Page A 4 D ecem b er 8, 1999 (Fl}» llo rtb n b (Dhaeruer Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of Opinion Portiani« 3Il|e K J o rtla n b (rih a e rlie r R e m e m b e rin g H u m an R ig h ts D ay (Tip? ^.lortlanb (Ifrbseruer E s ta b lis h e d 1 9 7 0 STAFF d it o r P in C h ie f , u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E d it o r Larrv J. Jackson, Sr. C E opy against thousands o f fam ilies in this nation. It’s the policy w hich m any states have adopted o f charging a high rate for collect calls m ade by p riso n e rs to th e ir fam ilies. T he revenue from these exorbitantly high telephone charges goes to the states. For exam ple, N ew Y ork state earned $21 m illion last year on such calls; O hio earned $ 14 m illion, Illinois $ 16 m illion, Florida $ 14 m illion. In other w ords, states earned m ore than $ 100 m illio n o ff o f co llec t te lep h o n e allow her incarcerated cousin to speak regularly w ith his dying m other. A nother m other reported spending $200 per m onth to speak w ith her incarcerated son w ho w as fighting cancer and u n d e r g o in g chem otherapy in prison. O ver the past decade, long distance telephone charges have dropped for m ost A m ericans. Even the rates for collect calls have fallen, and m ost o f u s h a v e o p tio n s a b o u t w h ic h com pany to use for long distance for T he USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 E D ecem ber 10 is celebrated as H uman Rights D ay around the world. 1 believe that setting aside this day around the w orld to uplift the im portance o f H um an Rights grew out o fW o ld W ar 11 and the gross violations o f hum an rights by the N azi regim e. It grew out o f a "n ev er again” com m itm ent ot w orld leaders. H um an rights - the right o f hum an beings to safety, and to basic needs ofhom e, family, health, education and happiness and the right not to be persecuted because o f religion or race or ethnicity is the heart o fo u r civilized world. W ein th e U.S. often take these rights for granted or blindly refuse to see that even here, in the w orld’s oldest democracy, w e do have hum an rights violations. Let m e give a case in point. 1 believe it’s a hum an rights violation being perpetrated by m any o f the states charges m ade by those incarcerated in their prisons, w hose rules they set and w hich include that inm ates are only allow ed to m ake collect calls. In other words, states collected m illions o f dollars from the m o stly p o o r relatives o f those in carcerated - relatives who most not only deal w ith the loss o f their loved one, m any o f w hom are im prisoned long distances from them, but m ust pay exorbitant telephone charges ju st to talk w ith their family members. T h e sta te s arg u e th at th e se are p riso n e rs w h o are in c a rc e ra te d because o f crimes, but family members point out that they are the ones w ho m ust pay the high telephone bills. It is not unusual for such bills to reach $100 or $200 a m onth for fam ilies w hich often have already suffered a loss o f income from the incarceration o f one family member. O ne N ew Y ork w om en told the story o f how her fam ily paid an extra $ 100 m onthly to B i B ernice P owell J ackson P aul R . F araco for T he M anager Gary Ann Taylor D ir e c t o r Shawn Strahan 47 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 P ortland O bserver A spate o f new tax m easures are headed forthe N ovem ber 2000ballot. It’s not too soon to review som e basics, or else during the tax shuffle you m ight get dealt a bad hand. The art o f m odem taxation is best understood by exam ining the w ords ofU .S. Sen. Russell Long, D -La who served from 1948-86, and for 16 years as pow erful chairm an o f the Senate Finance Com m ittee: “T ax reform m eans, 'D o n ’t tax you, d o n ’t tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.’” Sen. Long was a 38-year incum bent accustom ed to cutting deals w ith lobbyists. He expected everyone to leap into the p o litica l in flu en ce feeding frenzy. I f not, then like “ that fellow behind the tree” , unobservant o f the hum an rights o f these prisoners and it is a sham eful, m orally w rong injustice to their families. THE LARGEST. M O ST COMPLETE RETAIL FABRIC STORE IN THE WEST December 7 through December 21,1999 SCISSORS SEWING BASKETS ALL CHRISTMAS MERCHANDISE i.'l M J IL K l not been charged or convicted w ith crim es, but w ho are forced to pay the state regardless. Prison fam ily groups believe that states should not be in the business o f profiting from the fam ilies o f those they im prison. N ew Y ork State uses m ost o f its incom e from the collect telephone ca lls to pay fo r h e a lth ca re for prisoners, w hich the state is required to provide. I f health care is a hum an right, then this exploitative, usurious WOOL OUTERW EAR FLEECE OFF :F™ BOOKS K I S S ' 0/ That Fellow Behind the Tree by C r e a t iv e practice o f charging exorbitant rates fo r co llec t te lep h o n e calls from prisoners to their families is a violation d it o r Joy Ramos B u s in e s s P ortland O bsers er ca lls, in clu d in g co llect. B ut the fam ilies o f prisoners do not enjoy these low er rates. In the w ords o f G erald N orlander, deputy director o f the Public U tility Law Project, “T he prison system seeks to generate the m ost revenue possible from the phone system .” T hus, in N ew Y ork inm ates m ust pay the operator-assisted dialing rate, a rate far higher than a direct-dialed call. Some states add on surcharges. Federal inm ates, on the other hand, are allow ed to dial direct, using debit cards, which proves that the argum ent som etim es offered by states that requiring prisoners to m ake all calls collect is their w ay o f protecting against telephone fraud by inm ates is a false one. Inm ate fam ilies realize that public sym pathy for prisoners is at its low est today, but nevertheless som e families have filed law suits claim ing that the charges are an unfair tax on a sm all, poor group o f individuals w ho have «A L L FL A N N E L ' m ilestone w as reached last year. Targeted tax credits, exem ptions and p r e f e r e n c e s fo r th e p o litic a lly influential now am ount to m ore than the total taxes w e all pay - another legacy o f Sen. L o n g ’s artistry. In this regim e, no single tax is so great that non-com pliance is worth the risk. A tax system in the U.S. that fully disclosed its costs, how ever, w ould h av e to ad m it th a t g o v e rn m e n t consum es m ore than 50% o f average incom es - and that m ight trigger civil disobedience. A fter all, the Boston T e a P a r ty , a r e s p o n s e to th e Tow nshend A cts o f 1767, protested a duty o f ju st “three pence a pound on tea.” A cross A m erica, public coffers are flu s h fro m th e g r o w th o f th e o f w h at’s going on at the legislature, you could get hit w ith a tax increase. Sen. Long also revealed the m ost im portant rule o f m odem taxation - concealment. Thus, w e have di fferent ty p e s o f ta x e s on e a r n in g s , investm ent, saving and purchases; m yriad licensing and perm itting fees; w e even have taxes on taxes. A nd, o f course, we have death taxes and non­ reciprocal interest and penalties on tax errors. Perhaps the m ost insidious form o f taxation is through arbitrary business taxation. Instead o f being collected directly, the cost o f governm ent gets built into prices individuals pay for products and services consum ed in ordinary private transactions. W e surrender a record share o f our m oney to taxation as a result o f a century oftax proliferation. A dubious Please see 'Tree'page 6 (Includes Children’s & Plaids) CORDUROY Solids and Prints AS” and 60" 30 Special!) Foods Great Gift Ideas Dutch Cookies & Candy Indonesian Spices Flavored Oils & Vinegars Made In Oregon Glemore Farms Jams Mam More Hems. 0? 0 OFF BE SURE TO CHECK OUR STORE FOR “MANAGER’S SPECIALS •Discounts do not apph to previously discounted or marked down items. 12/7/99 thro 12/21/99 RETAIL - WHOLESALE 1 84 RFTAII HOI RS; 1 A I s / STARK ■ / STREET ♦ W s N r 3 s? 9 ★ \|< >\-l s \l i Rl)\> ‘imi.iin-’ pin si \ l )\A l 11 Mm-»pm 7 0 0 S.E. 1 2 2 n d Ave. P o rtlan d , OR 252-9530 V is it o u r w e b s ite at w w w fabric-depot co m 1-8OO-392-3376 e-mail pdxobserv@aol.com P ostmaster : S e n d a d d r e s s c h a n g e s to P o r tla n d O b s e r v e r PO B ox 3 1 3 7 P o r tla n d , O R 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR SAFEWAY CAMS«-» FOOD & DRUG a lw a y s Subscriptions are $ 6 0 .0 0 per year d e a d l in e s F O R ALL S U B M IT T E D M A T E R IA L S : Look For Your Safeway Weekly Shopping Guide u n iq u e d e lic io u s R e f rechiti A R T IC L E S : M o n d a y by 5 p . m . In Y o u r O r e g o n ia n F O O D d a y in t h e P o r tla n d M e t r o A re a ADS: . . . a n d s a v e m o r e b y s h o p p in g F r id a y b y n o o n 12-Pack Coke Products Fresh Pork Roast a t S a fe w a y . Bone-In. Blade C u t •88ib. The Portland Observer welcomes tree lance jbm issions M anuscripts and photographs S M I C' SAVE up to $1.10 lb. v iu ld be c learly labeled and w ill be returned 12-oz. cans. Assorted Regular, D iet and Caffeine Free varieties. Plus Deposit in O regon. L im it 2. SAVE up to $1.52 Safeway Club Price Safeway Club Price accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll reated design display ads becom e the sole 1.77 roperty o f the new s paper and cannot be used Tender Asparagus I other publications or personal usage without 1C w ritten consent o f the general manager, nless the client has purchased the composition f such ad C 199 6 T H E P O R T L A N D O B - Visit Safeways Web site at ALL RIGH TS RESERVED, IEPRODUCTION IN W HO LE OR IN ’ART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PRO- I I BI TE I). www.safeway.com IE R V E R The Portland O b a e rv e r-O re g o n « Oldest G row n in M exico. PRICES EFFECTIVE DECEMBER I W Sun j Mon Tua M ulticultural Publication -is a m em ber o f the sartorial N ew spaper A ssociation-Founded in 8 8 5 ,and D ie National Advertising Represcn- artvc Am algamated PuNnhers. Inc, N e w York. MY. and T h e W est Coast B lack Publishers SAVE up to $2.21 lb. Thur ] F" - a j Wed L 8 J 1 e J J P U L L l encom i •m « pnos * ad m •»*** « hot «m N«, Utrio JF lb. I Safeway Club Price K _ Now the savings are in the Card! Nssociation- S e e in g Port land and Vancouver 1 f > « *.* * ♦’• * * * * * * I * * î * * * * * ■* * ■** * * —