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J anuary 17, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
Good Credit Builds Future
Credit, computerized transac­
tions, and other movements towards
advanced financ ial technologies are
not as exotic as they once were. As
the young adults o f this nation be­
gin to inevitably make their mark in
our country’s economic system,
they must awaken to a keen sense o f
financial consciousness that will
be in their best interest as well as
the country’s. Good credit is be­
coming more and more important
in recent days and w e’ll tell you
why.
Economic experts are generally
predictingcreditcards and transac­
tion technologies eventually elimi­
nating the need for carrying around
cash. People are depending on cred­
it, and credit alone, in doing their
everyday financial transactions.
Gone are the days when lugging a
wallet, ripping at their unauthentic
leather seams, was fashionable
Today, it’s the shiny plastic with
the raised gold-lettering that gets
the attention. It’s modem, it’s con­
venient, and the rapid expansion o f
this concept spells out the tone o f
the technological future and the
upcoming generation must be pre­
pared for it and not lost in the
whirlwind o f it with a tarnished
credit history.
Credit allows us to fully employ
our resources and puts property to
«HUM
F ile
BY
S abrina
S akata
use that would otherwise lie idle and
abandoned. It gives possibility and
potential to things normally unat­
tainable to the average person. This
also occurs on a grand scale o f na­
tions. Africa. Asia, and South Amer­
ica by various institutions such as the
International Bank for Reconstruc­
tion and Development. However,
borrowing money and credit to fi­
nance overambitious development
plans was also fundamental factor in
leaving a large number o f nations
with a the burden o f a heavy debt. In
many cases, these debts would be­
come insupportable when interest
rates went up and many country's
commodity export prices took sharp
declines. Thus, the economies suf­
fered Likewise, we must know our I
limits.
The banking population and their
methods o f controlling plays a sig­
nificant role in the credit system,
hereby controlling the economic
destiny o f not only our nations, but
the world. A fluctuation in credit
affects the level o f prices. Where j
credit may expand, money supply
will increase, lending cause for ris­
en prices. The state o f personal and
business activity within a country
can any given moment be gauged
from the condition o f the credit
system, where expanding credit re­
flects a period o f business prosper­
ity and contracting credit reflects a
decline in economic activity, other­
wise known as ‘depression’’. Some
economists believe the credit infla­
tion just before the 1929 crisis was
the principal cause o f the Depres­
sion itself.
I here are many companies that
are willing to give debtors a second
(or tenth) chance. American Fair
Credit Association issues ninety-
eight percent o f their members un­
se c u re d
V ISA
card
from
BANKFIRST. However, you must
gain AFCA membership status, be
employ ed for the last three months |
at nine-hundred dollars per month,
and have had no “derogatory cred­
it” in the last six months.
COALITION OF B U C K MEN SPONSOR HOUSING SESSION AT DISHMAN
A Horneo wnership Opportunity Fo­
rum will he held Saturday, from 10am. to
11:30 am at Mall Dishman Community
Center. 77 NE Knott - Room B.
Refreshments will he provided. RSVP
to 282-7744.
The session is sponsored by: Coalition
ot Black Men. Portland Housing Center,
and Partners or Project Downpayment
Education In The Next
Millennium: Part II
B y P rof . M c K inley lurt
"Ask The Man Who Owns One”;
that was a key phrase in the early
advertising campaigns o f the Buick
Company. And last week we high­
lighted a key executive from a local
computer land” who was using just
this approach in developing h is ’Hu­
man Resource Department’ — bring­
ing in performance-tested profession­
als with supporting data bases. He
was a veteran of several community
colleges.
The selection o f this particular
baby-boomer is an example of the
interactive nature of the innovative
profile I was bringing to education as
early as 1971 (He was a student of
mine at PSU) — and of where educa­
tors and-industry must be today and
tomorrow, just to survive into the
coming new century. At the time, the
firms and public agencies in the Tri-
County area with whom I structured
both academic and placement for­
mats read like a Whos W ho’ of
Oregon industry and prime movers.
Our Beaverton executive, while
still in my Urban Economics class on
campus, also monitored’ several of
the U.S. Forest Service workshops
that I conducted around the North­
west Region for agency personnel
and supervisory people. These uni­
versity-accredited’ sessions achieved
very favorable recognition for their
dual success in both the social and
economic areas. Indeed, my stated
design and the description in the
school catalogue addressed govern­
mental and industry concern with
compliance with civil rights and af­
firmative action laws - and being
unique in the Oregon system, brought
increased enrollment in the ‘on-cam ­
pus' versions (State-County-city).
The net result was an exponential
increase in the interaction between
diverse social and economic groups
and, automatically, a process was
developing where there was an ex­
panded recognition o f both worth
and capabilities. Also a prospective
workforce was provided first-hand
direction to opportunities and rel­
evant strategies for career develop­
ment and the improvement of current
economic status. There was seldom
need for any heavy-handed direc­
tives, “you will hire or else!”
In the Sunday Oregonian for Janu­
ary 7 (Business Section), there is a
lead article by staff writer, Richard
Read; “Learning To Compete: A tri­
partite approach involving govern­
ment, schools and business prepares
Europe’s workforces." Obviously,
the writer got my very focused atten­
tion with (he following quite relevant
comments.
“While Europe hammers its train­
ing systems into competitive eco­
nomic weapons, the U.S. still lacks a
systematic mechanism for moving
young people into the work force....
In the U.S., half of all high school
graduates have not found a steady
job by age 30, the American Federa­
tion o f Teachers found in a recent
study .’’Previously, I havecommented
on the growing number of high school
dropouts; what miserable prognosis
must there be for them? There doesn ’ t
have to be.
W hile 1 am aware that many
Americans are enamored of the Eu­
ropean emphasis on vocational train­
ing (In Germany a teacher may deter­
mine whether a 9-year-old will pro­
ceed vocationally or toward a uni­
versity education. Possessed o f a fun­
damental conviction that, indeed, “A
mind is a terrible thing to waste,” and
very early on a high school dropout,
I never imposed such restrictinents
on my ow n career development, nor
permitted any outside force or insti­
tution to do so.
As we continue this report next
week, we will examine experience-
based procedures that can develop
this into a general rule for success.
"Read. Work And Do!” Accounting
. Abto Finance Company, successful
transfer from payroll department to elec­
tronic technology servicing in the huge
self-contained city of a major aluminum
plant, Designingawanl-winningcomputer/
communication projects three de­
cades ago. You and/or your kids can
too — if not brain-washed!
Cowboys, Steelers
Set For Super Bowl
Pittsburgh Will Try To End NFC Domination; Dallas
Enters Big Game For Third Time In Four Years
An A FC team that has never
lost a S uper Bowl w ill try to end
the N F C ’s re c e n t d o m in a tio n
when the P ittsburgh S teelers and
D allas C ow boys m eet on Jan.
28th at T em pe, A riz.
The S teelers, w inners o f four
S uper B ow ls in the 1970s, are
back in the N ational F o o tb all
L eag u e’s ultim ate gam e for the
first tim e in 16 years. T h eir op­
ponent is the team o f the 90s, a
C ow boys team that is in the S u­
per Bowl for the third tim e in
four years.
The NFC has won the last I I
Super Bow ls, w ith the Los A n g e­
les R aiders the last A FC team to
win in 1984. Tw o o f the NFC
w ins w ere by the C ow boys, w ho
defeated B uffalo each tim e.
Super B ow ls have a re p u tatio n
for lopsided scores. T w enty-one
o f the previous 29 S uper B ow ls
have been decided by 10 points
or m ore. But tw o o f the best
gam es involved the C ow boys and
S teelers. The S teelers defeated
Benson's Vernon Cropper drives in for the winning basket as Benson defeated Wilson. 71-70, in a
pivotal game last week in the Portland Interscholastic League.
(Photo By Michael G Halle)
GRAND OPENING: NIKETOWN FIELD HOUSE
The o ffic ia l grand o p en in g o f
N IK E ’s first new, to p -o f-th e-lin e
sp o rts and fitn ess re ta il sto re
since 1993 is set for Friday, Ja n ­
uary 19, 1996, during the Blaz-
ers-S uns basketball gam e in P o rt­
land, O regon at the new Rose
G arden arena It will be the hom e­
grow n O regon sports and fitness
c o m p a n y ’s fourth store cu rren tly
open in P ortland.
T he N IK E T O W N F ield H ouse
is a new venture for N IK E , its
first-e v e r re ta il sto re inside a
m ajor U nited States sp o rts a re ­
na. T he sto re is d esig n ed a fte r a
real field house that m ight be
located near a court, rink o r field
b efo re the days o f the great
arenas - w here visito rs m ight find
m em orabilia from past team s and
locker, ball and tow el room s. The
2,000 sq u are-fo o t store w ill sp o t­
light ap p arel in N IK E ’s b a sk e t­
ball, w o m en’s T otal C o n d itio n ­
ing, Organized Team Sports collec­
tions, as well as selections o f some of
N IK E’s top men’s, w om en's and
children's athletic footwear As part
o f the opening events, on Wednes­
day, January 17. from 6-8 p.m . NIKE
will host a special preview reception
at the store for northeast Portland
business and community leaders.
On Friday, grand opening day, the
NIKETOWN Field House will be
open from 11 a m. - 12 midnight. At
5 p.m. Friday, before the Blazers-
Suns game begins, the NIKE Hum­
mer will be outside the store, and the
public is invited to shoot a basket to
try and win tickets to the upcoming
Blazers-Cavaliers game on January
21 After the game, Portland Trail
Blazers Buck Williams, Chris Dudley
and Gary Trent are scheduled to drop
by and tour the store and greet shop­
pers.
the C ow boys, 35-31, in S uper
Bowl 13 and 2 1 - 17 in S uper Bowl
10.
It w ill m ark the first th re e ­
tim e m eeting in S uper Bowl h is­
tory.
The only o th e r re m atch es in
S uper Bowl history w ere M iam i
against W ashington, B uffalo v e r­
sus D allas and C in cin n ati ag ain st
San F rancisco.
The C ow boys w ill m ake th eir
record eighth Super Bowl a p p e a r­
ance. They are 4-3 in th e ir p re v i­
ous app earan ces. N o o th e r team
has m ade m ore than five trips to
the S uper Bow l.
T he C o w b o y s d e fe a te d the
G reen Bay P ackers, 38-27, in the
N ational C o n feren ce title gam e
Sunday after the S te e le rs edged
the In d ian ap o lis C o lts, 20-16, in
the A m erican C o n feren ce c h a m ­
pionship gam e.
T h e C o w b o y s u s e d th r e e
touchdow n runs by E m m itt Sm ith
and tw o scoring passes by T roy
A ikm an to defeat the Packers.
E rnie M ills to the C o lts ' one w ith
1:51 rem ain in g , se ttin g up the
w inning score by Bam M orris.
The key m atchup at Sun D ev­
ils S tadium w ill have Sm ith and
the N F L ’s se c o n d -ran k ed ru sh ­
in g o f f e n s e g o in g a g a in s t a
S teeler team that led the league
in ru sh in g defense.
T he C o w b o y s and S te e le rs
have not m et since the opening
gam e o f the 1994 season. Sm ith
rushed for 171 yards as the C o w ­
boys c o a ste d to a 26-9 win in
th e ir first gam e under new head
coach Barry Sw itzer. The all-tim e
series betw een the team s is tied
13-13.
S w itz e r can jo in p re d e c e sso r
J im m y J o h n s o n as th e o n ly
c o a c h e s to win a S uper Bowl and
a co lleg e national ch am p io n sh ip .
S w itz e r led the U n iv e rsity o f
O klahom a to three national titles.
O ne L as V egas odd sm ak er has
in sta lle d the C ow boys as 12 and
a h a lf p o in t favorites.
Grants Available
Self Enhancement, Inc. has a limited amount of funds available for
projects involving African American youth between the ages of 14-
17, within Multnomah County. Youth eligible for services through
these funds should be medium-risk youth; not involved with the
juvenile justice system or CSD. Projects should be one time events
or activities or a series of distinct activities. Individuals, groups,
social clubs, and other organizations are eligible for funding. Grants
will range from $200-$2,000. Deadline for applications are February
1, 1996; April 1, 1996. For an application or further information,
please contact Self Enhancement, Inc., 1730 N. Flint Avenue
Portland, OR 97227, (503) 249-1721.