M a y 10, 2000
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No more limits on
food stamps
by M ichael
eor T he
USPS 959680
E s ta b lis h e d 1 9 7 0
STAFF
E d it o r
C h ie f ,
in
P u b l is h e r
Charles H. Washington
E d i T o k
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
opy
E
d it o r
Joy Ramos
C
r e a t iv e
D
ir e c t o r
Shawn Strahan
4 7 4 7 NE M a r tin L u th er King,
Jr. B lvd.
P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1
5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
Statement of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. on
Juvenile Justice System Racial Disparities Report
“The crim inal justice system is like a long dark corridor.
At its end is not a ray o f light, but a lengthy incarceration
and ruined lives,” says Jackson.
R everend Jesse Jackson, fo u n d e r and p resid en t o f the
R a in b o w /P U S H C oalition, re lea sed th e fo llo w in g
statem ent regarding a currently releasedjuvenilejustice
study titled "A nd Justice f o r Some. "
L eachman
P ok ilanu O bserve «
On D ecem ber 1, 1996, the food stam p program in Oregon changed
dram atically. Federal law im posed new lim its on the am ount o f food
stam ps m any low -incom e O regonians could receive. As o t that date,
adults betw een the ages o f 18 and 50 who had no dependents living
w ith them, could get food stam ps for only three m onths out ot the three-
year period if they w ere under or unem ployed.
Thousands o f under- and unem ployed Oregonians im m ediately started
to lose food stamps. In the eight m onths after the harsh three-m onth
tim e lim its started, the food stam p rolls am ong those facing the limits
declined by 40 percent, from 30,996 to 18,716. By Novem ber 1999, at the
end o f the first three years under the new system , the num ber o f able-
bodied adults w ithout dependents receiving food stam ps in Oregon
stood at 50 percent o f pre-w elfare reform levels.
W hat happened to all o f those people? The O regon Food Bank knows.
From 1996to 1999, as foodstam pcaseloadsplum m eted, th e n u m b ero f
O regonians receiving em ergency food boxes grew about 18 percent.
T he U.S. D epartm ent o f A griculture also has an idea. U SD A ’s national
study o f hunger in 1996 through 1998 concluded that O regon had the
highest hunger rate in the country. Nearly six percent o f all Oregon
households, according to the USDA, w ere going hungry because they
did not have the m oney to put enough food on the table.
In the m eantim e, the state D epartment o f Human Services (D H S) might
have effectively rem oved the lim its for m any O regonians by piecing
together w aivers and exem ptions the federal governm ent provides. In
fact, by the beginning o f this year, O regon had accum ulated to a huge
stockpile o f exem ptions (over 50,000 case-m onths), since DHS used so
few o f them over previous years. In addition, 30 o fO reg o n ’s 36 counties
qualified for w aivers from the three-m onth tim e limit. O regon had
hoarded enough exem ptions, w hen coupled w ith w aivers in those 30
counties, effectively to end the three-m onth lim it in the state.
Faced with rising pressure from anti-hunger groups and organizations,
DHS finally changed course. As o f May 1, O regon w ill no longer cut
under- and unem ployed people o ff o f food stam ps after three months;
how ever, food stam p recipients will still face w ork requirem ents.
The next step will be letting people know about the change in policy.
O regonians have heard for over three years now that the hunger safety
net is no longer as strong as it once was. M any have turned to
em ergency food in inadequate supply. O thers have skipped meals or
reduced the nutritional value o f their diet by cutting costs.
This is the sort o f thing that should not happen in Oregon, especially
in such healthy econom ic tim es. It is up to all o f us to help spread the
word - the old food stam p tim e lim it has changed. M ore people can get
help. This is som ething our friends and neighbors need to know. This
is som ething our churches, tem ples, and social service agencies need
to be telling those w ho com e for assistance. Several com m unity
organizations and anti-hunger groups are w orking to assure that DHS
pursues an effective outreach plan, but they need your help. As
citizens in the n a tio n ’s m ost hungry state, w e have a special
responsibility to spread the w ord and to m axim ize the federal food
stam p dollars sent to O regon.
ofracism .
“Yet rather than work tow ards a solution to these injustices,
politicians continue to further perpetuate these inequities
on a state by state, and even nationally, by passing m ore
extrem e m easures under the guise o f getting ‘tough on
crime. ’ As a result, more and m ore o fo u r children are being
tried as adults, subjected to brutal treatm ent in adult
facilities, and even eligible for the death penalty in many
states.
“The crim inal justice system is like a long dark corridor. At
its end is not a ray o f light, but lengthy incarceration and
ruined lives. There are many exits from the system; pre-trial
diversion, first offender treatm ent, probation, intensive
su p e rv is io n , h a lf-w a y h o u se an d a lte r n a tiv e s to
incarceration. But the study seem s to bear out our anecdotal
experience that the keys to these less punishing exits are
pow er, money, or even the color o f o n e’s skin. This is not
“The results o f a com prehensive study on the juvenile
ju stice system in Am erica, sponsored by the Justice
D epartment and the Youth Law Center, are both alarm ing
and telling,” says Jackson. “The report found that minority
youth are cum ulatively disadvantaged at every step o f
the ju v en ile ju stice system; from arrest, to charging
standards, to detainm ent in jail, to ultim ate sentencing.
Black youths are six tim es m ore likely to be sentenced to
juvenile prison than their w hite counterparts.
“A n even m ore staggering disparity is dem onstrated
w hen com paring drug-related offenses and outcomes.
A ccording to the study, black teenagers are 48 times m ore
likely than w hites to be sentenced to juvenile prisons
fair.
“It is tim e to stop m anipulating the public into believing
these arcane and bloodthirsty practices are necessary.
Violent crim e is down nationw ide. A com prehensive
overhaul o f our juvenile ju stice system is long overdue. It
w hen arrested for a drug charge.
“This report is another exam ple o f ‘zero tolerance’ for our
m inority youth. These practices, w hether it be racial
profiling or the even m ore onerous rash o f police
shootings, are long standing and go to the very essence
is tim e for serious reflection and critical self-exam ination.
Let us follow in the best traditions o f Dr. King, N elson
M andela, M ahatm a G andi and Cesar C havez and focus our
energies on lifting up our youth rather than locking them
u p.”
“Trust juries not politicians coalition” unveils
television commercial urging “no” vote on
constitutional amendment 81
d o n ’t like w hat they ca n ’t control,
and they ca n ’t control juries.
O nce you give up a basic right, it’s
very hard to get it back. Citizen juries
a re a p o w e rfu l to o l to h o ld
ir r e s p o n s ib le
b u s in e s s e s
accountable. Pleasejoin m e in voting
“N o” on C onstitutional A m endm ent
81.
-A nne H ughes, Portland restaurant
ow ner and ju ry foreman
C onstitutional A m endm ent 81 will
tak e aw ay th e m o st b asic rig h t
O regonian possess - the right to
com plete and im partial ju stice on a
case-by-case basis from a ju ry o f our
peers. M easure 81 will appear on the
M ay 16, 2000 Prim ary ballot and is
backed by the insurance industry,
H M O s and m ega-corporations like
the tobacco industry.
W e trust our ju ries to find truth to
decide w ho’s at fau lt... W hat to repay
O regonians w ho have served on civil
juries - your friends and neighbors -
spoke out about preserving our most
b a sic rig h ts to a tria l by ju ry .
Constitutional A mendm ent 81 would
c ru s h th o s e r ig h ts . T h e g ro u p
unveiled a cam paign commercial that
echoes that them e.
As a ju ro r, I w as in aw e o f my
responsibility to hear all the evidence
in a m onth-long trial and m ake a very
difficult decision. W e held a hospital
accountable for its m istakes and sent
a m e ssag e to all larg e m ed ical
b u sin esses to not forget us, the
custom ers, the patients.
Juries are the target o f the cam paign
to pass C onstitutional A m endm ent
81. T hem easure,referred to the ballot
by the L egislature, would take the
pow er that now sits in the hands o f
citizen juries and places it in the hands
o f politicians and legislators. The
F ax 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 1 5
accountable...
U nder M easure 81, w e lose that.
A ccording to the Suprem e
Court
ruling on the Certified Ballot T itle to
M easure 81 (Love v. Myers): “U nder
the O regon C onstitution, the right to
ju ry trial restricts the legislature’s
authority to limit recovery o f som e
kinds o f damages in some civil actions.
T h is m e a s u re o v e r r id e s th a t
r e s tr ic tio n by a d d in g a n ew
constitutional provision expressly
allow ing the legislature to im pose
lim its on d am ag es th a t m ay be
recovered in any civil action.”
It’s a constitutional am endm ent that
takes pow er from juries and gives it to
politicians. U nder m easure 81, we
give up every true o f case by case
justice.
Passage o f M easure 81 w ould allow
the Legislature to put a set limit on the
am ount a jury m ay assess in a civil
» m a il
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