il?l ^Jnrtlanh © bseruer
Page A4
lanuary 18. 2006
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Why Don’t We Feel
the Economic Boom?
America’s Unnatural Disaster
Sinking into a
depression
P hillip J ackson
My aunt, who is a “young” 80
years old, told me recently that
“ Black people are in trouble!” She
told me that black people have not
been in this ‘bad of shape' since we
left the cotton fields o f G eorgia and
M ississippi.” She rem inded me that
the “Great D epression” w asn’t that
bad for black people because we
had hope for a better life. “T oday,” she says,
“M any black people have no hope.”
M any black people in A m erica are living in
social and econom ic conditions not m uch bet­
ter than those ju st after slavery ended. They are
more than twice as likely to be unem ployed than
other Americans. In some com m unities, the
unofficial unem ploym ent rate o f young black
men is upwards o f 50 percent. Recent figures
from the Pew M emorial Trust found the net
worth o f black fam ilies has dropped in sharp
contrast with the net worth o f white families.
The incarceration rate in A m erica is unac­
ceptable with about one m illion black men
behind bars. In stark contrast, only about
600,000 black men are in
college. The prison rate
dangerously undermines
the learning pow er and
economic potential o f the
black com m unity. And
few opportunities exist
for black men released
from priso n to le g iti­
m ately support them selves and their families.
T h ' racial academ ic achievement gap is also
growing. In 2002, black American males only
had a 41 percent high school graduation rate.
Today, the average 12“' grade black student has
the reading and math scores o f the average 8th
grade w hite student. Uneducated black stu­
dents becom e the unemployed, hom eless, in­
carcerated and governm ent-dependent adults
o f tomorrow.
These and other factors have created an
“unnatural disaster” for black people in A merica
that equates to the negative social and eco­
nomic force o f 100 Hurricane Katrinas!
B lack people have sunk into a structural
depressio n w here we will not em erge even as
the econom y im proves. A nd w orst o f all, no
by
plan ex ists to address any o f these problem s.
W ithout a long-term vision, com prehensive
planning, effective leadership, talented and cre­
ative managem ent and immediate action, the
black com m unity, as we know it, might not
survive this unnatural disaster.
For the black com m unity to save
itself, it must look to itself w hile w ork­
ing with governm ent, the faith-based
com m unity and corporate A m erica to
create and manage a viable plan. The
black com m unity, w ith help from
people o f all ethnicities, m ust start
immediately doing the work necessary
to fix these problems.
The most im portant work we can do, with the
support o f the governm ent, the faith-based com ­
munity and corporate America, is to rebuild the
black man into a father for his children, a
husband for his wife, a provider and protector
for his family, an em ployee, an em ployer and a
contributor to the econom y and a builder o f his
com m unity.
W ithout viable black men we cannot consis­
tently create good families. W ithout good fam i­
lies, there will be few strong com m unities.
W ithout strong com m unities, there can be no
effective institutions for transm itting positive
culture. W ithout a positive culture, there is no
framework for the proper education o f children
W ithout the proper education
o f a people, there is no eco­
nomic base. All o f these defi­
cits leave many black com ­
m unities exactly where we
are today — in the heart o f
this unnatural disaster!
liv e ry black person and
We must
become the
change we seek.
black fam ily in the U nited
States needs to create and w ork an effective life
plan. Black com m unities must create com m unal
plans to ensure our future and to help our fam ilies
plan for the future. W ithout a com prehensive,
systemic and strategic survival plan, black people
as a whole will never thrive and might not
survive.
As my aunt said, “ W e are in trouble!” A nd
it is only by doing the “ w ork” to ensure our
survival that black people can stop this un­
natural disaster. W e m ust becom e the change
we seek.
Reality
different than
Bush spin
J udge G reg M athis
President Bush and his staff
kicked off the New Year by trav­
eling the country and singing the
econom y’s praises. Vice Presi­
dent Cheney and several other
high-ranking staffers repeated the
same mantra, “the economy is
strong, unem ploym ent is down.
by
stopped looking for w ork a lto ­
g ether or those w ho are u n der­
em ployed and barely earning
enough to feed th eir fam ilies.
A ccording to a recent G allup
Poll, alm ost tw o-thirds o f the
A m e ric a n p e o p le th in k the
econom y is “fa ir” o r “ p o o r”
and nearly 60-p ercen t think it’s
getting w orse. A nd th e y ’re not
far o ff the m ark: the m edian
household incom e has fallen
’for 5 straight years, m eaning
the average fam ily has taken a
pay cut for 5 years in a row .
Fam ily debt has risen o v e r 35-
T he A frican-A m erican co m ­
m unity e sp e c ia lly is d isc o n ­
nected from this so-called eco ­
nom ic boom . T he unem ploy­
m ent rate for A frican A m eri­
cans is ju s t under 11-percent,
more than double that o f w hites.
N early 25-percent o f A frican-
A m ericans are poor, com pared
to 8.6-pereent w hites and 9.8-
percent o f A sians.
Clearly, there’s a huge gap
between what people’s pockets
and bank accounts are telling
them and w hat the President
would like us all to believe. Per-
The American people have had
enough deception and public
relations spin to take them through
three presidents.
Americans are richer and we can
thank tax cuts for it all.”
It’s too bad most Americans
don’t view the econom y through
the same rose-colored glasses.
In fact, many people around the
country are no better off - some
are actually doing worse - than
they were five years ago, when
Bush took office.
T he reality is that the U.S.
has only 1.3-percent m ore jo b s
than it did in M arch 2001, when
the recession began. A nd, w hile
the u n em p lo y m en t rate, c u r­
rently at 5-percent, is low , it’s
still higher than it w as in 2000.
And the num ber d o e sn 't take
into account people that have
percent in the last four years haps the president is doing with
and the personal savings rate is the econom y what he did with
negative fo r the first tim e since the Iraq war: telling people what
W orld W ar II. T hrough it all, he wants them to believe and
fam ilies have had to fight rising hoping they buy it.
health care and housing costs.
The American people have had
W ith less m oney com ing in and enough deception and public re­
m ore m oney going out, fam i­ lations spin to take them through
three presidents. It’s time for the
lies are struggling.
N ot surprisingly, A m erica's Bush adm inistration to start deal­
poor have only gotten poorer. ing in reality. M aybe they’ll then
And more people have fallen into be able to com e up with a plan
the ranks o f poverty. The num ­ that makes A merican lives bet­
ber o f people living below the ter, and not just on paper.
federal poverty level has in­
Judge Greg Mathis is national
creased by more than 5 million in vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
the last 5 years and the child and a national board member of
poverty rate increased since Bush the Southern Christian Leader­
firs took office.
ship Conference.
Phillip Jackson is fo u n d er and executive
director o f The Black Star Project o f C hi­
cago, a program designed to help children
and students realize their educational po­
tential.
Io the
Hurtful Medicaid Reforms
Imagine this: Mom, dad or an produce a passport or a birth certifi­ haul is going to be for families and
elderly loved one, diagnosed with cate. There are no exceptions even our loved ones.
A lzheim er’s, comes to live with in this type of circumstance of men­
This draconian legislation makes
you.
tal impairment.
it even tougher for our most vulner­
Under the recently passed Med­
Should you try and ask where able population to access services
icaid “reforms" by our officials in these documents might be, do you that are rightfully theirs.
Congress, your elderly loved one think your loved one is capable of
Tanesha White,
can not receive Medicaid or any telling you? That is how incredibly
Oregon Action Health Care
public assistance unless they can impossible this new Medicaidover- Committee
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