Page 2. Poittand Observer. April 29. 1987
I
T he P o litic s o f A u s te r ity
Black fo lk s are generally to ld to a cce p t less” by
w h ite A m e ric a W e re to ld to w o rk h a rd ” and to y e t
o ff w e lfare , w h e n in m any co m m u n itie s there are fe w
Recent o p in io n polls illu stra te tha t three fo u rth s o f all
A m ericans believe th a t th e Federal g o ve rn m e n t "s h o u ld
play a m ore active ro le ” in e xp a n d in g pro g ra m s to pro
m o te p u b lic health care, to address e n v iro n m e n t ills,
and to p ro vid e aid and shelter to hom eless p e op le Over
h a lf o f all A m ericans desire increased fe tle ra l sp e n d in g
for lo w to m od era te in co m e h o u sin g , loans and (man
cial gra nts to un ive rsity stu d e n ts and n u tritio n pro
gram s for m othe rs and ch ild re n Less th a n one quarter
o f A m e n i ans (tolled fa vo r hikes in Star W a rs ” expen
d itu re s
M o m sig n ific a n tly even som e R e pu blican
vo te rs are bet om m g un ce rta in and uneasy a tx iu f their
c o m m itm e n t to the p o litic s o f a u ste rity
A b o u t 55
pen ent o f all GOP voters po lle d state th a t tlie y w o u ld
alloca te m ore m oney to soi ial w e lfare , edui a tio n and
health pro gra m s than on the P en tago n if the y had to
choose be tw ee n these o p tio n s
take pay cu ts, to lo w e r ou r w age e xp e cta tio n , to act ept
w h ateve r is handed o u t to us. in order for the U S to
be com e c o m p e titiv e " W e re to ld to tig h te n our be lts
w h e n m any o f our people d o n ’t even have belts
In
sh o rt, the p o litic s o f racism is also usually the p o litic s of
a u ste rity
s to p c o m p la in in g w o rk harder and earn
le s s ."
But in th e la te 1980s the fin a n c lal ’ ’chicken s are
fina lly c o m in g h o m e to roo st
As m illio n s o f w h ite
skilled w o rkers, farm ers, and w h ite collar em ployees
experience joblessness and w e lfare lines in th e age of
R eayonom ics, th e re ’s a g ro w in g m o o d w h it h q u e stio n s
the basic id e o lo g ica l a ssu m p tio n s o f m o d e rn p o litic a l
co n s e rv a tis m
The "Ira n C o n tra S c a n d a ll plus th e
D e m ocratic con gre ssion al victo rie s last N o v e m b e r .ire
Are tfie D e m ocratic p re sid e n tia l can didate s for 1988
liste n in g to tfie p e o p le ’ So far. th e m s little in d ica tio n
th .it m any w h ite D e m oi ratu leaders w ill m ove tie y o n d a
lu ke w a rm version o f R eaganism or w fia t t a n fie
term ed
Reaganism w ith a h u m an face
Delaw are
S enator Joe Biden fre q u e n tly and fa v o ra b ly qu otes
M a rtin Luther King, Jr
and M isso u ri C ongressm an
m a n ife sta tio n s o f a broader and m ore decisive p o litic a l
change w h ic h m ay lie ahead
Reagan w as elected tw ic e by c a m p a ig n in g against
Big G ove rn m en t. Big Labor, and Reverse D isi.nm in a
tio n against w h ite s
A fte r six years of disasterous
b u d g e t c u ts in social services, jo b tra in in g program s
and oth er h u m a n needs o rie n te d p ro gra m s a g ro w in g
section o f the w h ite m id dle class fin a lly recognizes tha t
the fu n d a m e n ta l p ro blem is n ’t Big G ove rn m en t at all
b u t Big Business Back in 1979. a cco rd in g to Lou H am s
polls, 69 percent o f A m erican s gave large c o rp o ra tio n s
a favorable ratin g
Last year, by w ay o f co n tra s t,
barely 35 pe rcen t ju d g e d Big Business fa vo ra b ly
The
po p u la r m o o d against W a ll S tree t and the co rp o ra te
g ia n ts has tu rn e d m ore ho stile fo llo w in g the scandals
and greed in he rent in recent takeover m aneuvers and
tho B oesky affair
Even som e R eayanites have be gu n
to dista n ce them selves fro m the ir fin a n cia l backers at
least in p u b lic.
fo rm e r Treasury d e p u ty secretary
R ichard D arm an, a ch ie f a rc h ite c t o f Reaganom ics
D ick G ep tiardt repeatedly r o n d e m n s the w aste in e ffi
Ciency and c o rru p tio n o f Hit) Business
But neither
they nor then a m b itio u s w h ite collea gu es reco gn ize the
ne w politic al equation w h ic h c o u ld spell v iito r y in 1988
th a t an a< tivist. p ro gre ssive g o ve rn m e n t w h ic h ad
dresses people s needs a n d ch e cks the po w e r o f tfie
U S co rp o ra te sector is re q u ire d for tfie 1990s
O nly Jesse J.n kson has expressed th is u n d e rsta n d in g
to date
M ore tha n in 1984 Ja ckso n is m a kin g ever’
greater e ffo rts to reach tfie e co n o m ica lly dispo ssed and
alienated o f all races
C a m pa ign ing th ro u g h o u t Iow a
last m o n th w ith tfie m essage Farms Jo b s and Jus
lice , Jackso n called for m assive new in ve stm e n ts in
h o u sin g and ed u ca tio n O nly Jar kson has q u e stio n e d
w h y the g o ve rn m e n t doesn t blink over a $17 b illio n
cost ove rrun for tfie B 1 b o m be r y e t he sitates to "bail
o u t tfie farm er
Tfie R a in b o w C o alition and J.n kson
represent tfie d e a ie s t cha lle ng e to t f ie s ta te p o litic s o f
a u ste rity in b o th m ajor parties
has used the d e n e g ra tin g term " c o rp o c ra c y " to att.u k
U S. c o rp o ra te in e ffic ie n c y , greed and m ism a nag em e nt
The A m e ric a n p u b lic in c re a s in g ly s u p p o rts the id e a
th a t liberal, a ctivist g o ve rn m e n t can pro vid e m e a n in g fu l
------------------
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Letters to the Editor
On S h o p p in g B la c k
I am e n cou rage d by tfie O bse rve r’s sh o w o f s u p p o rt
for N E area Black businesses by the p u b lic serve •
(some p ro ba bly w ill), (m t tru ly un d e rsta n d th a t in the
Blai k c o m m u n ity , tfie survival of Blai k businesses rests
solely in the hands o f Bl.n ks and non Blur ks w h o reside
in the Black c o m m u n ity
C o n g ra tu la tio n s on a |t)b w e ll done
a n n o u n ce m e n t w h ic h appeared in your paper on A p ril
23. 1987 The article, w h ile not callin g for a to ta l t>oy
c o tt of w h ite arid o rie n ta l businesses, did ask Bla< k
shoppers to pa tro nize local Black m e rch a n ts by s e ttin g
aside one day a week to shop Black o n ly ’
H o p e fu lly, non Blacks w ill not vie w th is as
S onn y B ooker
racist
S f
R a cism in P o rtla n d
Racism is very m u ch alive b kickin g in P ortland to
day
W e ate not speaking o f un de rcover rat ism fm t
" b la ta n t" racism such as w h a t re ce n tly ha pp en ed to
m e W h ile w o rk in g in a w a reh ouse tor five m o n th s w ith
a tru e racist, (m ost likely I'm the first Black m an he ever
spo ke to let alone w o rke d w ith ) h a vin g to listen to
"ru g g e r jokes ” day in and day o u t. I discove red m y
g o o d ju d g e m e n t, fia rd w o rk and h o n e sty d id n ’t c o u n t
His o n ly in te n tio n s w ere to use m y color as a to o l to
m ake his m iserable life be tte r He a tta cke d me viciously
w ith o u t w a rn in g
He put m y in te g rity at stake tiy bla
P ortla nd
B la ta n t R a cism
ta n tly lying saying I stole co m p a n y p ro p e rty , and tfie
sad part is tfie co m p a n y b a cked him up 100"..
There
are severity five people w o rk in g in th is Jew ish steel and
shipping com p an y and no B lacks and w h en there was
one. look w fia t h a p p e n e d 1’ !! A te rrib le in ju stice has
been done, but does anyone th a t m a tte rs really c a re ’
I care for reasons th a t w e all kn o w th is happens every
day I refuse to close m y eyes and let th is pass qu ie tly
as so m any oth er pe op le do S o m e w h e re it tias got to
cease N o be tte r place or tim e tha n here and no w
Eugene Nabors
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Portland Observer
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L o ca tio n
If you Have ever been
equally im p o rta n t far tor to tie con sid ered w h e n plan
rung m ajor ho m e im p ro v e m e n ts
Be, ause th e value o t your ho m e is largely de te rm in e d
liy tfie value o f tfie ho m es a ro u n d you. yo u e rio t likely
to recover re m o d e lin g co sts tha t take you ho m e w ell
above tfie values o f sim ilar hom es in you r ne ig hbo r
flo o d A s a general rule you should n o t exp ect to sell
yon bouse for m o r e t h a n 2 0 u a txive tfie average in your
an si
So it you b u y a $90.000 hom e in a $100 000
n e ig h b o rh o o d , you (in itia l,ly sho uldn t spend m ore than
$30 (MX) h i ho m e re m o d e lin g costs
H o m e o w n e rs o ffe r o ve rlo o k tfie w ay in w h ic h re
m o d e lin g an ai tu a lly help to cu t their tax lulls W hile
m any jie u p le am aw are o f th e tax advantages o f bu yin g
and o w n in g a hom e few er h o m e o w n e rs eq ua te rem o
deling w a ll ta> a ving s
B ut w ith care fu l reco td kee j)
inq your re m o d e lin g e ffo rts can cut your tax bill con
saferably w h e n you e ve n tu a lly sell your house
I ike any o th e r in ve stm e n t you m ust re p o rt to the IRS
any p ro fit you m ake w h e n you sell your house In order
to de te rm in e your p ro fit, you m ust first calcula te your
i.ost basis tiy a d d in g tfie i osf of all im p ro v e m e n ts you
have m ade to tfie o rig in a l p u rch a se p rice
(Y o u m ay
also add in (he no n d u d u c tib le clo sin g costs fro m y o u '
o riq n i.il settle m e nt sheet I S u b tra c t th is to ta l fro m the
sa le price o f your ho m e less any selling expenses and
you tiave your p ro fit
It
very im p o rta n t to keep g o o d records a n il save
ret eipts for all im p ro v e m e n ts A g o o d way to do th is is
to keep a n o te b o o k w h e re you record all expenses,
pro je i t by p ro je t t
W ith tfie no te b o o k ke e ji a large
e n ve lo jie m arked HOUSE and s tu ff it w ith all the re
( eipts invon es and c o n tra c ts that re ju e se n t your pro
je. ts
Dun t tru st your m e m o ry
m ost tio m e o w n e rs
Will rem em ber tfie $4(MM) the y spent to -p u t in a fne pl.lce
tin t not the $1000 ttie y spe nt on lands, ap in g bet ause it
was done $ !0 0 at a tim e
This re co rd ke e p in g has lo n g term im p lic a tio n s , as
w e ll tie, ause w h en you sell y o u i hom e th e p ro fit you
realize i an lie de fe rre d tiy b u y in g or b u ild in g a m ore
exjiensrve ho m e or one ot the same value and m o vin g
in w ith in tw o years fro m the date you sold your o ld one
Fa. h tim e you sell a ho m e you m ust file Form 2119 as
p a rt ut your tax re tu rn Be sure to file a i o jiy o f Form
21 19 in you H O U S f e n v e lo jie Sine »• one house sale
a ffe t ts the cost basis fo r the next house you need to
keep tra< of h o w muc h p ro fit you «ire d e fe rrin g
A R e p a ir or Im p r o v e m e n t7
Il is im p o rta n t tha t you d is tin g u is h an im p ro ve m e n t
fro m a repair birr ause it is o n ly im p ro v e m e n ts th a t you
m ay add to your to s t basis A g o o d rule o f th u m b Io
fo llo w is ffi.it an im p ro v e m e n t adds to the value o t tfie
p ro p e rty , p ro lo n g s its life o t ad ap ts to a n e w use Re
pans just m a intain th e h o m e in g o o d c o n d itio n
C o n tra ry to w h a t m a n y p e op le th in k, an im p ro v e m e n t
need n o t he visible or essential
G enerally, it' const
O raqoo » Z 7 H
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s u p p o rt o f non Black businesses It m erely p o in te d o u t
th a t, h isto rica lly. Black o w n e d businesses in Black
c o m m u n itie s de pe nd on th e s u p p o rt o f B lacks fo r sur
vival, fo r w ith o u t it, fa ilu re is im m in e n t
The lack o f a c o m p re h e n sive e co n o m ic d e ve lo p m e n t
plan for N E P o rtla n d cle arly de m o n stra te s th e C ity ’s
lack o f su p p o rt fo r area businesses The fa ilure o f the
U V W P roject, a fte r b e in g heralded as th e m u c h needed
S’ » ..
A putXnZMHl ovary
I A Ü N T XXknQS
PoM O tfx a B o . 3137
Pay Y ou B a ck
dered an im p ro ve m e n t if you insulate your house, panel
a den. add shru bb ery, fen ce the yard or p u t in new
p lu m b in g or w irin g But re p a in tin g inside or o u t. m end
C o n tra ry to w h a t m any pe op le du nk, an im p ro ve m e n t
need n o t be visible or essential. G enerally, it ’s const
dered an im p ro ve m e n t if you insulate your house, panel
a den add shru bb ery, fen ce the yard or p u t in new
p lu m b in g or w irin g But re p a in tin g inside or o u t, m en d
m g leaks or fix in g floo rs are usually con sid ered repaires
It s not alw ays easy to de te rm in e the d iffe re n ce If you
pa in t a ba sem e nt roo m th a t w as u n fin ish e d w h en you
b o u g h t your house, you .e m ade an im p ro ve m e n t But
p a in tin g a ro o m tha t w as p re vio usly papered does not
c o n s titu te an im p ro ve m e n t fo r tax purposes, even
th o u g h you m ay consider it a vast im p ro ve m e n t over
th a t d re a d fu l flo ra l p rin t on the paper you covered
To fu rth e r co m p lica te m atters, it you m ake repairs as
part o f an exte nsive rem o de lin g or re sto ra tio n , the
w h o le jo ti m ay q u a lify as an im p ro ve m e n t As you can
see it's n o t alw ays easy to distin g u ish be tw ee n a repair
m d an im p ro ve m e n t If y o u 're n o t sure, it's best to get
exp ert advit e to de te rm in e w h ich o f your expenses are
con sid ered m a in te n a n ce and w h ich are cap ital im p ro ve
merits
Cost vs. Value
A lth o u g h t the re are m an y g o o d reasons fo r rem odel
mg your house, resale value sho uld alw ays be const
dered p a rtic u la rly if you plan to m ove soon A lth o u g h
tfie rei u v e iy rale o f spe cific rem o de lin g p ro je cts vary by
a num ber o f fa c to rs in clu d in g locale and the q u a lity o f
th e in d iv id u a l p ro je c ts , som e re n o v a tio n p ro je c ts sta n d
tn pay o ff d ra m a t" ally be tte r than o th e rs w h en the tim e
com es to sell your house
W ith the k iti lie n being the nerve cen ter o f m ost fam i
a m ajor k iti lie n re m o de lin g alm ost a lw ays gives
you an cm ellen t re tu rn
an yw h ere fro m 50% to 100%
is possible A fu ll bath ad de d to a hom e w ith o n ly one
bath is a n o th e r im p ro v e m e n t you can bank on. If you
d u n 'ty tiave one, a firep la ce, p a rticu la rly a n e w energy
e ffic ie n t typ e can do one o f the best in ve stm e n ts you
i an m ake
The reason m ay be s tric tly e m o tio n a l
p a rtic u la rly for th e first tim e bu yer w h o c o n ju re s up all
sorts o f h o m ey si enes in v o lv in g the fam ily gathere d
a ro un d tfie h e arth Im p ro ve m e n ts th a t have lim ite d use
and appeal such as a s w im m in g po o l or te n n is c o u rt,
ate likely to have a lo w recovery ratio , and in som e
ases m ay a c tu a lly decrease th e d e s ira b ility o f yo u t
hom e A o n ve n ie n tly lo ca te d fam ily roo m has be com e
a m ust these days b u t an ad d itio n th a t clashes w ith
the style o f y o u i house or d isru p ts tfie tra ffic flo w can
d e tra ct fro m yo u t house s w o rth
A n d d o n 't fo rg e t
ttia t energy co n se rva tio n m easures can bring you re
tu rn s even b e fo re selling by lo w e rin g your fuel costs
If you ate th in k in g at,ou t m ajor hom e im p ro ve m e n ts.
C PAs advise th a t you ca re fu lly consider the fin a n cia l
aspects o f re m o d e lin g b e fore callin g the c o n tra c to r
Lo o kin g for a CPA in yo u r co m m u n ity? Call th e Ore
gun S o t ie ty o f C PAs at 1503’ 641 7200 for a free state
w ide referral
lie s
EDITORIAL/OPINION
This ph e n o m e n o n o f B lacks travelin g o u t o f the ir o w n
c o m m u n ity to shop in n e ig h b o rh o o d s w ith w h ite or
o rie n ta l m e rch a n ts w ith o u t o th e r n e ig h b o rh o o d s reci
p ro c a tin g appears to be an irre versib le tra ve sty
The a n n o u n ce m e n t d id n o t call fo r a b o y c o tt o r non
5 *
statt
L o c a tio n
a n n o u n ce m e n t ca llin g on B lacks to tin y Black on Tues
day in sup po rt o f B lack m e rc h a n ts The p u b lic service
a n n o u n ce m e n t p o in ts o u t ttia t w h ite s s u p p o rt w h ite s ,
o rie n ta ls su p p o rt o rien ta ls, b u t Blacks are re lu c ta n t to
s u p p o rt Blacks
1 1 5 to » o n e yr»«t
Ho» 3 1 3 / Portland OR
C l TV
L o ca tio n
in the m arket for a bouse, chances are y o u ’ve heard
these w o rd s referred to as the three g o ld e n rules o f
real e s ta te
B ut, ai i o rd m g to the O regon S o cie ty o f
CPAs, m any pe op le d o n t realize tha t lo c a tio n is an
tu tio n s to g ra n t b u sin ess d e ve lo p m e n t loans to m in o ri
ties (especially A fric a n A m e rica n s) is a prim e fa c to r in
the c o n tin u in g decay o f area businesses
The O bserver, on A p ril 22. 1987. ran a p u b lic service
1
1
H o m e Im p ro v e m e n ts Can
It is tragic Io w itn e s s th e d e clin e o f businesses in
n o rth e a st P o rtla n d , e s jie i rally Black o w n e d or o p t1
fa te d
The U n io n V a n co u ve r W illia m s A ve n u e co rn
dors, along w ith o ttie i Black en terprises th ro u g h o u t
the area, are s u ffe rin g u n like any other area o f th e C ity
Tfie re luctan ce o f lo ca l ba n ks and o tfiu r le n d in g in sti
Portland Observer!
I
A w eekly c o lu m n on personal finance d istrib u te d by
th e O regon Soc iety o f C ertified Public A ccountants
N e e d e d : A n E c o n o m ic
D e v e lo p m e n t P lan fo r N.E.
Support Our Advertisers!
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^PORTWND OBSERVER
Portland
c x a rjrv szzrw Socond c la w pnetaga novi at P .viiarvl O rayon
sho t in th e a rm " and a fte r th o u sa n d s o f d o lla rs for
o u tsid e co n s u lta n ts , leaves businesses in the area puz
zled as to w h a t to e xp e ct
In the nam e of b e a u tific a tio n and con sum e r appeal,
the U n ion A ve n u e m edian w as a p pro ved and co n stru e
ted W h a t th is d irt and c o n c re te m on ste r has d o ne is
kill any ho pe s o f sh o p p in g on U n ion A ve due to th e
fa ct tfi.it it is n o w illegal to jia rk on the street, arid the
vast m a jo rity o f shops have no o ff street p a rkin g S ub
seq ue ntly. if shoppers w a n t to p a tro n ize B lacks on
U n ion A ve they m ust park on an o ff street or use Tri
M et B ut, in d o in g so. the y chance an e n c o u n te r w ith
an othe r eyesore U n ion A ve p ro s titu te s
Past h is to ry
and the c o n tin u in g p ro b le m o f stre e tw a lke rs serves
n o tice th a t the C ity has no im m e d ia te re so lu tio n
G overnor G o ld sch m id t, in his "O re g o n C o m e b a c k "
d o cu m e n t, fails to m e n tio n w h a t he plans fo r N o rth
east P ortland The C ity cla im s it has a b u d g e t p ro b le m
and no plan for e c o n o m ic relief is be in g a n n o u n ce d
Therefore, Black m e rc h a n ts in N E P ortla nd are appeal
mg in the o n ly m an ne r possible asking B lacks to buy
Blai k one day a w e ek, se le ctin g Tuesdays as a pos
sible day
H o p e fu lly, non w h ite s w ill n o t look u p o n th is as a d v o ­
ca tin g a b o y c o tt o f w h ite businesses, b u t as a m ea ns o f
survival o f th e B lack businessperson, w h ic h lends far
m ore cred en ce to lo cal s u p p o rt tha n th e lip service th a t
is c u rre n tly b e in g given.
TSa M v a u a ./ n p t r r . r r w ax m iahlrU iart at 1970
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so lu tio n s to social and e co n o m ic p ro b le m s
In sh o rt,
the p u b lic is callin g fo r " m o r e ” g o v e rn m e n t, n o t less
lo bs at de cen t w ages w h ic h can be fo u n d . W e ’re to ld
th a t a ffirm a tiv e a c tio n rew ards the in c o m p e te n t and
d iscrim in a te s against w h ite s and never m in d the con
tun es o f racist d is c rim in a tio n against us W e re to ld to
MONEY
A m a l g a m a t e d P u b h tK m « In .
N a w V o rb
i
The O bserver w elc o m e s letters to the e d ito r. Letters
should be typed or neatly printed and signed w ith
the auth o r s nam e and address (addresses are not p u b ­
lished). W e reserve the right to edit for len g th . M a il to:
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