Page 10, Portland Observer, October 1, 1986
A Taxing Problem for
Black Businessmen
by Alexander R Jones
As hard as it is for a black man to yet together the capital to launch his
business, it's a tragedy to see that business destroyed by unfair taxes from
a government that should have known better
In one ma)or metropolitan city, a high sales tax on gasoline has been onei
of the key factors in the decline of minority owned gas stations, where they
have been shutting down at the rate of 25 per year for the past seven years
Surprisingly this is in a city with a black city government, one which should
be especially sensitive to the problems of its black businessmen. But
apparently the insanity of taxes does not discriminate It knows no color
but green.
Let's face it. Governments need money
Someone has to pay the
firemen, policemen, garbagemen. teachers etc But raising money to pay
these people should not be done at the expense of minority owned small
businesses It's crazy When a business goes under because a heavy sales
tax made it uncompetitive, how many tax dollars does the government get
then? Even 50% of zero is still zero
This is bad for the government as it loses a productive taxpayer It’s bad
for you and me because guess who gets to pick up the slack
Things like this give taxes a bad name, and make people look for ways to
avoid paying them, legally or otherwise Taken to the extreme, it then
becomes necessary to frighten people into compliance the way the IRS
does with its brutal and un American tactics
A large part of governments and taxation boils down to a violation of the
principle that if you penalize the productive and reward the non productive,
what you end up with is no production The case with the gas stations is
|ust a stark example of this. And who are the non productive? Anyono
who gets money and or services from the government, employee or other
wise, who does not produce anything in exchange, or who produces some
thing winch is harmful There is a lot of waste in government that can be
easily seen, from our ineffective criminal justice system to government
supported psychiatric wards which take millions but produce only madness
in return.
The Civil War was fought around a basic economic issue Would the
future economy of the United States be a mechanized, industrial one or an
agricultural one based on slave labor? The industrialized North won the
War We live in an industrial economy We are a nation controlled by
businessmen Certainly, there is a place for professionals in Americas
business economy, but they are sevants of and not the prime movers in
this society.
(>
There is an adage which says "when in Rome, do as the Romans. Why.
then, have we not tried to emulate White America's preoccupation with
daylight hours, and more than one out of four involves a vehicle running
into the side of a l?Sin
These findings bear out three mam causes of crossing collisions:
- inattention or carelessness, or complacency when traversing a familiar
crossing
-d riv e r attempting to beat train, even snaking around lowered gates
- poor judgment; current psychological studies indicate difficulty in
accurately perceiving the speed of large moving objects
Add to this situation a lack of understanding that trains cannot stop on a
dime, and that flashing red lights mean motorists must stop not slow
down or caution and a frustrating problem continues
Oregon state laws are adequate to prevent crossing accidents It is up to
the individual to Look. Listen, and Live.
Flu Season Is Here
Flu season is just around the cor­
ner If you are a senior citizen — or
know somebody who is —it is time
to get an annual flu shot Multno
mah County Department of Human
Services is offering special flu shot
Grace Collins
Memorial Center
Day Care
Writing and Editing for secretaries
Hilda Jones will present a one
day seminar, "W riting and Editing
for Secretaries," in Portland at the
Chumaree Comfortel, 8247 NE San
dy Blvd., on Friday, October 24,
1986 8 30a.m. to 4 30 p m.
Jones is an Associate Professor
Emeritus, College of Business, Ore
gon State University
Topics covered include organi
sing and outlining, formal and infor­
mal reports, letters, memos, proof
reading, editing, and grammar re­
view.
Enrollments are accepted in the
order received until the limit is
reached Registration is completed
by sending $75 to Endeavors for
Excellence, Continuing Education,
Oregon State University, Corvallis.
OR 97331 1640
P erso n alized & Custom
J e w e lry
1
W f ilc h
M ade
• Kindergarten
• Pre-School
'Latch Key Program
Children 6 wks.
D iam o n d Setting
• Brrtrtas
.. .
.
,,
Moo-rn
,
6 M ini 6 00pm
• Hot Lunchrs
. „
• bn* m
J e w e lr y R e p a ir
4 year old kids at Grace Collins
M e m o ria l C e n te r learn h o w to
m ake cookies
to 11 yrs.
J e w e lry /W a tc h e s /D ia m o n d s
&
clinics from October 6 through Oc
tober 17. To find out the location
near you, call Multnomah County
Health Information at 248 3816,
weekdays between 8 30 a m and
5 00 p.m.
Call
281-6930
128 N.E. Russell St.
5-year old kids at Grace Collins
stu d y h ard on sch oo l w o rk
before going outside to play.
W e d d in g Sets
C h a rm s
A
P e a rls
business?
Part of the reason is that Whites wanted to reserve this area for them
selves But that is not the whole story Some believe the other basic
reason for Blacks not being in business in greater numbers can ire traced
to perceptions that took root during the enslavement of our forefathers
When generation after generation of enslaved Blacks were demeaned,
treated like chattel and forced to work long hours in the fields, the dream
for many became to wear a white shirt and live in a big house like the
' <
1
Grace Collins
Memorial Center
Day Care
master.
The enslaved Black knew nothing about economics or the rigors of
business practices, much less plantation management, because the
enslaved deliberately was kept as ignorant as possible Thus the dreams of
our ancestors were based on the outward attributes of wealth without
substantive knowledge and extremely hard work commitment which to
make dreams a reality
Some Blacks blame our diminished interest in business on White efforts
to keep us outside of the economic mainstream Our ancestors when freed
were not even given forty acres and a mule with which to make a new
life Today's inmates leaving prison at least have a new suit of clothes on
their back and some money in their pockets The freedman had nothing
but what he stood in, could neither read nor write, and was not wanted in
the salaried workforce.
Still others trace the paucity of Blacks in business as a legacy stemming
from an over simplification of the issues in the great philosophical debate
between Booker T. Washington and W E B DuBois about the direction
in which the Black man should move Some Blacks read into this debate
that being an artisan or small businessman was tantamount to admitting
that Blacks could not achieve in the "liberal arts arena Many Blacks of
the timo seemed to feel that one had to accept one or the other view
Another view gaining increasingly wide acceptance is that many Blacks,
in trying to be like White, unconsciously hate themselves just as do Whites
appear to do so Thus, they will not support their own ‘ Even the White
man s ice is colder is among the deep seated evidences of this imposed
negative self image And as long as Blacks feel secondary to White. Blacks
never can become first class because they can t become White
A number of today's Blacks who are in business feel that all of the above
and particularly the latter situation of unconscious Black self hate have
Contributed to the miniscule number of Black businesses and then even
concerned supportors have to ask "H ow can more Blacks go into business
knowing that so many of their own people will not support their efforts?
The specific basis for their concern is a set of new government figures
According to a recont Census Bureau estimate, the revenue of Black
owned companies last year equaled only about 7% of Black income. In
1969. that portion was much higher 13 5%. Among other racial groups,
that percentage often is 8 or 9 times higher for dealing with their own
Because of this outwardly induced and often unconscious negative
image of and hostility toward Blacks in business, these businesses have
to face unconscionably poor support from our own people
Rail Crossing Safety
Continues Improvement
When your vehicles and a freight train are on a crossing at the same time,
it's no contest
You lose
While the safety record at highway rail crossings has improved dramati­
cally over the last decade, there still are too many preventable crashes
Oregon's crossing accidents have steadily decreased, from 182 in 1976
to only 46 in 1985 This follows the national trend, where the number of
train vehicle crashes has t>een cut in half, w ith corresponding decreases in
personal casualties
Reasons are safer crossings, more signals, and concentrated public
awareness campaigns to alert motorists to hazards Many people do not
understand that heavy trains cannot stop, for example a typical freight
train requires one half to one full mile to stop after emergency brake
application.
Education, engineering and enforcement are the three "Es” of Operation
Lifesaver. a government railroad cooperative program launched in Oregon
in 1977 and renewed in 1984
Last year, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians heard the Operation
Lifesaver message through various media and driver education classes.
Another 70,000 students in elementary grades witnessed classroom Life-
saver presentations on general railroad safety subjects
Crossing accident trends, patterns and explanations have been intensive
ly studied in recent years, and studies reveal some astonishing facts.
More than half now occur at crossings equipped with active warning
signals flashing lights, gongs, even gates About 60 percent happen in
mû
m uL T n o m R H
counTY
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
WITH MULTNOMAH COUNTY
M ultnom ah C ounty has had a M inority B usiness E n terp rise (M BE) Program since 1977.
H ow ever, past MBE o p p o rtu n ities have been lim ited. For ex am p le, until 1981 the
C o u n ty 's MBE pro g ram focused only on setting aside 10% of construction projects u n d er
$50,000 for m inority firm s, in that year Multnomah County was one of the first local governments to
increase lo MBE construction projects to $100,000.
Now participation by minority and female owned firms has been reaffirmed by County
Executive Dennis Buchanan and the Board of County Commissioners.
• LESS RED TAPE:
Multnomah County is accepting
Oregon Department of Transportation Et
City of Portland s MBE and FBE certifications
• MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES:
* To bid on construction projects
* To seil su p p lies
* To re n d e r services
* To provide professional services
A NEW AUTOMATED PURCHASING SYSTEM TO ASSURE
MORE FREQUENT BIDDING OPPORTUNITIES.
Contact A M. Hazen, 248 5111
2505 S.E. 11th A VE., PORTLAND, OREGON 97202