,0 00 par year in the Tn County srsa P oet m a s te r Sand address changes to the P ortland O tis rrrrr P 0 Bo> 3 ,37 Portland Oregon 97206 MÍMBÍR N e H p A peh Association ■ foondad 7M6 A l McGtlhtrry, Editor/Pubhshtr H »SarveOS by M anning M a n b it " F n a T b t Grassroots “ I first learned about the Congress o f Racial Equality (C O R E ) in the spring o f 1961, during the civil rights movement. In December, I9 6 0 , the Supreme C ou rt ruled in Boynton v. Virginia that racial seg- regaton was illegal on all interstate buses and trains, and in all transpor tation terminals. On M ay 4, 1961, thirteen members of CORE, includ ing national director James Fanner, traveled into the Deep South. Predictably, the biracial group encountered violent resistance. John Lewis and another "Freedom R id e r” were assaulted in Rock H ill, South C aro lin a on M ay 9. W h ite mobs in A nniston, A lab am a, attacked and burned one bus. In Montgom ery, A labam a, white ra cists pulled Freedom Riders o ff the bus and gave them a brutal beating. In Jackson, Mississippi, Farmer and a group of 26 Freedom Riders were given 67 day jail sentences for sitting in the “ whites-only" sections of the city's bus depot. Farmer's jail term served to m obilize every C O R E chapter. Hundreds made the jo u r ney south to jo in the Freedom Rides. In later years, C O R E became a "Black Power" formation, aligning itself with the more radical Student Non-violent Coordinating Commit tee. C O R E leader Floyd McKissick stood second only to Stokely Carmi- chael as a natio n ally-kn o w n pro ponent o f black nationalism . McKissick and C O R E attacked the Johnson A dm in istratio n ’s illegal and immoral war in Vietnam. One might disagree with CORE'S contro versial political stands, but not even its worst critics could claim that the organization did not identify with the goals and ideals of the oppressed black community. Today, this statement is no longer true. Inch by inch, C O R E has re treated from the vanguard o f pro gressive struggle into the open arms o f the forces o f Reaganism, racism and economic reaction. From "Black Power” o f the 1960s, CORE and its leader Roy Innis have aban doned their militant history for ac ceptance into the posh corridors of the ruling m ilitary-industrial com plex. In 1976, C O R E pushed the plan to recruit Afro-Americans to fight as mercenaries against the new pro gressive government of Angola. In nis advocated support for U N IT A , a black puppet organization which is backed by the Republic of South Africa and the United States. Objec tively, C O R E was placing its name and prestige in the service o f inter national terrorism and white su premacy. F in a lly , last m onth, C O R E reached an all-time low in the annals of the civil rights movement. At the fortieth anniversary convention of the organization. C O R E gave a spe cial award to a rightwing reaction ary, Gen. W illiam Westmoreland, who commanded U .S . troops in Vietnam. Inis declared that any cri ticisms o f Westmoreland were un fa ir because " th e man was (just) carrying out o rders.” C O R E also presented a special award to a black vicepresident o f Anheuser Busch brewery. The firm is currently en gaged in a struggle with Jesse Jack- son, Operation P U S H , and other civil rights leaders over the lack of adequate affirmative action and cri tical black economic support. Thus Innis and C O R E , by applauding Anheuser Busch at this time, have undermined efforts o f civil rights activists. A t tome point, we must begin to hold our so-called black leadership accountable when they objectively and pathetically serve the interests of multinational corporations and international racism. For unlike (he Jesse Jacksons, whose em otional grandstanding and florid rhetoric may simply irritate, Innis has moved behond the boundaries of political opprotunism into the camp o f the enemy. The rich history o f C O R E and its vision o f equality has been uprooted by a group of self-serving black elites who reinforce the pro cesses of racist exploitation and eco nomic oppression. Salem Watch Hazing o f freshmen state legisla tors is a longstanding Salem tradi tion. They did it this year to Larry Hill (D-Springfield) when he carried the first b ill o f the season. By shifting votes prior to the final tally, bills which will eventually pass tem porarily appear defeated. H ill ap preciated the joke, and his Arbor Week bill finally passed. It wasn’t hazing, however, when support started peeling away from a later b ill supported by another freshman, Rep. Ed Leek (D -P o rt- land). Before HB 2373 could even come up fo r a vote on the House floor. Associated Oregon Industries (A O I) was out to scuttle a proposal to allow out-of-work Oregonians to receive both unemployment insur ance benefits and vocational retrain ing. Currently, Oregonians have to choose between receving unemploy ment compensation or seeking re training. To the original 34 sponsors of H B 2373, this choice constituted cruel and unusual punishment for those experiencing the worst effects of Oregon’s stalled economy. H B 2373, however, ran into a formidable obstacle in the form of A O I, one of Oregon's most influen tial lobby groups. Suddenly, the State Employment Division began working against the b ill they had helped to write. Governor Vic A ti- yeh paid a visit to House Speaker Gratten Kerans (D-Eugenc), trying to persuade Kerans to let the bill die. When Kerans went ahead and o r ganized a floor fight in the House of Representatives on February 8, ru mors circulated that the governor might veto the bill i f the Senate didn't kill it for him. Now why would industry oppose a bill allowing benefits to un employed workers who are acquir ing skills relevant to the industries Oregon would like to attract? A O I lobbyists claimed it would be " fis cally irresponsible” to bankrupt Oregon's unemployment insurance fu n d — which would mean higher unemployment insurance rates for A O I’s member companies. Spe cious as this argument may appear, it — or rather A O I— was strong enough to convince the 10 Republi can sponsors to vote to send the bill back to committee. When this diver sion failed on a party line vote, all but three representatives (two Re publicans and one Democrat) went ahead and voted the bill over to the Senate. Despite the apparent una nim ity o f the vote, the power o f A O I remains clear: That A O I was able to convince 10 Republican sponsors to vote against their own bill demonstrates industry's power over this political party. A O I's clout with Republican legislators becomes that much more obvious when one realizes that even the P ortland Chamber o f Commerce would not go along with A O I's efforts to kill HB2373. Oregon's business climate. As unfair as A O I’s strategy may seem, this is how the political game is played. A O I— as do all special in terest groups— desires to shield its members from the fu ll costs o f problems they generate. And, since A O I lobbyists are skilled gamesmen (and women), they have been rela tively successful in convincing legis lators that their special interests are really in the public’s best interests. Unlike political conservatives. A O I has not adopted the simple-minded approach o f "less government is better governm ent.” Industry profits by many state expenditures, and A O I m aintains that these should, indeed, be expanded. So herein lies the brilliance of the " fis Now that the dust has temporarily cal responsibility” argument: that settled on the first floor fight o f the which benefits business and industry season, the question remains: Why is "responsible,” that which bene would a powerful industry lobby ex fits workers as "irresponsible." pend so much political capital k ill Thus, we have a consistent A O I ing such a sensible bill? The answer stance: take the credit (and tax sup is not " fis c a l resp o nsib ility,” as port) for creating jobs, but avoid A O I claims, but internalizing the the blame (or the costs) for creating costs o f a poor economy. By allow unemployment. The reality is that ing certain unemployed Oregonians most o f A O I’s members operate in to seek retraining while receiving an economic system which rewards benefits, the cost is shifted fro m so short-term activities and is impa ciety in general and the worker in tient with long-term investments; particular to the employer. No new the result is increasing capital move costs are created; they are shifted— ment and increasing occupational or in economic jargon " in te rn a l- displacement. Someone, soma iz e 3 " — to the business sector. La where, must pay these costs. beling a public policy decision such The real dilemma facing members as this as "fiscally irresponsible" is of the legislature is not how to act in technically incorrect; it is. however, a fiscally responsible manner them politically expedient. selves; but rather, how to get AOFs members to act as responsible cor- A O I's coining of the term "fiscal responsibility” is nothing short of * porate citizens in an economy which penalizes such behavior. Legislators b rillia n t. Use o f this term enables must realize that it is neither fiscally A O I to put liberal legislators on the nor socially responsible to maintain defensive, while giving A O I room to unemployment insurance payments maneuver behind its own pet pro while denying Oregonians the op gram expenditures. Thus, it be portunity to obtain the skills neces comes "fiscallly irresponsible” to sary to return to productivity. fund w orker retraining from em Support of HB 2373 by Rep. Leak ployer monies, social and welfare and his colleagues seems to be an services from the general fund, and equitable first step in sharing the infrastructure improvements from burden of the costly problem of un user fees because the monetary re employability. Let us hope that the serves are depleted. On the othei last laugh, if there must be one, will hand, it is "fiscally responsible" to not come at the expense of those un fund tax credits, vocational train employed Oregonians least able to ing, and subsidized energy genera a ffo rd and least responsible for tion costs from the genera* fund creating this severe social cost. since these expenditures im prove Receive your Observer by mail — Subscribe todayl Only $10“ per year. ' « Matt to: Portland Obaarvar Box 3117 Portland. Oregon 97308 | | N a m e _____________________________ __ _______ ah .,» ..!» ,,- “R^rW - - _______ M w « Sw tïlaiHg wW^Se^^g A m a lg a m a te d Publlehere Inc A l Williams. A dvtrtu m g Managtr The decline of C.O.R.E. New Vor* Addreee ._________________________ ___________ City------------------------------------Stata____________ Zip________ | !
