pagcÄ4
<£lje ‘j lnrtlanò (Observer
O pinion
The Portland O bserver
__________ USPS 959-680__________
Established 1970
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd.,
Portland. OR 97211
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or
represent the views o f The Portland Observer
E o i r o » -i m -C h 11 r , P i a l / s « c »
S
Charles H. Washington
T
A
Michael Leighton
E
d it o
C » s i TI v s D i t t e r o »
Paul Neufeldt
A s s o c u r t E d it o »
WyndeDyer
»
F
D 11 r 11 h i r m > M a n í e s »
M ark Washington
F
Or n e i
M
i n i c i
»
Kathy Linder
Posnuisrta: Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OB 9 7 2 0 8
P e rio d ic a l Postage paid In P o rtla n d , OR i S ub scrip tio n s are $ 6 0 .0 0 per year
503-2880033 • FAX503-2880015 • EMAIL;
We’re
Losing Our
Social
Safety Net
Oregon must restore
vital medical, human
services
Senate D em ocratic m em bers o f the Joint
W ays and M eans S ubcom m ittee on H u
m an Services, including Sen. M argaret
C arter, Sen. Avel G ordly and Sen. Frank
S hields are w arning o f a
potential $6(X>-8(X)million
shortfall in funds needed
to restore a m inim um so
cial safety net.
T he senators d isco v
ered that in the next tw o
y e a rs , c u rre n t b u d g e t
proposals w ould spend
over$500m illion less than
w as spent last biennium
on program s m ost vital to
the m ost vulnerable O regonians.
“T he education com m unity has alw ays
been able to put out a num ber and rally
public opinion around its needs. But the
poorest o f the poor, the hungry, the dis
abled, the m entally ill. and those in search
o f jo b s cannot m obilize them selves in the
sam e w ay,” S hields said.
U nder current budget plans, the state
would remove approximately 50,(XX) people
from mental health services, I OO.(XX) people
lu n d i. 2003
^BSnlantlObSer^r.CQth SVbSÇripVon^Qÿrtlandçbiÿn/çr.ÇQm
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs
should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope.
All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used
in other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager,
unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad © 1996 THE PORTLAND
OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,REPRODUCTION IN WHOLEOR IN PART
WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.
The Portland Observer—Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member o f the
National Newspaper Association—Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre
sentative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
Unequal Taxation by Administration
by
Sen. Avel Gordly at a rally last week
demanding the restoration of
Oregon s social safety net.
from the O regon H ealth Plan and poten
tially as m any a s 30,000 seniors from an
array o f residential and m edical services.
"It is critical that w e put faces to these
num bers, and recognize the drastic dam
age that will be done if the level o f hum an
services is not at least restored to w here
w e w ere tw o years a g o ,” Shields said.
Specific exam ples o f the extrem e inad
equacy o f current budget proposals in
clude a $ 13 m illion cut to
the state’s JO BS program,
even as the num ber o f
people the program serves
expands by 2,8(X) people.
T he G o v e rn o r’s pro
po sed funding for the
T e m p o rary A ssistan c e
for N eedy Fam ilies pro
gram is $21 m illion less
that current levels on top
o f repeated budget cuts
from special sessions and the failure o fth e
statew ide B allot M easure 28.
F unding for com m unity m ental health
services is slated to decline by over $24
m illion from w here it w as tw o years ago.
T hat represents the elim ination, o f ser
vices forover30,(XX)adultsand over 18,(XX)
children. A budget cut o f nearly $8 m illion
from current service levels will result in
1,784 O regon ians in adult foster care facili
ties losing their hom es and care.
J Fundingfor
community mental
health services is
slated to decline
by over $24
million.
M aude H urd
President Bush and the R epublican
C ongress ju st passed a n o th er round o f
m assiv r tax cuts aim ed at the extrem ely
w ealthy. N ow the adm inistration is q u i
etly proposing to use a back d oor to raise
taxes on m any w orking p oor fam ilies.
T he IRS w ants to put in place new
requirem ents for m any fam ilies w ho earn
the E arned Incom e T ax C redit, req u ire
m ents that m any honest taxpayers wi 11 be
unable to m eet. Such requirem ents could
nev er be im posed on m iddle class or
w ealthy tax payers w ithout causing the
biggest political u proar since the B oston
T ea Party.
Aside from the m inim um w age (which
C ongress allow s to lose value every year)
and the 4 0 hour w eek (w hich is also under
attack from the W hite H ouse), the EITC
is p robably our c o u n try 's m ost effective
program to lift w orking fam ilies out o f
poverty. It w as enacted in 1975 to offset
Social Security taxes paid by low -incom e
w orkers and provide an incentive to w ork.
It has done ju st that. Few program s have
m ore successfully m et their goals.
T he tax credit puts about $2,000, on
average, into the hands o f w orking poor
fam ilies with children. This constitutes a
significant boost in incom e for a fam ily
earning, say,$ 15,000or$20,(XX). In 1999the
tax credit Iifted4.7million people, including
2.6 m illion children, out o f poverty.
T he hurdles the IRS w ants to put up
include low -incom e w orking g ran d p ar
ents, a u n ts, and uncles raisin g their
g ra n d ch ild re n , n iec es and nephew s.
T hese fam ilies are about to be deem ed a
m ore serious threat to the tax system
than Enron.
T he IRS has indicated it will ask filers
Maude Hurd speaks out against taxation inequality.
to prove they are related to the children
they are raising by subm itting m arriage
certificates that in m any cases are for
m arriages that occurred m any years ago,
took place in o th er countries o r are be
tw een tw o people o ther than the taxpayer.
For m any fam il ies, there wi 11 be no w ay
to do this: m any states w ill only provide
m arriage certificates to the m arried couple
itself, do not provide certificates for m ar
riages that o ccurred before a certain year,
require that som eone seeking a copy o f a
m arriage certificate provide inform ation
that the tax filer m ay not possess o r take
longer to provide a certificate than 1RS’
deadlinesallow .
Sim ilarly, people subject to these pro
cedures will have to prove that the ch il
dren they are raising live w ith them . M an
ageable w ays that other program s like
food stam ps use to verify such inform a
tion w o n ’t be allow ed here. T he likely
result will be that m any honest hardworking
fam ilies w ith children will lose the Earned
Incom e tax C redits.
Im agine ifm illionsofhom eow ners were
required to produce this sort o f d ocum en
tation before obtaining their m ortgage
interest deduction. A proposal like that
w ould end political careers. So should this
one. It’s tim e to raise o u r voices and m ake
sure these burdensom e new rules for fam i
lies w orking and raising chi Idren on m od
est w ages are not allow ed to go beyond
the planning stages.
Maude Hurd is the National President
o f ACORN, the Association o f Community
Organizations fo r Reform Now, the
nation's largest community organization
o f low- and moderate-income families.
Sharing a past.
Celebrating a holiday.
Juneteenth is a historical passage of freedom that changed the lives of African Americans and helped unite a nation.
Even before the landmark date of June 19,1865, African Americans were valued customers and employees of Wells Fargo.
For over 150 years, we've forged a connection with the community. We were in existence when Juneteenth was first
celebrated and today, we remain committed to helping you and your family reach the next stage of success.
Wells Fargo honors Juneteenth, the landmark holiday of freedom.
© 2003 Wells Fargo Banks. All rights reserved. Members FDIC.
wellsfargo.com