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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2003)
Page A4 September 24, 2003 O pinion rhe Portland Observer J E D ir o » S USPS 959-680 T Established 1970 A 4 7 4 7 NE M artin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.. F F Portland, OR 97211 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer -I N - C H I g F . P v t L I S H g g Charles H. Washington C m n r t D i g g c r o g Paul Neufeldt E D I T O g Michael Leighton D is t k ib v t io n O r n c i St a N a o g g Kathy Linder St t S 4 C £ g Mark Washington R g g o g r g g Jaymee R. Cuti PosTMAsrt»: Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 __________P e rio d ic a l Postage paid In P o rtla n d , OR i S u b scrip tio n s are $ 6 0 .0 0 per year__________ 5 0 3 2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 • FAX5 0 3 -2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: news&portlandobsener.com subscnptiQn@portlandobserver.com ads@portiandobsetver.com 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 o f the new spaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserver-O iegon’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 WestCoast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. Sense of Compassion can be dealt with by spin doctors and those who would trivialize its meaning. The same might be said of charity, a word all too often today only used to mean aid given to those in need. But once upon a time A lew months ago I found my the word charity meant mercy and self feeling the need to write about compassion. Whi le our nation’s aid honesty and how it is all too often to the needy may not have de seen as an outdated value which clined, it seems that our sense of What has happened to the virtue o f charity? DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO EARN THE GREEN BERET? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ If your answer is yes. then the United States Army has a unique opportunity for you - to become a Special Forces Soldier - a Green Beret. You’ll learn from some of the best Soldiers anywhere, and put your new skills to work in duty stations around the world It takes plenty ot hard work to earn the green beret, but the pride you’ll feel when you wear it for the first time will make it all worthwhile. > > So if you're a high school graduate, between 18 and 30. interested in finding out how you can become part of an elite group of proud professionals, call Rose City recruiting station at 503-284-4005 or stop by Rose City recruiting station at 1317 NE Broadway Street. And check out over 200 ways you can become AN ARMY OF ONE goarmy.com 02001 end 1« ts 11» u s rem» ah nints rewrved compassion hjis withered. Take, for instance, what is hap pening to the poorest o f the poor in the African-American community. A stu d y th is sp rin g by the Children’s Defense Fund found that although black child poverty figures had reached their lowest point in 2001 (before the spikes in unem ploym ent o f the past 18 months), the number o f black chil dren living in “extreme poverty,” that is, in families with incomes below half the poverty line - was near a record high. Indeed, nearly one million African American chil dren were living in “extreme pov erty” even before the upturn in unemployment. In the wealthiest nation in the world, what has hap pened to the virtue o f charity? Similarly, there is anecdotal in formation from cities nationwide that there is an across the board increase o f families in homeless shelters, struggling to survive in them idstofthelossof3 millionjobs over the past few years. Some o f these homeless families are poor, working families. They are dealing with the fact that there is not one rural or urban area o f our nation today where full-time minimum wage workers can afford to pay the full market value for housing. They are a product o f our national deci sion to decrease federal funding for low income housing for the past posed to increase the categories o f generation and private industry’s workers exempt from this law. The failure to build affordable housing Result may be even more poor, work for the working poor. Yet, there is ing Americans. This radical pro nooutcry from Americans, either in posal so far has been diverted by Congress or in the general public. Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-lowa) What has happened to the virtue o f hard work, but one wonders, what has happened to the virtue o f char charity? On another front, the adm inis ity. tration has tried to quietly make Then there have been efforts to changes in overtime law for Ameri radically change Head Start, an can workers. Yet, this proposal by astoundingly successful federally- the Labor Department, which re funded program for the nation’s C Despite warnings that proposed changes will negatively impact poor children and their families, there are still efforts in Congress to “reform ” Head Start \ ceived no publicity and has under gone no public hearings, may im pact as many as 10 million Ameri can workers who would lose their right to overtime pay for working more than the mandated 40 hour work week. This hard-won right for w orkers’ compensation has gov erned wages for 65 years because o f Congressional legislation, yet the administration has tried to end this protection for workers without changing the law. Instead, it pro- poorest children and their parents. Despite warnings that proposed changes will negatively impact poor chiIdren and their fami 1 ies, there are still efforts in Congress to “reform" Head Start. What has happened to the virtue o f charity? Likewise, m illionsof seniorciti- zens struggle to pay for prescrip tion medications. Nearly a third o f all seniors have no prescription drug plan and many find themselves unable to pay for their medicine. by B ernice P owell J ackson Yet Congress is mired in debate on how to make affordable drug plans a reality for our seniors. Similarly, there are 9 million American chil dren with no health care coverage at all. Yet, we, in the nation with the most advanced health care in the world, seem unable to provide this most basic need to our most vulner able. What has happened to the virtue o f charity? As we have shredded the safety net for the poor, for women, chil dren and the elderly over the past decade, as we refuse to acknowl edge that our health care system is in crisis and in danger o f imminent collapse, as we have focused on testing for our students instead o f learning, as we leave more and more workers and poor families to fend for themselves, and require those who receive public assistance to work longer hours with no child care, we seem to have lost our sense o f compassion. A nation without charity is a nation which is losing in the struggle for its soul. Bernice Powell Jackson is the executive minister fo r justice and witness ministries for the United Church o f Christ. AN ARMY OF ONE Oregon Kicker is Bad Public Policy Even a raging economy won’t save public services by J ohn L ewis In the final days o f its longest-ever legisla tive session, the Oregon Legislature chose not to let the state slip further into the third world. They bravely raised taxes. But this short-term solution neglected to address two long-term problems: revenues will remain inadequate and the state has no revenue structure in place to deal with economic downturns. Instead we have the “kicker,” which can exacerbate revenue shortfalls. The Oregon Center for Publ ic Policy looked at our state econom ist’s projections and the future is not bright. Even after six years o f projected steady growth from 2004 to 2009, the state still w on’t have as much revenue for public services as it did in 1999-01 (taking into account population and inflation). Who can say for certain we will have steady growth? It might skyrocket. It might plummet. Projecting the economy is like riding a roller coaster in the dark. Economies are fickle. They go up and down and they take government revenues with them. The state’s budget outlook can go from good to bad in a matter o f months and Oregon w on’t be prepared. Oregon needs to be prepared. We need our policy makers and the voters who elect them, to recognize that budget and revenue deci At home with Family. better te the (2L Turning work into play. Connecting on a different level just by changing scenery. Hanging out ‘til dark. Outdoor bliss. Home! Over three generations of homeowners have trusted American Family Insurance for the sound advice and committed service that helps them live life to the fullest. Give us a call or visit www.amfam.com today. Discover the peace of mind of knowing Family's always at home protecting what matters most to you. American Family Insurance. Check your local telephone directory for the agent nearest you. ££ A M ER IC A N FAMILY Family Mutual inaurane» Company and -fa SutMidMnaa Hom» OMM MMtan »2» wwwamfam com A 0 00041« CtfWO t IN S U R A N C E A ll your protection under one roof • « sions are long-term decisions. Under-funding any public service now will make it that much harder to fund adequately in the future. We need to raise enough revenue, over time, to fund schools, roads, and other public services at an adequate and sustainable level. Some coura geous legislators have developed a solution for the short term; w e need them to hold on to that courage and recognize that O regon’s public needs will require more revenue in the long term. We need to acknowledge that the kicker is bad public policy. Any time actual revenues exceed a projection publ ished two years earl ier, by just two percent, all o f the extra dollars get kicked back to taxpayers. Imagine our economy, in the mud right now, sprouts wings and flies in 2004. The Dept. o f Revenue collects 15 percent more than state economists projected this sum mer. Fifteen is greater than two. All o f it goes back to taxpayers and there is no additional money for schools, or roads, or to save for the next rainy day. Oregon needs to redirect the kicker to a rainy day fund. Our Legislature will still be limited in its ability to spend, but it will have a financial cushion to help keep government running during an eco nomic downturn. They won’t need to enact sud den tax increases or draconian budget cuts. John Lewis is administrator o f the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Please send you red to rial m aterial to news'« portlandobserYcr.com Personal Attack Hides Real Story I have heard the political advice that if the facts are against you, argue personality. That is what the Portland Tribune has done with its sensationalized attack on Rev. W.G. Hardy Jr. Whatever Rev. H ardy's sins, they did not play a role in the death o f Kendra James nor did they play a role in Officer M cCollister’s ill- advised obstenance that pushed the incident from frustrating to fatal; they did not play a role in allowing the wounded James to lie dying on the ground without medical treatment; they did not play a role in the officers involved getting together at a restaurant to get their stories straight; nor did Rev. H ardy's sins play a role in the three-day delay before M cCollister was questioned. Whatever Rev. H ardy’s sins, they do not play a role in the com munity-wide knowledge that a police officer can escape responsibility for killing someone by simply claiming fear without regard to the reasonableness o f that fear; they do not play a role in the fact that you are more likely to be shot by police in Portland than in New York City; nor do his sins play a role in the devastating critique o f the Portland Pol ice D epartm ent's training and protocols. W hatever his sins, or the sins o f any one o f us who believe the police need reminding that they are public servants and not public bullies, and even the sins o f those who would never criticize a police officer for anything, all those sins are immaterial to the Kendra James shoot ing. However, the facts are not on the Police Bureau’s side - despite the disgraceful non indictment o f Officer M cCollister based on the specious, but official, argument that fear alone - reasonable or not - exonerates all police offic ers. No wonder, then, that their allies in the media (Tribune) rush to change the subject from facts to personalities. I wonder what role the police played in bringing this to light. Should we now expect police blotter detailson all police critics? RuthAlice Anderson «
