Portland Observer, April 13, 1983 Page 5
Washington Hot Line
by Congressman Hon Wyden
Q F in d in g lo p q u a lity — y e t a f
f o r d a b le — c h ild care services is a
critical issue f o r single parent house
holds, as well as those where both
parents work. A re there efforts un
d erw ay to h elp those lo o k in g f o r
child care services?
A . Yes, th ere a re — in the C o n
gress and in the Portland area.
The need for adequate child care
services speaks for itself. According
to the Department o f Labor. during
1982. 55 percent o f all c h ild re n
under age 18 had working mothers.
For pre-school ch ild re n , that p er
centage totalled 46 percent; for chil
dren between 6 and 17. 59 percent.
In a ll. some 8.5 m illio n m others
were in the labor force in 1982, up
from 5.6 million in 1970.
In the P o rtla n d area , 4 -C , the
only areawide child care referral in
formation service, has been working
han d-in -hand w ith local child care
providers, consumers and em ploy
ers over the past 10 years to help
provide those services. Yet despite
those efforts, all the inform ation ne
cessary to figure out who needs ser
vices, w here they need th em , and
w hat they can a ffo rd to pay fo r
them is still not available.
Earlier this year, 4-C worked with
Portland State University to obtain
a $200,000 federal grant to conduct
a study assessing how child care a f
fects the workplace, as well as what
the ch ild care needs are in the
Portland area.
U n fo rtu n a te ly , h o w ever, the
grant alone w ill not be enough. 4-C
does not have the final link needed
to allow it to properly analyze and
use the data it gathers. That missing
lin k — as the P o rtla n d C ity C lu b
acknowledges in a recently compiled
report— is a computer system.
Last week I kicked o ff a drive to
help 4-C raise the SIS,000-$20.000 it
needs to purchase that co m p u ter
system. I talked to private sources
about raising the m oney— and last
week I was able to present 4-C with
the first $4 ,000 to w ard that g oal,
w hich was d o n ated by tw o local
companies.
And for once. Congress is not be
hind the game. E ffo rts are u nd er
way at the federal level to expand
this concept.
I am the cosponsor o f a b ill, the
C hild Care Info rm ation and Refer
ral Services Act, which sets up an $8
m illio n fed eral g ran t p ro g ram to
fund new or im prove existing child
care inform ation and referral clear
inghouses.
The clearinghouses will work with
fam ilies and providers to make the
most effic ie n t use o f av ailab le re
sources by matching fam ilies' needs
w ith p ro viders' supplies. In other
words, this bill will extend what 4-C
is trying to do in Portland to the na
tional level.
Because this legislation— and the
4-C project— will help working par
ents meet their child care needs, it
w ill add up for Oregon and A m e r
ica. It w ill help increase productiv
ity, because Oregonians will be bet
ter able to id e n tify child care ser
vices that meet their unique needs.
A nd by increasing p ro d u ctivity, it
w ill help get O regon and A m erica
back on the mend.
Q. What is Congress doing to ad
dress the energy assistance needs o f
low-income citizens?
A . Congress needs to com e up
with an insurance policy against bad
weather and bad times for millions
o f needy Oregonians and other A m
ericans.
T hat's why I joined Congressman
Richard Ottinger (D -N .Y .) last week
in introducing a b ill to provide $3
bv Rich Lochner
b illio n in lo w -in c o m e energy
assistance during fiscal year 1984.
T he b ill would increase funding
fo r the energy p ro g ram by m ore
than $1 b illio n over 1983, and by
nearly $2 billion over what the Rea
gan A d m in is tratio n has requested
for 1984. Oregon would receive be
tween $35-$4O million o f the money,
up fro m $24 m illio n in fiscal year
1983.
This is the kind o f program the
Adm inistration claims to support—
a program that provides the neediest
Americans with one o f the basic ne
cessities o f life . A nd yet by its ac
tions, the A d m in is tra tio n has left
millions o f these vulnerable people
out in the cold.
Statistics compiled by the Health
and H um an Services D e partm en t,
indicate that only 7 million o f an es
tim ated 21 m illio n eligib le house
holds are presently receiving assist
ance. And when one considers that
the poor expend at least 35 percent
o f their income directly on energy, it
becomes evident that (here are a lot
of people out there with little or no
way to provide for other necessities.
The increased funding level is par
tic u la rly im p o rta n t fo r O reg o n ,
which is one o f only fo u r states to
have committed all the available en
ergy assistance funding by March I .
The state had anticipated the funds
w ou ld hold out fo r an a d d itio n a l
two months.
O regonians have suffered m ore
than most under the current, inade
quately fu nd ed , energy assistance
program. During Fiscal Year 1983,
the state was able to pay only $191
per family on average, compared to
$200 nationally. Now the state has
completely obligated its funds, and I
want to make sure we d o n ’ t face a
similar situation next year. I think
our bill will do the trick.
Governor boycotts AFL-CIO
by Rich Lochner
G overno r V ic to r A tiyeh w ilt not
be getting his labor advice from the
state A F L - C IO . The governor has
just set up a Labor Advisory C o u n
c il, w hich includes the b u ild in g
trades, the T eam ste rs, and the
Longshore Union.
A tiy e h refuses to see the state
A F L - C IO and m ore lib eral union
leaders because o f their strong back
ing for his opponent, Ted Kulongos
ki, in last November's elections. The
governor called his decision " a hu
man reaction” at a recent press con
ference.
A ll recent O reg o n g overn o rs,
both Dem ocratic and R epublican,
have had an open-door policy, says
state A F L -C IO president Irv Fletch
er. " E v e n in absolute m onarchies
such as Saudi Arabia the king tradi
tionally has a m onthly open court,
w here people can com e and slate
their grievances,” Fletcher points
out. " N o w we d o n ’ t even have ac
cess to the throne ro o m ."
The boycott means the governor
lacks the A F L -C IO 's input when he
proposes legislation. For example,
the g overn o r w ants to set up a
W ood Products Marketing Board to
promote the export o f finished lum-
ber. The A F L - C IO has supported
the concept in the past, w hile A ti-
ych's business backers have opposed
it, Fletcher says.
Exporting finished lumber creates
many m ore jobs th an b ex p o rtin g
raw logs, which is the present prac
tice. Fletcher believes.
The blackout prevents the A F L -
C IO from speaking to Atiyeh on be
h alf o f all the state's working peo
ple, not just union members, Fletch
er says.
In the future, A tiyeh apparently
w ill hear those labor views most in
agreement with his ow n. The advi
sory council's first meeting is sche
duled for A pril 27.
It's time for tax reform
by Franz Schurmann,
Now (hat the economic recovery
has begun, Americans, according to
the original Reagan economic p ro
gram, should be looking forward to
declining taxes. Instead, the chances
are that taxes will be going up in the
years ahead.
H ig h taxes have usu ally been a
sign that something is wrong in the
body politic. They signify that gov
ernm en t is g etting revenue fro m
people’s pocketbooks, and not from
healthy growth. W hat angers people
even more is that all too often gov
ernm ent cann o t ju s tify the uses
made o f those revenues.
In the late 1970s many Americans
were clearly angry over high taxes,
■is was evident in the C alifo rn ia and
Massachusetts (ax revolts. The Rea-
ganiles o ffered them a program to
remedy such grievances. T hey a d
vanced one sim ple ex planatio n for
high taxes: the massive and wasteful
welfare slate. Cut it down radically
(the " n e w fe d e ra lis m ” ), reduce
taxes so people will invest in produc
tion and not in more money ("s u p
ply-side econom ics"), and go back
io traditional social values which en
courage people to depend on each
other rather than the government —
and soon g ro w th w ill resum e,
revenues to governm ent rise, and
taxes w ill d ro p . In d e e d , they a r
gued, there even w ill be enough
money left over fo r a much bigger
defense effort.
In fact, the recovery has virtually
nothing to do w ith these prescrip
tions. Except fo r p a in fu l fu nd ing
cuts to poor and d isadvantaged
people, the welfare state remains in
tact. I.ven die-hard Rcaganiles have
coinc around Io supporting a Social
Security system which imposes the
biggest drain on the governm ental
budget. So too, the idea o f collect
ing "users’ fees" from states and lo
calities, which had taken for granted
huge federal grants for building and
m aintaining their infrastructures,
has been virtually abandoned. W ith
the "entitlem ents” burden as huge
as ever, we now also face the spectre
o f a monumental defense budget for
years to come.
Big en title m e n ts , coupled to a
swollen defense budget in the con
text o f an anxiety-ridden recovery,
spell either bigger taxes or bigger de
fic its (o r b o th ). A consensus is
g ro w in g that m ore d e fic its could
break the back o f the A m eric an
economy. Thus the search is on for
new revenues, evident in the contro
versial plan to begin w ith h o ld in g
taxes on interest income from bank
accounts.
Yet the President rem ains a d a
mant on his defense budget, arguing
that we live in a dangerous w orld.
If , as the President’s O rlando, F lor
ida, speech implied, we are in for a
long and deadly rivalry with the So
viets, then we can forget about any
kin d o f econom ic reco very. T h e
Vietnam war has already made clear
that even an economy as mighty as
America's cannot produce guns and
b u tte r at the same tim e. B a rrin g
some Pearl H a rb o r, U .S . citizens
are going to want to know why the
th rea t has suddenly become so
great. T hat end can only be served
through some b ro ad , genuine n a
tio n a l defense debate, not sim ply
through administration rhetoric.
In 1981 the President spoke o f re
generating a society which was at
peace, not one facing war. And the
m ark o f its having been " re -b o rn ”
would have been permanently lower
taxes.
Job bill brings few jobs
But if defense and entitlem ents
are p ro vin g in tra c ta b le , there is
another path that could bring even
tual tax relief. W hile the "N e w Fed
cralism" and "Supply-side econom
ics" have turned out to be flops, the
Reaganites never re a lly explored
ways that people co u ld help each
other in order to reduce the burden
on the treasury. The call to go back
to old values is not the key, as we
are now a country o f diverse values
and life-styles. But "people helping
people" is something that one finds
everywhere. In fact, as their pocket
books s h rin k , m ore and m ore
people are w orking, living and vo l
unteerin g to g e th e r. In inner city
ghettoes, barrios, revitalized cities
and small rural towns alike.
A lth o u g h many o f these people
alone w ou ld q u a lify fo r “ safety
net” welfare, together they form vi
able economic units. Yet the only in
come tax breaks they get are within
the narrowest limits o f the tradition
al fa m ily o f m a rrie d spouses and
ch ild re n . A n d they pay the same
high and regressive sales taxes as ev
eryone else.
W e give (ax breaks to businesses
to stim ulate gro w th . W h y not give
tax breaks to people who "share” in
an econom ically sig n ifican t m a n
ner? Sharing means performing free
labor, freely given. It means less de
mand on scarce housing. It means
caring personally rather than insti
tu tio nally. Low er income and sales
taxes fo r such people in the end
would save the government money.
And the resulting social support sys
tems would help repair one o f the
most
dangerous
sources
of
instability in this society, the shred
ded social fabric.
Jobs aren't the main thrust o f the
$4 .6 b illio n jobs b ill th at recently
sailed through Congress, says Jim
Tow ay, aide to Sen. M a rk H atfield
(R -O re .) Rather, he says the p rio ri
ties are fix in g " in f r a s t r u c t u r e ,"
such as dams, ports, and hospitals,
and emergency re lie f " t o stop the
bleeding" o f the long-term jobless.
The act w ill have "alm ost no im
p a c t" fo r unem ployed m in orities
and w om en, says P o rtla n d U rb a n
1 eague director Freddye Pettet, ex
cept for whatever training funds are
provided. Construction projects will
use up a h a lf to tw o -th ird s o f the
$92 m illio n O reg o n w ill receive
C o n stru ctio n w orkers are heavily
white and male.
H iring the hardcore jobless is re
commended, but not required under
the b ill, Tow ey says, so that c o n
tracto rs w o n ’ t be b urdened w ith
forms. O vertim e isn't banned, and
the projects are spread out over four
years, so new hiring will be limited.
P ro visio ns fo r special needs o f
minorities and women such as advo
cacy and childcare are much more
limited than previous anti-recession
pro gram s, such as the m u c h -m a
ligned C E T A program, Pettet says.
Funds fo r a lo c al p ro je c t to help
place the disadvantaged in construc
tion jobs ended in November, 1981.
"Y o u can't treat the job in isolation
with a poor person who has multiple
problem s," she said.
Com bined with relaxation o f a f
firm a tiv e action rules, Pettet fears
Reagan administration moves signal
a return to the era before civil rights
and antipoverty programs.
"Brlcka and mortar" or
make-work?
Sen. H atfield favors "bricks and
m o rtar" construction work because
otherwise funds would be wasted on
"m ake w o rk ," Towey says Budget
conscious governm ents have cut
maintenance in the past decade, he
says, creating a huge backlog o f re
pair work.
W o rk w ill begin soon on most
projects, because they're just speed-
ups o f plans alre a d y put o f f too
lon g , he says. M o st o f the m a jo r
projects are outside the P o rtla n d
area.
Oregon received almost twice its
share o f the m o n ey, due to an
amendment H a tfie ld introduced to
target funds to high unemployment
states. H atfield chairs the powerful
Senate Appropriations Committee.
Towey guesses the bill w ill create
" a couple th o u sa n d " jobs in O re
gon. T h a t should m ake a dent in
construction unemployment: jobs in
the fie ld fe ll fro m 4 7 ,0 0 0 in Feb.
1980 t o 2 3 ,5 0 0 in Feb.. 1983
Oregon w ill also gel $1.4 m illion
fo r sum m er y o u th job s and $1 .5
m illion for childcare. These limited
social service funds were added na
tionally at the insistence o f the C o n
gressional Black Caucus, and civil
rights and women's groups.
Emergency food and shelter w ill
get $10 million.
Other jobs proposals, such as the
Black Caucus budget and the Jobs
w ith Peace c a m p a ig n , hold that
hundreds o f thousands o f u seful,
non-m ake-work jobs can be created
in education, health, childcare and
other human services. H u m an ser
vices are the biggest em ployers o f
women and minorities.
M ore jobs per dollar can be creat
ed in these fields than in construc
tion, since construction pays higher
wages and requires heavy e q u ip
ment.
Some congressional liberals say
the present jobs b ill is just "Phase
I " o f a larger job s p ro g ra m , but
most observers see little chance for a
bigger bill this year.
Washington
(Continued fro m page I column 2)
son with his or her measure of digni
ty; to supply city services as a right;
to dispense jobs fairly ; to use fa ir
ness, excellence and accountability
in conducting city business; and to
be mayor o f all the people.
The new mayor must quickly ad
dress econom ic developm ent w ith
emphasis on deteriorating neighbor
hoods and (he inferior public school
system.
The credit for W ashington’s elec
tion goes to the thousands o f black
citizens w ho registered and voted
fo r the firs t tim e and fo r those
young black people— ages 18 to 30
— who supported and w orked for
his election.
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Street Beat
by Lanita D u k a and Richard B ro w n
249-0101
W ith the landing o f the " C h a l
lenge” in the headlines, the S tr e e t
B eat team asked the public, "Should
the government appropriate large
sums o f money and resources to the
space program?"
Q
Laura Davias
Houaawifa
Vernon Hartwell
Steelworker
They are going to spend the
m oney on w hat they want to .
They should spend it on social
programs. They are not proving
anything to the Russians.
Remal Moore
Education
T hey should spend some o f
th at m ilita ry m oney on the
space program and less on a r
mament, space exploration, and
o th e r kinds o f research. W e
should do more to advance the
q u a lity o f life fo r a ll h u m a n
kind.
Private Industry should com
pensate for some o f the budget.
A lot o f the space p ro gram
would lead to satellites and that
falls under the private sector.
Phillip Moore
Community Profeaaional
Laborer
Yes, they should. W e should
not stunt people's im agination
in the hard sciences. It is for the
good of m ankind I f anything,
they should spend more money
on the space p ro g ra m . T h e
space program is a social p ro
gram.
Daryl Fogarty
Manager
I think they should. I t ’s to ad
vance tec h n o lo g y. W e d o n 't
know w here it w o u ld take us
and we should ex p lo re a ll re
sources open to us.
Yes and no. We have to keep
the Russians in check but he
could belter spend the money
down here.
© PACIFIC NEW SERVICE. IW )
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