Page 4 Portland Observer, January 25, 1964
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Children suffer from Reagan cuts
More American children live in poverty than
ever before, according to a recent study by the
Children’s Defense Fund. The Fund blames
Reagan Adm inistration cuts in human programs
for the fact that 13.1 m illion children lived in
poverty in 1982—31 percent more than in 1979.
Because o f "u n ju st Reagan budget cuts and eco
nomic policies,”
the fund report said,
"Am erican children are more likely to suffer
death and sickness, hunger and cold, abuse and
neglect and to be left alone without adequate
child care than three years ago.”
The study found an alarming erosion o f pre
natal care for pregnant women, although it is
well known that children o f women who receive
no or inadequate prenatal care are three times
more likely to die in infancy. The infant m ortal
ity rate (the percentage o f children who die in in
fancy) increased in eleven states between 1981
and 1982 and in many urban areas the Black in
fant mortality rate equals that o f some o f the
poorest underdeveloped nations.
About 15 percent o f the U.S. population now
lives below the poverty line ($9,862 a year in
come for a family o f four) and the poverty rate
was highest in 1982 than any time since 1965.
Between 1980 and 1984 Reagan Administration
cuts have dropped 1.5 m illion children from A id
to Families with Dependent Children; 700,000
children were removed from Medicaid benefits.
There was a 28 percent cut in child nutrition pro
grams; 900,000 were cut from free or reduced-
price school breakfasts.
These cuts occurred during a period when 30
m illion workers were unemployed; when 10.7
m illion people lost health insurance through un
employment; when 454,000 families lost homes
through foreclosures.
Any humane government would refuse to
make more cuts in social and medical services,
but the Reagan Adm inistration's budget, to be
submitted to Congress this month, w ill pare 11
percent more from the A FDC budget, cut ma
ternal and child health programs and jo b train
ing. Reagan also projects further cuts in Medi
caid for low-income families.
Not only w ill these cuts cause death, pain and
suffering for their victims, but they w ill deny the
nation the talents and products o f the future.
Rather than add to the productive and creative
life o f the nation, the children raised under these
circumstances w ill require corrective education
al, health, correctional and social programs all
o f their lives, and "th e ir fathers’ sins w ill visit
them unto the fourth generation."
Commit funds to transportation
l ast week Tri-M et announced a cutback in
service, an employee lay-off and an adjustment
in fares. These cut backs were based on loss of
revenue.
Tri-M et is mainly dependent on payroll taxes
paid by employers in the service area and on
fares paid by riders. The continuing depression
has cut deeply into the payroll tax revenue and
into ridership.
Mass transportation has been much in the
news in recent years. It is the most economical
method o f moving people around; it saves en
ergy; it decreases air pollution. Yet there has
been no real commitment to mass transportation
in this country: the railroads are decaying; the
bus systems are inconsistent and too expensive;
and airfares are unrealistic.
America's shame
A Tacoma benefit concert to aid Sugar Ray
Seals, former professional boxer and the only
gold medalist from the U.S. in the 1972 O lym
pics, fizzled and ended with a loss. The purpose
o f the concert was to aid Seals, who is legally
blind as a result o f boxing injuries. Seals owes at
least $90,000 in medical expenses.
Isn’ t it a shame that any American could owe
such an exhorbitant amount o f money for need
ed medical services?
When w ill our country jo in the rest o f the civi
lized world and provide free medical care for all
o f its residents? How long w ill the right to health
depend on ability to pay?
Locally, government has taken responsibility
for public transportation— through T ri-M e t—
yet has failed to provide necessary financing.
Cutting back the service Tri-M et provides
rather than improving it w ill bring a decline in ri
dership, a further loss o f funds, and more cuts.
Rather than building a more efficient and ex
panded system, Tri-M e, w ill continue to shrink
and to lose customers.
A real commitment to mass transportation
would require an increase in the payroll tax, in
clusion o f businesses now exempt from the tax,
and an infusion o f public tax funds. The bene
fits o f citizen m obility and environmental pro
tection would far outweigh the small investment
now necessary.
Where the profits are
Bill DeWeese, one o f Portland’s most success
ful industrialist, former School Board member
and mayoral candidate, often says Oregon has
been good to him. Nike— makers o f shoes and
athletes—sings the praises o f the state that
nurtured it (although much o f its payroll goes
to the Far East).
Rumor has it that both are strongly consider
ing leaving Oregon— following Georgia Pacific,
Evans Products and Hyster to areas more con
ducive to greater profits.
Is this pre-tax election rhetoric—or is it real?
Has the love for the mountains, trees and people
o f Oregon been diminished by the shine o f gold
elsewhere? I t ’ s too bad the Oregon Legislature
didn’ t pass that plant closure bill.
Timefor a progressive voice
Twenty years ago M artin Luther
King attempted to embrace what is
now called the “ Rainbow Coali
tion” in 1984. The point is, that this
is a coalition o f human beings who
are the victims o f American Society.
And M artin Luther King believed
there was some way that you could
bring all these people together under
the banner o f peace challenging the
madness of the arms race, challen
ging the insanity o f interventionist
foreign policy and understanding
the commonality o f our struggles,
speaking to freedom and justice and
dignity and objecting to human mis
ery of our people— that we could e f
fect changge. H e realized that in a
very powerful and profound way
and 1 think we, now, need to em
brace that principle. And that way
we can solve these problems.
In the context o f the presidential
campaign, let us not allow ourselves
to be lulled to sleep in a personality
contest. Unfortunately the Am eri
can media has reduced the Demo
cratic primary down to a contest be
tween Mondale and John Glenn ra
ther than a serious exposition o f the
critical issues o f our time. This is
not about personality, in 1984. The
issues are of loo great a magnitude
now to be talking about simple per
sonality. Why are we now rushing—
all those organizations— to endorse
one person so that we will have no
debate?
The Democratic Primary is sup
posed to be about debate. The C on
vention is supposed to be about give
and take; if we don't debate the po
sitions now, when will we debate
them? W e need to reject this person
ality approach and demand a critical
debate.
I have backed the play o f Jesse
Jackson because I believe the inter
esting thing about Jesse's campaign
— apart from all the other sides o f it
— is that Jesse is not encumbered by
the notion that he's going to win. So
that he can talk about peace and
reality and force all those other can
didates to talk about them too.
I heard the debate (the January
15th Democratic Party candidate
debate) and they said the issue is
leadership. The issue is the arms
race; the issue is nuclear war; the is
sue is militaristic foreign policy; the
issue is the human misery o f the
people o f our country and around
the world. The issue is not about
some personality.
I believe there is no way that Ron
ald Reagan can win re-election with
one exception, and that is if the ma
jority of the people do not turn out
to the polls. This man has alienated
W e've all heard about (he much-
vaunted economic recovery. In fla
tion is down, car sales are up, unem
ployment is down, production is up.
and so on, with a litany of figures
which point upward, ever upward.
Unfortunately, all is not rosy for
everyone. Real interest rates remain
high and threaten to explode if d efi
cits are not controlled. Unem ploy
ment remains above 10 percent in
Oregon as the Housing Industry has
failed to really take o ff.
Worse yet, a recent study shows
that the economic recovery has
failed to reach our nation's Blacks.
Indeed, the study, conducted by the
National Urban League, shows that
poverty has actually increased to
record levels. Below are some o f the
highlights of the report.
™
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the nation as a whole. The most dis
heartening figure, however, was
that for Black males, aged 18 and
19, the unemployment rate was 42.7
percent.
Unless and until we take steps to
ensure that minority and disadvan
taged businesses begin to take o ff,
the "recovery” will not be a recov
ery. Elected officials can glad-hand
'all they want about the "rising
tide.” but they can do so only if
they ignore the Black community.
Poverty
The 1982 poverty rate for Blacks
— the percentage below the official
poverty line of $9,862 for a family
o f four— rose to an astounding 35.6
percent. This is the highest rate since
1967 and is up from 1981's figure of
34.2 percent.
Yet at a time when the need is
greatest, the Administration still
plans cuts in Food Stamps, Aid to
Families W ith Dependent Children,
and other programs vital to those
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Alfred I.. Henderson, Editor/Publisher
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We now have to give and take; we
now have to negotiate; we now have
to talk about developing serious
commitments— in public, not in the
“ smoke-filled room s." We have got
to talk about the critical issues of
our times.
In the course o f that type o f expo
sition o f the issues we have poten
tial. And for every "m iddle Ameri- _
In 1984, we o f the progressive
can” or so-called “ right-center”
forces must now emerge and com
vote we lose by making a clear state
pete in the arena of ideas. We must
ment, we will replace them with new
now force the candidates to talk
people who are being registered by
about issues that are critical and vi
Jesse Jackson and others, who have
tal to us and I deeply believe that the
not been involved in the body poli
masses of Americans will respond
tic.
enthusiastically to finally having
There is potential in that 3.5 m il
somebody seek the presidency that
lion people, so if you lose somebody
is willing to talk honestly and pro
in the middle of the road to the right
foundly about the critical issues of
because you understand that the
arms race is insane then so be it.
our time.
We can defeat Ronald Reagan,
You pick up that vote ten times by
but more than that, we can defeat
bringing this to the people. One of
expedient politics, by putting in
the things (hat Jimmy Carter didn't
W hite House a truly progressive
understand in the 1980 election— as
voice of truly progressive forces.
he moved over to the center-right, to
try to compete with Reagan— is that
this pulled (he covers o ff the rest of
(Excerpts fro m the remarks o f
the people— the Blacks, the Hispan
Rep. Ron Dellums (D -C a l) made at
ics, the senior citizens, the women,
the environmentalists, the peace
Oregon State University on January
movement. And what happened? As
15. 1 9 8 4 /
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N ational A dvoM ttm g R epresentative
A m a lg am a te d Publishers inc
N e w Voti»
In 1984 we should have learned a
lesson- that we cannot win by trying
to compete for the conservative vote
— that's not the m ajority. You can
not sell me on the idea that the ma
jority o f the American voters have
become reactionary. We could not
have gone from the civil rights
movement to the peace movement,
the struggle for Third W orld libera
tion, women's liberation, gay libera
lion, senior citizen liberation and
what have you and evolved to 1984
as a majority o f reactionaries.
The more conservative forces
have dominated the body politic,
have dominated the arena o f debate.
They have developed the parameters
o f debate and they have been, by
virtue of their organizational capa
city, able to raise funds, and have had
a disproportionate impact on (he
body politic.
by Congressman Ron Wyden
The Black unemployment rate
was 17.8 percent in December, 1983.
That is compared to 8 . 1 percent for
Portland Observer
Jimmy Carter began to become
more conservative in his campaign
statements, they lost their enthusi
asm for participation and in the pro
cess they decided to walk away.
Now. the way to stimulate these
people is not to out-Reagan Reagan
This is the moment when a progres
sive voice must now emerge These
are progressive ideas and let's not
make any mistake about it. They
won’t be implemented by some reac
tionary or moderate force. Progres
sive ideas are not going to be impie
mented by some reactionary or
some expedient politician.
Equality and justice and peace for
people: these are progressive ideas
This is the moment that progressive
forces must now emerge and de
mand a true exposition o f the issues.
Then we will get this tremendous
stimulation.
Washington Hot Line
Unemployment
---------------------AEL CIO NEWS
women, alternated Blacks, alienated
other Third W orld peoples, has
tried to break the unions. Middle
class people are concerned; senior
citizens are frightened about their
social security; environmentalists
are concerned about acid rain; the
peace movement is worried about
militaristic policies and nuclear war.
That's the m ajority o f the American
people. The only way Ronald Rea
gan can win is if a minority o f the
people turn out to the polls.
The reason why Jesse becomes an
enormous asset in that context is:
Jesse runs; he has the potential to
register that 3.5 million Blacks and
others who have not registered. You
have the potential o f bringing more
people into the political process
than have been involved in the
process in the past.
W hat the election o f Harold
Washington as M ayor o f Chicago
slid, beyond the parochial state
ment, was that people will go to the
polls en masse when they feel that
there is a colorful candidate and
when they believe their self-interests
are being articulated in the body
politic. This is now a time for the is
sues to be articulated. T o introduce
someone who is not encumbered by
the need to figure out strategies of
winning, but to figure out strategies
o f clarification, forces everyone to a
discussion.
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you.
living below or at the poverty line.
The figures in the Urban League
report should be a call to redouble
our efforts to aid minority youth
with job training and give a helping
hand to minority businesses trying
to get on their feet. This is absolute
ly essential if the entire community
is to recover from the economic dol
drums of the last three years They
should also be a warning that social
programs cannot be slashed as the
Administration plans without hurt
ing those in need.
The Observer welcomes Letters to
the Editor. Letters should be short,
and must contain the writer's name
and address (addresses are not p rin t
ed/. The Observer reserves the right
to edit f o r length.
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