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November 14, 2001
(E lje | J o r t l a n b © h s e m e r
Opinion
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We Need to Strengthen and Unify America
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E d it o r
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by C ongressman
E lijah E. C ummings
Since the horrifying events of
Sept. 11, President Bush has re
minded us that all Americans are
engaged in a common struggle
against the forces o f terror. We
know that our continued freedom
and security depend upon shared
sacrifice.
We are now engaged in a na
tional debate about the economy
that will determine how the need
for sacrifice will affect our daily
lives.
Even before Sept. 11, unem
ployment was far too high. Many
.Americans who were working had
to hold down two jobs just to
make ends meet.
For millions o f these working
Americans, the economic conse
quences o f the attacks have been
devastating. Consider, for ex
ample, the impact on a hotel worker
whom I will call “Joe.”
Joe’s income depends largely
on tips. In late September, he con
fided to me that his weekly tips
had drastically declined from more
than $200 to less than $50.
“How am I going to support my
family?” Joe asked me. ’’Howwill
I buy food and clothing for our
children?”
Now, it is November, and Joe is
wondering whether he even'will
have a job next month.
He is far from being alone in
that fear. Last week, the Depart
ment o f Labor announced that the
nation’s official unemployment
rate has climbed to 5.4 percent -
the highest jobless level in nearly
five years.
N ationally, unem ploym ent
among white Americans rose to
4.8 percent, but Americans o f
color have been hit even harder.
Among African Americans, the
jobless rate increased by a full
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(Tlu'^hirtkutii (Oheeruer
The political dividing lines in
the W ashington debate about
how best to respond remain both
deep and wide.
Republicans are demanding
legislation oriented toward ex
panded and accelerated tax cuts.
Although the principal beneficia
ries would be wealthy corpora
tions and individuals, the Repub
licans contend that the economic
benefits o f those tax cuts would
trickle down to working fam dies.
In response, we Democrats cite
evidence that any meaningful eco
nomic stimulus to be derived from
Elijah E. Cummings
A policy that would make a small
number o f affluent Americans more
wealthy while many more risk losing
their homes would not be the kind o f
‘'shared sacrifice ” that strengthens
and unifies this nation.
-U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.
percentage point last month to 9.7
percent. More than 7 percent o f all
Hispanic Americans were also out
o f work.
For them - and for all the people
like Joe who may soon be joining
them in the unemployment lines -
the intense “economic stimulus”
debate now underway in W ash
ington is more than an abstrac
tion.
Numbering in the millions, they
desperately want to work, but they
have yet to find a job that pays a
living wage. Unless the President
and Congress take swift and ef
fective action, they may well lose
their homes, their health insur
ance and the sense o f dignity that
comes from being employed.
the Republican tax cut proposals
would be both too little and too
late - especially for Americans like
Joe who face the loss o f their jobs.
A policy that would make a
small number o f affluent Ameri
cans more wealthy while many
more risk losing their homes would
not be the kind o f “shared sacri
fice” that strengthens and unifies
this nation.
The Democratic stimulus plan
would immediately commitat least
$70 billion to aiding unemployed
workers in very practical ways
(such as assisting with the cost o f
their health care until they find
work). W ealsofavordirectstimu-
lation o f the economy through
increased federal spending on
measures that would help small
businesses affected by the at
ta c k s, c re a te new jo b s and
strengthen national security.
Democrats and Republicans
alike, however, understand that
we must promptly respond to the
economic downturn. Therefore,
it is likely that the current “stimu
lus” debate will be resolved by a
compromise.
In the longer term, our leader
ship challenge is to reach a bipar
tisan consensus on a national
economic policy that is both prac
tical and fair.
For example, programs like food
stam ps, public housing assis
tance, unemployment insurance
and Medicaid are typically viewed
as expressions o f our national
compassion. As William Spriggs
o f the Urban League has ob
served, however, these “social
safety net” commitments also help
to maintain consumer demand
during recessions, thereby bring
ing the nation as a whole back to
economic health.
It also would be pragmatic, as
well as fair, to increase Fell Grants
and other financial aid for higher
education. We must train more
Americans to perform the techni
cal and professional jobs that
benefit us all and are more likely to
be retained during difficult eco
nomic times.
Working men and women like
Joe. who are losing their jobs
through no fault o f their own,
deserve to share in A m erica’s
success - as well as in our national
duty to sacrifice.
The H onorable Elijah E
Cummings represents M ary
la n d ’s Seventh Congressional
District in the U. S. House o f Rep
resentatives. He currently serves
as First Vice Chair o f the Con
gressional Black Caucus.
Noble Prize Nominee Advocates Abolishing the Death Penalty
Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sis
ter Helen Prejean is coming to
Oregon Friday, Nov. 16 and Satur
day, Nov. 17 to rally support for
the Life For A Life 2002 Initiative,
which would replace O regon’s
death penalty with life in prison
without parole plus restitution.
The initiative, w hich would
appear on the N ovem ber 2002
ballot, is sponsored by form er
U.S. Sen. M ark O. H atfield,
former Oregon Secretary o f State
Norma Paulus and Dr. William E.
Connor.
Prejean, an internationally
known anti-death penalty advo
cate who wrote the award-win
ning book “Dead Man W alking,”
will give public presentations in
Portland, Salem and Eugene as
part o f her effort to highlight the
need for a more humane and effec
tive alternative to the death pen
alty.
On Friday, Prejean will give a
public presentation at Portland
State University at 11:30a.m.,and
again at the First Unitarian Church
at 8 p.m. On Saturday. Prejean will
speak at Willamette University in
Salem at 11 a.m., then travel to
Eugene for a 7:30 p.m. speech at
the McDonald Theatre.
In addition. Prejean will deliver
the keynote address to a confer
ence o f religious and community
lay leaders in Portland. And she
w ill p re se n t the P re sid e n t’s
Award, on behalf o f the Oregon
Criminal Defense Lawyers Asso
ciation, to seven area lawyers and
law firms who work for free on
death penalty cases.
SAFEWAY
FOOD & DRUG
saadlas*
»«•A1»’ ’
^ o s h g Early
Ttionk^ivinq Day
November 22nd
' "V ■ ■ 1
at 4pm
i
A
Young Broad
Breasted Turkey
Seedless Satsuma
Mandarins
17 to 23-lb. size.
Grade A. Frozen.
Limit 1 with $25.00 purchase.
5-lb. Box.
Grown in California.
Limit 2.
SAVE up to 76< lb.
Safeway Club Price
SAVE up to $5.96 on 2
Folgers Coffee
Safeway
Vegetables
Visit Safeways
Available at
Web site at
www.safeway.com
Safeway:
34.5 to 39-oz. Selected varieties.
O r 26-oz. Decaffeinated
(Exdudes Whole Bean).
14.5 to 15.25-oz. Canned. Selected
Com, Green Beans, or Sweet Peas.
Limit 1.
SAVE up to $1.67 on 3
SAVE up to $3.01
PRICES EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2001
Safeway Club Price
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