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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1986)
Page 2, Portland Obaerver, January 15, 1966 Letters to the Editor EDITORIAL/OPINION J he Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typed or neatly p rin te d and signed with the author's name and address (addresses are not usually published). Tax bill important to low and moderate income families by U.S. Rep William H . Gray. I l l Low- and moderate income Amen can taxpayers will get a major break if the m u ch -d eb ated (ax re fo rm b ill becomes law thu year. Before adjourning last month, the H ouse o f Representatives passed legislation which— if approved by the Senate— w ill grant much needed and long-overdue tax relief to millions o f fam ilies w ho were w ritten out o f President Reagan's massive 1981 lax cut. O u r legislation would provide im portant relief in two ways: • First, it would sharply reduce the tax burden on as many as 6.$ million low-incom e households by removing them from the lax roils. This means that whereas fam ilies w ith tw o children now pay taxes when their in comes hits a mere $9,739, under our b ill, they would pay no federal taxes until they earn $14,473. • Secondly, it would lower the tax burden for middle-income families— those earning $20,00 to $40,000 a year — by as much as 10 percent. Clearly, the House's tax reform bill addresses one o f the ironies and inequities in the Federal tax system— its bias against poor people. Since President Reagan took office, the p ro p o rtio n o f incom e that Americans at the poverty line pay the federal governm ent has jum ped dramatically. In 1973, a poverty-line family paid 1.9 percent o f its income to Uncle Sam; but for 1983, that same family will pay 10.4 percent o f its in come to the federal government. M an y observers, therefore, view the tax b ill as the most im p o rta n t, positive legislation development in years fo r low - and m iddle-incom e America— and I ’m inclined to agree For example, under current law by next year a four-member family with earnings of $12,000 would owe $1,271 in federal income and Social Security taxes. T h e legislation we passed in the House would reduce this to $399— a cut of 69 percent This cut is im portant not only to the typical American family. I t ’s im portant, also, to our neigh borhood stores and businesses. By our cutting individual tax rates and preserving such provisions as the full credit for child care expenses, low and moderate-income American families w ill have that much more money to spend on goods and services in their Neighborhood planning emergency F in a lly , the tax b ill is im p o rtan t because while it provides equity for millions o f ordinary taxpayers, it also makes sure that p ro fita b le c o r porations and upper-income persons pay their fair share. The House legislation shows that by zeroing in on in d ivid u als and businesses who currently pay little or no taxes, we can provide re lie f fo r most taxpayers. At the same time, we have provided incentives fo r a stronger econom y through a significant cut in lax rates for corporations which currently pay their fair share. These businesses will have an added incentive to make productive investments rather than seek tax shelters. O u r b ill is not perfect by any means. It leaves unsettled, for instan ce the inequity of our regressive Social Security tax. But we made a realistic and major step toward a fairer tax system. The House has acted decisively toward this goal. Let's hope that the Senate can do the same to make our tax system more fa ir and m ore e ffic ie n t fo r all Americans. neighborhoods. ON SOUTH AFRICA Johnny Mathis boycott D u rin g the past few years there have been numerous national and in te rn a tio n a l protests against e n te r tainers who have performed in South A fric a . A num ber o f artists have pledges not to return to South Africa until the apartheid system end*. Their names have been removed fro m the United Nations boycott list. They in clude Tina Turner, Chick Corea, the perform ances. This m u lti-m illio n dollar gam bling resort is located in Bophuthantswana, one of the ten so- called tribal "hom elands" the South African government has established as part o f its segregationist policy of Temptations, and Barry Manilow. Since 1968 the United Nations has country o ffic ia lly designated as " w h it e " areas. L ik e the other hom elands, B o phuthatsw ana is located on some o f the most arid and impoverished land in South A frica. A lth ou gh it is one o f the fo u r hom elands that have been granted "independence" by the South African government, no other country in the world recognizes it as an independent nation. been issuing regular appeals to coun tries and organizations to suspend all sporting and c u ltu ra l ties w ith the ap arth eid governm ent in South A fric a . In an ongoing atte m p t to bolster its international image. South A fric a lures entertainers w ith astronomical fees for performances. "S u n C ity " is a favorite spot for apartheid. The hom elands serve p rim arily as d um pin g grounds fo r Black South A fric a n s who are not em ployed in the 87 percent o f the In 1982, singer Johnny Mathis per form ed in Sun C ity , B o p h u th a t swana. He continues to refuse to recognize the United Nations boycott. U n til he publicly announces th at he wiH not re tu rn to South A f'IcB . Mathis will be boycotted aero** (He picketing that performance at 7 p.m. /VrrlurvJrn Organaxd f o r Southern AJrvun freedom fPO SAE), a local multi rm ial otiaec, action group th it supports Black mq/ontv rule in Stuihem A J m a and an end to U.S. f o r more m- formation cull 230-9427 Healthwatch b y Steven B aile y N . D . In te rfe ro n , a naturally-occuring chemical component o f the immune system, has recently been found to relieve many symptoms o f the com m on co ld . W h ile this chem ical has been studied for its value in treating cancer (w ith limited success), the new potential for anti-viral chemotherapy Ls both promising and frightening. T h e co m m on c o ld , and fo r the most part, viral infections have long eluded researchers' attempts to find adequate an tib io tic tools fo r tre a t ment. A multitude o f reasons exist as to w hy viruses are a more d iffic u lt enemy than most bacteria. However, the question I pose is: should we utilize natural immune products such as interferon for the common cold? As sophisticated as modern medi cine appears, as a whole, it has been follow ing the historical misdirection of our chemicalagrobusiness It conies as little surprise that the percentage o f crops lost to in fe s ta tio n is now equal to that o f 1900 The decreased loss o f crops in the ea rly years o f chem ical use was soon follow ed by the need to dram atically increase the amount of chemicals used per acre to kill o ff the insects. Soon most insects became resistant to levels more than 10 times that o f the early years. Now insects have shown complete resistan ce to many chemicals. Not only do we consume higher levels o f trace chemicals in our foods, but we also have devastated natural predators to the insects (sp id e r, e tc .), added millions o f gallons o f poisons to our soil and water, begun food irradiation programs and are pursuing in blissful ignorance the developm ent o f bac terial pesticides. T h e blindness o f these agricultural practices seems to walk hand-in-hand w ith medicine's approach to human infection. Similar to the resilient nature o f in sects to pesticides, we have seen bac teria become less and less sensitive to our antibiotics. I have seen penicillin- resistant infections in children who are under one year o f age, who have been given p en ic illin derivatives numerous times for infection prior to seeing me. Oregon, like many other slates has reported tw o separate strains of p en icillin -resistant gonorrhea. Medicine, like agriculture, is having to use higher dosages o f stronger types o f chemicals to m ain tain the same degree of protection. W hile there is an undeniable need for antibiotic therapy, there is also a need for a more scientific application of antibiotics by many medical doc tors. A ll too frequently, I encounter patients w ho have been given pre scription* with no identification o f the bacterium, nor test to see if the par ticu lar strain is sensitive to the prescribed a n tib io tic . L ik e the pesticides, many antibiotics, and par ticu la rly tetracyclin e, can k ill o f f many o f the checks and balances o f the norm al human flo ra, leading to increased future susceptibility to less- hardy organisms like the yeast, can did*. The aspect of introducing inter To the Editor: Northeast Portland, in my opinion, is about to be rip p e d -o ff again. For years we have qualified the city for millions o f dollars in poverty funds, only to have the money spent else where. or wasted on poorly-planned programs run by people downtown. The H ousing and C o m m u n ity Development (H C D ) plan for N o rth feron to common viruses so that their resilient nature (fast reproduction cycle) can make them resistant to one o f our b ody's strongest a n ti-v ira l chem icals, m ay be an unnecessary lesson in futility, and further progress our species to an overall level of im mune incompetence. I believe that the immune system needs to function to completion, just as our muscles need exercise, our heart needs aerobic ac tivity and our minds need stimulation. Though interferon may have a role in serious infections, let us hope that we don't take a giant step backwards for the relief o f a few colds in the '80s. I wrote in the Observer nearly two years ago, in which I stated my belief that the misuse and overuse o f anti biotics and an ti-inflam m atory drugs was an important contribution to the predisposition o f A ID S (A cqu ired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). This I still contend; I also feel that the false security o f drug therapy leads many to ignore the obvious symptoms o f inappropriate lifesytles. To many it is much simpler to take a drug than to practice safe b irth c o n tro l, eat properly, get adequate rest or manage their stress a p p ro p ria te ly . In the meantime, when you get a common cold, rest, drink plenty of fluids (not soft d rin k s, m ilk or co ffee ); sup plement with V itam in C (1000-4000 mg daily), beta carotin (23,000-30,000 IU S d aily ) and zinc (100 mg d aily), and look back to your life prior to in fection, maybe you can identify some obvious habits to avoid in the future. I They are paid o ff with a pitance and go their separate w ay. M ea n w h ile Northeast suffers fro m all this in fighting and lack o f accountability. How can you fight P D C , when they have a m u lti-m illio n guaranteed budget? The Sabin Community Association has joined Vernon, King and H u m - bolt neighborhoods to protest the P D C steamroller Wc have asked the private agencies to help us. Let's stop fighting among ourselves long enough to give the m ayor a chance to esta blish a p ublic agency fo r N o r th east, acco u ntable to C ity co u ncil, east Portland is another example A series o f budget hearings are now taking place at C ity H a ll. The P o rt land Developm ent C om m ission (P D C ) w alked out w ith over $6 million, just for housing alone North east was beat down to $21.000, and w ith a d m in is tra tiv e a u th o rity and enough program control to make sure Northeast Portland gets its fair share. W hat good are all these programs if even that has to be turned back to P D C control. If P D C can’t run all the housing programs in Northeast, they won't cooperate. But the final plan is not completed It must first be approved by C ity Council. And before that can happen, there must be a public hearing at 7 p .m ., Jan. 23, at the King Center. If you don’ t like city policy, you better come to the hearing and protest. The major issue is simple. W ho sets the policy for Northeast? Federal law says we have that right. It is called the right of local control. Most neighbor hood associations want the mayor to appoint a special, high-level board of directors for Northeast, to administer our housing, em ploym ent and eco nomic development programs. Mem bers o f this Northeast board must be residents o f N o rth ea st, representing the neighbor hoods served by the program. The city already pro mised us $ 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 per year, for three years, to im prove and c o o r din ate N o rth east program s. The problem is that P D C gets millions of dollars to do the same thing, but they d o n 't w ant to cooperate w ith us. N eith er do some o f the fa v o rite private agencies in the com m un ity. They line up w ith P D C to fight us. co u ntry. P O S A F is asking P o rt landers to boycott his upcoming per form ance at the A rlene Schnitzer C oncert H a ll, and to jo in us in support f o r apartheid H e reserve the right to edit f o r length M a il to; Portland Observer. P O Box 3137. Portland. O H 972OR To the Editor: Re: D r. C herovee's letter in the Jan. 8 Issue. I don't hold out much hope o f con structive dialogue because o f the tone o f the b ro th e r's letter, but I am willing to try. I'm not going to take up valuable space in (his paper trying to respond to the a d d itio n a l issues raised by M r. Cherovee, but I will say this: if the brother will go back over my letter he will see that I did not call him a lia r. I did acknow ledge the validity o f the position in regard to legalizing prostitution. He claims that there is not an atom o f tru th in what I said. C o m e on brother! You can't really be sincere about co m m un ity dialogue if you claim everything I said is other than the truth. You asked, " w h a t do you really know about D arw in 's th eo ry? " M y point in writing to the paper is not to impress you or the readership with my (P P IC ). PD C took away our housing program Now P P IC has taken away our employment program. But the battle is not over. You can still help. Com e to the hearing at 7 p .m ., Jan. 23. at King Center Help us get our programs and our money back. Call 248-4575 for information. C a ll me at 287-0826 if you want to help the neighborhood associations present our side o f the story to C ity United Way thanks To the Editor: W ith the local U n ited W ay c a m paign now completed, I would like to express my gratitude to Portland O b server readers fo r helping to m ake 1983 a record-breaking year. Thanks to your assistance, the cam paign brought in nearly $17 m illion— more money than U n ite d W ay o f the Colum bia-W illam ette has ever raised before. Essential to that success were the thousands o f local volunteers and contributors w ho, despite economic u n c erta in ty , gave generously to provide hope and o p p o rtu n ity for neighbors less fortunate than them selves. As alw ays, co n trib u to rs can rest assured that their donations w ill be used in an efficient and worthy m an ner. Last year, U n ite d W a y ’s 100 m ember agencies pro vided hum an and health care services to h a lf a m illio n people, or one out o f every three local residents. W h a t’s m ore, the success o f this year's campaign reaffirms something that should m ake us all feel proud— that the spirit o f caring con tinues to th rive in o ur local c o m munity. Sincerely, Lloyd A nderson Volunteer Campaign Chairman, and Executive Director, Port o f Portland Children are the future To the Editor: T h a n k you fo r fea tu rin g the children this holiday season on your front pages of the Christmas and New Years issues. • The children are the future o f our country and during such trying times they need every bit of encouragement they can get. Ebony does a good job o f showing successful Black America but children often Lind it sadly neglec ted as how to get th ere. W henever possible feature stories about people doing a good jo b w o rkin g w ith ch ild ren and youth w ill give en couragement. knowledge. It was to express my con cern with an issue that I think is much more im p o rta n t than is co m m on ly thought. Just for clarification (hough, I do believe that man has always been man and that man did not evolve from the ape. D r. D a rw in believed otherwise. Whet her he is agnostic (is not convinced o f the existence o f God) or atheist is not at issue. I will restate: prostitution is not an instinct, it is a social/cultural pheno mena, and if you want to argue that, do so with someone more patient and Thank you fo r a fine, outspoken newspaper. I heard a quotation read from the Portland Observer over the radio when President Reagan was at the University o f Portland. In fact it was from an article I had given him. Thank you again. Gertrude Beckwith understanding than I. W hy don’t we set up a time and place (hat this issue may be constructively discussed and debated? Least it be overlooked in the heat generated by bruised egos, the issue is p ro s titu tio n in our c o m munity. I have said what I said and do much o f what I do out o f love and concern fo r my people, especially those mothers and potential mothers involved in prostitution. Hope you are likewise motivated. Proper credit To the Editor: Enjoyed the article on the P IC . It deserves much publicity. Must point out however that M argaret Strachan was the intiator o f the leaders round table. The M ayor got credit but she's the one that started it along w ith Roger Breezley o f the U.S. Bank. ) our Brother Nabeeh Í p ORTWND OBSERVER • 15 Io* ona yaer »25 tor two Bor 3137 Portland OR 97206 c*t M l Mrr, Thank you. Bud J. E. Bud Clark, M ayor SLLLILP m < O to O I C T 3 2 £ >3 m < j Street city But now P D C has been joined by the Portland Private Industry Council Council. United we stand, divided we fall. Ray Hanson Northeast dialogue With The Name Allah The Gracious, The Compassionate they d o n 't serve the people? A ll we are asking for is $500,000, a far cry from the millioas controlled by down town agencies. Api STATt ° 3 X 3 ZIP Portland Observer Th» ZVxrlerrrf O tarrver (U SPS 9 » « D l • pubMved avary Thurxdnr by L o a PubbUwrg Company. h e .. 14B3 N.C. KAnpe «rorth. Ror*l,n d - ° ’W 0 " *7711, N m O tta a Boe 3137. Porttand Oragon « 7 » Saoond daae pn aragi pead ai Portland. Oragon ’" a» * Bi ■ > p n«*' NB»O M *5»a»«B t i l * Tra P ortU m l Oteen rr roa» eetabBdrad In W 0 C C * M M « Ok. t e « member M W A per gsiociHion - founded ltd d Subacr^dono 115 00 par raer *r h e Tit-County ara m a a to t Sand addraaa changea lo h e N i r r t t d O teen Boa 1137. Portland. Oragon ( T X * A lfre d L . Henderson. E ditor/P ublisher A ! Williams, General M anager PO 2880033 Mattonai Advertising Représentative A m algam ated Publlstrere. Ine N e w VorV