Paye 2 P
.land Observer. April 8, 1987
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
A N I U S SI K \ l( I
OF THF UNITED ( H URÍ H 01 CHRIST
COM M ISSION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
V ic to ry in C hicago
Our recent "gel out the vote" work around the Chi
cago mayoral election has renewed rne For what we
witnessed in Chicago was the Freedom Movement in
one of its finest hours The high voter turn out. particu
larly in Black and Hispanic wards, showed that the right
to vote is held precious, not only by those in the South
who fought and died for the right to vote, but by
northerners as well
M ore vo te rs vo te d in this prim ary an am azing 76%
than had vo te d in any o th e r prim a ry in C h icag o's
h is to ry except M ayor H arold W a s h in g to n 's first prim a ry
in 1983 The tu rn o u t in Black and H ispanic w a rds w .is
especially n o te w o rth y
This is even m ore am azing
w h en o n e realizes tha t a w h o p p in g 8 0 % o f the Blai k
ad ult p o p u la tio n is registered
B ut s ta tistics tell o n ly part o f the sto ry The real story
lies w ith the people o f C hicago T w o w eeks prior to the
ele ctio n I and a p p ro xim a te ly 100 "Reverse Freedom
Riders
volunteers fro m th ro u g h o u t the S o u th walk
erf ttie streets and the h o u sin g de ve lo p m e n ts o f Clm a
go to m obilize the vo te
W e arrived in Chir ago after
a 20 hour bus trip in 2 buses w h ich le ft Selm a. Alabam a,
and H end erson . N C . p ic k in g up rid ers in citie s a lo n g
the w ay The response o f C hicago residents was m ore
tha n w e ever exp ected
One rider. Lisa D ickerson, a 21 ye.ir o ld w o m a n fro m
G u lf|io rt. M ississippi, expressed her surprise to a loi al
reporter, n o tin g . " I th o u g h t C hicago was go in g to be
big and cold But the pe op le here have been so w a rm
and really p u t them selves o u t to m ake us feel w ell om e
and needed "
At the Cabnnt Green development a freedom rider
confronted a young woman who said she wasn't sure
if she would vote and that it would depend on her mood
on election day The rider softly responded. My cou
sin was brutally beaten in 1965 for trying to register
people to vote The right to vote has nothing to do with
one s mood
The young woman, obviously moved,
smiled and said she would be sure to vote, and would
bring others with her
The w in by M ayor W a sh in g to n w as clearly a grass
roo ts v ic to ry
It was d ie people in the street in the
Black a n il H ispanic w ards, but also in progressive w h ite
w a rds w h o b ro u g h t him over the to p
He received
98% o f the Black vote, w hile the 54% vo te w h ic h he
rei eived fro m the 4 m ajor H ispanic w a rd s h e lp e d p u t
him over the to p
The c o a litio n o f Black and H ispanic
vote rs, v o tin g in the ir in te re st, was pa rt o f the g o o d
new s o f this electio n
Ttie oth er g o o rl new s was the im p o rta n t role w h ich
the c h u rc h played T h ro u g h o u t C hicago, ttie chu rche s
fieljrerl stir up excite m e n t a ro un d electio n day " \C r u r
ches w e re sites o f get o u t th e vote rallies and the
cle rgy co n s is te n tly prear fieri ab ou t the im p o rta n c e o f
ttie vote fro m their p u lp its
Churches also p ro vid e d
p rim a ry su p p o rt for ttie Freedom Ruler < am p aign Ken
w o o d U n ite d C h urch o f Christ allow ed us to use the
c h u rc h as th e base o f our op era tions and Rev Leroy
Sanders ttie pastor extended him self w ith m u ch love
an il pa tien ce to ensure iti.it our stay was fru itfu l
In fact, ttie response o f all the chu rche s Black His
pa nii and w h ite w as especially g ra tify in g
A ll our
meals w ere p ro vid e d by lor al c h o n ties A n ri w h ile ttiey
♦etl our bodies ttie y also spiritua lly furl our souls w ith
The w a rm th o f th e c o m m u n ity w as everyw here in
evidence One especially nice m o m e n t occu rre d w h ile
one o f our i arivassing team s was k n o c k in g on doors in
the Robert Taylor H om es, one o f the c ity 's largest hous
mg de velopm e nts A n elderly w o m an w .is on the phon e
w ith a friend w h e n the team arrived at her ap artm en t
As soon as she learned w h o fiad com e to tier door, she
excite dly to ld her frie n d . "T h e freed om riders .ire here,
I II tiave to i all you tiar k
She then w a rm ly embrac ed
the m em bers o f th e g ro u p anti s.nrl "I'm just glad y all
are here W e needed you
She then pro vid ed som e
g o o d o ld s o u th e rn h o s p ita lity up S o u th by o ffe rin g to
Share her lu n ch w ith the riders
w o rs h ip services ear h evening
As it tias historir ally
done, ttie C h urch again played a m a|or role in this
M ove m en t vir lo ry
Ttie C hicago electio n was the first ma,or elec to ta l
test o f w h e th e r or not a m a,or . ity like C hicago i co ld
co n tin u e to m ake progress to w a rd g ris lie r racial inclu
siveness at ttie to p levels o f m u n ic ip a l go vern m ent
Chu ago Sue ceerled in ttia t test a n il it d irl so w itti flyin g
colors
this o H...I,....«, r C h ivs
I.H.I II Jl Is ,1.110
l
11 m
oe.i.-g ClHurti of CtMrtl III.
g
g
MONEY
M ANAGEM ENT
A w eckls c o lu m n o n personal fin a lice d is trib u te d b \
(ht* O reg on S o viett of ( e r titie il ISihln. A ccountants
The
Haves and H ave N o ts "
The close o f the tax re p o rtin g season is fast approa
Ching The tim e seem s rig h t to take a lig h th e a rte d look
at the "h a v e s ' and the have no ts in th e w o rld o f tax
d e d u ctio n s A c c o rd in g to the Oregon So< ie ty o f CPAs
there are grey areas in general tax rules and ttie
ave.it
e m p to r' sh o u ld lie applied
Take the r ase o f the rai e trar k enthusiast w tio w o n
a 521 854 tw in d o u b le on A p ril 5 Prepared to o ffse t
his w in n in g s w ith his losses he presen,ed an IRS agent
w ith over $23,000 in lo sing tir kets that fie r laim ed lie
purchased b e tw e e n A pril 6 and M ay 21 U n fo rtu n a te ly
these ticke ts carried the fo o tp rin ts of ttie m any dis
g ru n tle d losers tfia t tiarl tossed aw ay the tic k e ts
The
co u rt allow ed o n ly a $2 000 dedur tio n against his w in
rung claim s
A n o th e r taxpayer w h o fre q u e n te d the r,n e trar k w .is
able to p ro d u ce cl,s in u n to rn tickets m any w ith se
qu e n tia l n u m b e rin g indir a tin g tfia t ttiey had been
b o u g h , by the sam e b e tto r at the same tim e A n d this
rai e tra, k a d d ic t h a il a kind co m p a n io n w h o a tte ste d to
the fact tha t tie had never seen the taxpayer pick up
discard ed tic k e ts
Ttie c o u rt a llo w e d the tax payer ,o
o ffse t his w in n in g s by tw o th ird s o f the a m o u n t claim
ed Even in th e tax w o rld
neatness cou nts
M any a businessperson has fo u n d i, pays to adyer
tise The law a llo w s tfia t a d vertising is d e d u c tib le as an
ordinary and ner essary business expense suit e adver
Using is r o n sid e re rl a stim u lu s for a,trar tin g tiusiness
An in ge nio us gas s ta tio n ow ne r detluc le d as a p ro m o
tio n a l ite m the cos, o f beer fie m ade available to his
t us,o rn eis He le i, tha t the bre w w o u ld be m ore appea
ling to his cu sto m e rs tha n the trading stam ps he had
pre vio usly giver, o u ,
The station ow ne r appealed to
the cou rt
Sir I really don , feel in my heart flo w a
sm all businessm an r an be pu, d o w n bet ause he had an
idea and m arie i, w ork
Yes he does have a dedur
tilile expense ruler! the c o u rt after fie d e m o n stra te d
th a , Ins business m i leased sun e o ffe rin g the beer
of Tax D ed u ctio n s
N o, so lu cky w as the law yer w h o a tte m p te d to de
d u c t the cost o f o p e ra tin g a boa, th a t fle w a flag p ro u d
ly d ispla yin g the numbers 1040
He to ld the c o u rt
th a , w h en people asked w h y he had th e numbers
1040 or, th e flag, he exp la ine d th a t he specialized in
prepa ring tax return s The c o u rt d isa llo w e d the rleduc
tio n as a result o f his failure to "show exa ctly ho w . and
under w h a t circu m sta n ce s, (h is l b o a tin g a ctivitie s pro
du ce d a single fee
S om e tim es the same case car, tie b o th a “ have"
and a have not as in the case o f the three year o ld
c h ild w h o s u ffe re d fro m lead p o iso n in g w h ic h w as
Irai ed to the pa in t on the o u tsid e o f his ho m e
B oth
his d o c to r and the lor al health d e p a rtm e n t req uire d tha t
the learl base,I paint tie rem oved fro m any surface the
c h ild c o u ld reach I, was ruled th a , the cos, o f re m o vin g
the pa in , up to fou r feet fro m the g ro u n d w as rle du c
tilile as a rnerlic.il expense The costs o f re m o vin g the
paint above th is line w ere no, d e d u c tib le
The c o u rt
d e te rm in e d ,h a , since the bo y c o u ld n o , reach up tha t
high , three w as no m edical reason for th is a d d itio n a l
expense
One w o n d e rs if the parents w ill be a llo w e d
fu tu re m edir al rle d u c ,io n s as the ch ild g ro w s
Subsr o p tio n s to professional m agazines are consi
ile re d a dedur tible expense o f being an em p lo yee B ut.
to q u a lify for a d e d u ctio n , the pe rio dica ls m ust be re
gu ire rl by the needs of a pe rson 's e m p lo ym e n t A g o o d
exam ple
an IRS fie ld agent w h o spent m ost o f his
t i m e w o rk in g a t the o ffic e s o f r o rp o ra tio n s under exam i
n a tio n w as o fte n aw ay fro m the resources o f th e lib
rary at his IRS o ffic e
The cost o f his su b s c rip tio n to
the Jo u rn a l o f Taxation was th e re fo re ruled rleduc
tib le
Bu, th e d e d u c tio n cla im ed by a grade scho ol
tear her w h o said she sub scrib ed to certail pe rio dica ls
they appealed to her stu d e n ts did not m eet the
IR S s approval
These had in clu d e d
A rc h ite c tu ra l
D igest
"C onsum er s U n ion and House B ea utiful
be. a u s e
Copy,.gin 19«/
A IC P A
HEALTH WATCH
Letters to the Editor
by Steven B.uley, N D
C oncerning Education
a i m u rete lo dg em en t
As an Intern Teacher in the P ortland Public Sr ho o l
system I m us, c o u n te rp o in t Ron H e rn d o n 's rem arks to
the scho ol board (w h ic h fo llo w e d the sem i annual le
p o r, o, the distnr , s D esegregation M o n ito rin g C o m m it
tee).
In o tfie i w o rd s
Firs, o f all. I have been tea chin g in the P P S system
since 1976 For four and one half years I have tau ght
ta le n te d a n ti g ifte d < liilrlie n fro m the C olum bia 1 A G
center in N o rth P o rtla n d to the S W T A G center at
M ary Rieke sr hool
One w ill see a m in u te achievem ent gap betw een stu
d e n ts w h o a tte n d sch o o ls in a fflu e n t n e ig h b o rh o o d s
and those w h o go to sch o o l in un de rprivileg ed er o n o
m ic areas
W h e n you speak o f the talented and g ifte d r hilrl
you aie speaking of It,ose w h o have the academ ic
k n o w le d g e for excellence in their field
I have experienced, as a T A G teacher a higher
degree o f w illingn ess to e x c e l" from th e stu d e n ts w h o
are in N o rth and N o rth e a st sections o f P ortland and
lo w er southeast, tf,an th e S W or upper S E sections
Their desire to a ch ie ve a, higher levels had n o th in g to
d o w ith P P S . b u , had to do w ith the individual, re
gardless o f their eco n o m ic ba ckg ro u n d
They w a n te d
ed u ca tio n
There is a big d iffe re n ce w h e n they do n o ,
w a n , an education*
¡El
w e tear tiers parents
m o ,tie rs
I w o u ld like to
h a v e seen d o c u m e n te d r ases on a na tio n a l level w h e re
W e are fin d in g tlia , a deprived bar k g io u n d m w a n tin g
to gam kn o w le d g e or e d uca tion can a ffe ct a stu d e n t s
w illingn ess to learn
we are fin d in g th a , stud ents w h o
have been given e ve ryth in g qu ote u n q u o te in the
S W
also can e xh ib it an u n w illin gn ess to I,sen
whir h is a direr t result of behavior
Hence tear tiers
need c o m m u n ity su p p o rt in (list ipline in order to tear h
no, a i o n sta n , attar k* The tear tiers and adm nustra
tors o f e a c h si ho o l need f u ll support fro m the fam ily
of a stud ent
in v ite all in te rested persons to atten d ., c o m m u n ity
fo ru m spo nso red by P o rtla n d Fair Share ,1ns co m in g
Tuesday. A pril 14,h a, P o rtla n d C o m m u n ity College.
706 N K illm g sw o rth . fro m 7 15 to 9 00 p m
Issues
u n in s u re d pe rso n s .lie d e nied e m e rg e n cy care due to
la, k o f fu n d s W h ile w e. as a society, w o u ld n o , tole
better America.
B etty Harris Garner
Portland Observer
Tha ZWMoffrf r w v o w IUSPS « » « D i n p u M n /w , av*ry
ttiurvtoy by t a « Ptitankung Company m t
IA63 N f kiarnqi
worth Portland
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r>«q.,.. 977DR Satura, . l a t i poxtatja pax, a, Piariana Oiapon
« t w ^»«>«1 (*• Hi
Suhatrpim nt 1 ,5 00 pai r t » m lha Tn , raatty eraa Poa,
■ nana> Sarai adrtiaax rhangax lo tha tta rlv » ./ , m .r » .r , P 0
Box 3,3? Portland Oagon972DB
H e n d e rá »
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4Z H i/Zfi/ms, (irn v r u l M u n a g rr
Alloc,thon ■ f o u n f d »MS
288 0033
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S»ATE
As m ost b irth defer ,s o ccu r in th e firs , trim e ste r (the
the lack of early care m ay
w ell result in higher long term costs due to b irth de fects
and i n tii al i are at d e live ry
This bill does look like i t
has a g o o d cha nce of passage
E m e rg e n c y R o o m A c c e p ta n c e (H B 2354) There
firs , 3 m o n th s o f pre g n a n cy)
issues to address I ve not fo u n d the tim e to put the m
in to pn n,
This a rticle w ill be a brie, synopsis of som e
o f th e im p o rta n t le gislative Item s that are ( urre n tly tie
•ny i onsidereri in Sdlnm
tha rtallaia*/ » M n r i.ri was asIM lnhad « ,9X1
MEMBER
and
my ,iiti< les have t,een
r (im m u n ity w o rke rs .lie not po litir i.ins W e do not play
around w ill, our fu tu re A m erica
I do no, believe Di
M a ltt ie w P rophet w o u ld allow any s e . o n d rati p o litir al
m ove m en t to keep the N o rth or N ortheast and o r lower
S outheast unedur ated
In i ases w h e re the fam ily r an n o , he lp in the erlut a
tio n of their young (w h en the econom ic social etc
communication has broker, d o w n I w e need our social
service agencies to provide an ext ellen, edur a ,io n and
sup po rt for these ch ild re n and fam ilies
I am an A fro A m erican . I am Indian I am G erm an. I
am an A m e rica n I am a par, of e d u ca tio n
I s u p p o i,
our teachers w h o le h e a rte d ly Those w h o are no, edu
cato rs sho uld ge, o u , o f the business o f edur a tio n W e
need your c o m m u n ity support, not a personal war
against the evils o f society
T h a t's h o w A d o lf Hitler
m assacred six m illio n Je w s'
Talk to us. m eet m e at m y door w ith love and resper t.
believe in us as tear her w h o tear.fi. be. a rise w e w a n , a
N ow , I think a teacher w h o has ta u g h t a range o f
stu d e n ts in a range o f subjects, from T A G stud ents
in a Speech C o m m u n ica tio n s and Theatre class to the
average Social S tudies stu d e n t and b e lo w average stu
de nt, is m o r e than q u a lifie d to state an o p in io n or m ake
0 'e g . .e
N e w .paper
Publishers
Asso d i,in
As you m ay have n o tic e d
m u ch less b e g u e n t .is o f late This is p rim arily because
I e b e r a , sgiending < o n sid e r.ib le tim e a, Salem since the
Legislature co n ve n e d W h ile I ve had m any im p o rta n t
3)
* o
/IP
1 *
B efore I begin d iscussin g legislation
w ill in clud e
k n o w le d g e is p o w e r
h o w to e ffe c t
change h o w th e legislature w o rks health r .ire lia b ility
insurance issues and taxes and scho ol financ e Speak
ers w ill in clu d e m yself A m in a A nd erso n o f the Blai k
U n ite d Front W alter G hant of the B r-thleheni Inn
H om eless Proier , and Pat S te w a rd of P o rtla n d Farr
Share
C hild care w ill be available if reserved by
A p ril 13 For m ore in fo rm a tio n call P ortland Fair Share
at 223 2981
This year in Salem we have seen m ore a tte n tio n to
he a lth issues tha n any pre vio us session
The issues are
bro ad and in clud e such to p ir s as pre natal r are a state
he alth plan basic needs program s, em ployer health
in sura nce m andates ho sp ita l , ever,tie tax for ttie in d i
ge nt, m an da te d acce ,,tan ce o f em ergency ro o m care
insurance non d is c rim in a tio n as w ell as the to r, re fo rm
and o th e r issues o , care fo r the ha ndicapped, senior
care, m edicare assign m ent
and bills pre sen te d by the
has been a n a tio n a l tre n d to w a rd lo o k in g a, m e d ica l
i in - .is a lu x u ry
rather tha n as essential service
We
rate p o lice o i fire pro te r tion denial on a basis o f in com e ,
i, appears tha , a bill such as HB 2354 is necessary to
assure the same sanity in he a lth cate
In s u ra n c e n o n d is c r im in a t io n IH B 2 6 5 0 ) This bill
tti.it w ill require th a , in sura nce com p an ies acce pt a uni
fo rm d e fin itio n o f provider in the ir policies, still appears
to have a cha nce of passage
There is stro n g s u p p o rt,
as w e ll as o p p o s itio n , to th is bill, w h ic h is sim ilar to
e xistin g law s in over 40 states
W h a , th is bill does is
a llo w the con sum e r to have u n o b s tru c te d c h o ice in w h o
the y can see as the ir prim a ry pro vid er
I, ca n n o t in
crease costs as i, still a llow s insurance co m p a n ie s to
ch o o s e w tia , services they w ill co ve r and h o w m u c h
th e y w ill pay fo r each service
Even so. th e self in te
rests in Salem are in a ccu ra te ly c la im in g tha , there w ill
t,e a d d itio n a l co sts if th is is passed
T o r t R e fo r m (S B s 324 325 . 3261 T o rt re fo rm is
basically a re fo rm in h o w people can sue for dam ages
in lia b ility cases It is one o f the m ost he ated debates
in Salem as w ell as across the na tio n
W h ile the end
fo rm o f th is bill still has to be w o rk e d o u t, it appears
he aling arts for tfierr specific interests The num ber of
bills is tru ly m assive and represents the tru e n a tu re o f
our cu rre n t m ed ica l crisis
th a t O regon w ill n o t fo llo w th e terrib le exam ple o f Cali
form a w h e re th e lim ita tio n s on aw ards m ay in fa c t n o t
S ta te H e a lth P la n (S B 547) This bill presented by
S enator Bill M cC o y, is p ro b a b ly the m ost e ffe c tiv e and
ideal approach to the m a jo rity o f out pro blem s
H ow
ever, fe w le gislators feel th a t it has any chance o f pas
sage
This bill w o u ld po o l a w id e range o f resources
even cove r the m ed ica l costs crea te d by th e c o u rt de
d a re d errors in tre a tm e n t
There w ill d e fin ite ly be a
set tio n tha t aids in the p ro te c tio n o f jie o le w h o serve on
tx,a rris o f non p ro fit in s titu tio n s
There w ill be a to rt
bill passed, w e ,ust d o n 't kn o w w h a t fo rm it w ill take at
present
to p ro vid e a base o f care for all O regonians W h ile the
p ro p o n a n ts o f th is bill feel th a , i, w o u ld low er th e over
all co sts o f health care in O regon, the self in te rests o f
Salem appear, on ce again, to have gu aranteed th a , this
bill is destined for the back shelf
P re n a ta l c a re (H B 2361) O ne o f out p o u n d fo o lish
po licies in O regon has been the lack o f adeq ua te pre
natal care for the un insured and in dig en t p o p u la tio n s
C u rrently m any p re g n a n t w o m e n have no su p p o rt base
fo r pre natal care u n til the ir 8th m o n th o f p re g n a n cy
O th e r B ills
It appears th a t the e m p lo ye r tax bill is
dear! as w ell as m a n d ito ry m edicare assig n m e n t Ire
quires th a t all d o c to rs acce pt m ed ica re pa ym e n t)
M an y o f the o th e r bills m e n tio n e d earlier still have a
chance o f passage, yet they represent w h a t I feel is the
finger in the dike approach
We do need to plug
the holes, but the foundation of the dike needs real
work
Only something in the nature of Senator Me
Coy's SB 547 will provide a true solution to the crisis
that now faces our state in the area of health care
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