^'linrtiaiih (i%8vnipr Black History Month
Page A4
February I. 2006
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Shame on the 1RS
Stop harassing low-wage families
by M ichael
L eachman
Low -incom e w orking families
across Oregon are busy filling out
their incom e tax returns well ahead
o f the April deadline. T h at’s be­
cause through outreach efforts and
word o f mouth they know that they
are eligible for the Earned Income
Credit, or EIC.
A bout one out o f seven taxpay­
ing families in Oregon - those work-
ing in the lowest w age jobs - ben­
efit from the EIC.
U nfortunately, the Internal Rev­
enue Service is focusing a dispro­
portionate share o f its resources on
harassing EIC recipients. T hat’s
bad for low -w age w orking families
and for O reg o n 's econom y.
The EIC is a significant economic
catalyst in Oregon. For the 2002 tax
year, the federal EIC pum ped $338
mi 11 ion i nto Oregon ’ s econom y. The
tax credit also helps stabilize over
2(X),(XX) O regon families working
for low wages. It is well established
that the credit is an incentive for
fam ilies to work more. The credit
offsets regressive payroll and ex­
cise taxes these fam ilies pay.
The EIC enjoys a long history of
b ip a rtisa n su p p o rt. P re sid e n ts
Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr.,
and Bill Clinton all lauded the tax
credit and pushed for its expansion.
But the IRS adm inisters the EIC
as if it holds a grudge against low-
w age workers.
Earlier this month, the IR S' own
internal watchdog issued a report
revealing that each year the IRS is
freezing the refunds o f hundreds of
thousands o f taxpayers w ithout
inform ing the taxpayers w hat is
going on. The refund freezes last
for an average o f nine months.
O stensibly, the IRS freezes the re­
funds as part of the IR S ’s efforts to
find fraud.
Usually these low -wage taxpay­
ers did nothing wrong. The IR S 's
internal w atchdog report estim ated
that tw oout o f three taxpayers with
frozen returns were due their full
refund, and four in five were due at
least a partial refund.
EIC recipients whoreceivea’Tapid
refund” loan from a tax preparer are
hit particularly hard by the IRS’s
misguided enforcement. Rapid re­
funds are essentially high-interest
short-term loans. Ordinarily, these
loans are paid o ff - along with hefty
fees for the tax preparer - when the
IRS sends the refunds. When the
IRS freezes a refund, though, the
taxpayer remains liable for repay­
ment o f the loan.
Instead o f exacerbating the prob­
lem, the IRS should be doing what
it can to protect low -wage working
taxpayers from the high costs of
"rapid refund" schemes. The N a­
tional Consum er Law C enter esti­
mates that one out o f every three
EIC recipients pays high-interest
“rapid refund" fees, at a total cos,
o f $ 9 0 0 million in 2 0 0 4 alone.
The EIC should be sim plified so
that it is easier for taxpayers to
understand and for the IRS d e v a lu ­
ate, and refunds should be more
tim ely issued. In 2004, the Bush ,
A dm inistration subm itted a pro­
posal to Congress to sim plify the j
EIC, but Congress fai led to act. The
IRS is exacerbating the problem
with its overzealous refund freezes.
The IRS offers free electronic j
filing, typically for taxpayers with
incom es under $50,000 annually. ;
U n fo rtu n ately , co m m ercial tax
preparers are allow ed to advertise
"rapid refund" loans on the elec­
tronic filing sites accessed through
the IRS web site. The IRS does not
even warn taxpayers o f the usuri­
ous nature o f “rapid refund" loans
accessed through their site.
The Earned Income should not
be a t(X)l o f harassm ent, or a vehicle
to extract high-interest loans from
our lowest paid w orking taxpayers.
I used to HATE A m e ric a n s b e c a u s e of th e ir fre e d o m s , but all
I feel any m ore is a m ix tu re o f fo n d n e s s and a d m ira tio n ....
Are Meth Addicts Getting Special Treatment?
by J udge
G reg M athis
In the 1980s, crack
cocaine exploded onto
the urban scene, taking
not just individuals, but
entire fam ilies and com ­
m unities hostage. Vio­
lence becam e com m on­
place as gangs and deal­
ers fought over custom ­
ers and turf.
Today, there is a new
‘drug o f ch o ice’- m etham phet­
am ine or meth. Both law enforce­
ment officials and m ainstream
m edia call meth A m erica's most
dangerous drug. All of the atten­
tion has led lawm akers to com e up
Michael Leachman is a policy , with necessary solutions to this
analyst at the Oregon Center for
serious dilemma.
Public Policy.
W h ile th e c ra c k e p id e m ic
Come learn about
the redevelopment of the
Iris Court Cluster of apartments,
soon to be transformed into
Instead o f setting up 'meth
prisons ’ state and federal
government can fight the drug
war by putting their energy
towards creating drug treatment
\
programs that work.
w asn’t lim ited to ju st one city or related o ffen ses are B lack and
one neighborhood, there is no ques­ L atino. W hen w h ite crack u sers
tion that com m unities o f color were are arrested , sta tistics show they
hit especially hard as the d ru g ’s are rarely p ro secu ted . If they are,
popularity grew. In an attem pt to th ey are less likely to be c o n ­
curtail the problem, the government victed. W hen co n v icted , they
enacted stiff drug penalties.
receive shorter sentences in low er
Crack cocaine is the only drug secu rity p riso n s o r are sent to
for w hich a first offense o f posses­ rehab. T he ev id en ce show s th at
sion carries a federally m andated w h ite d ru g u sers are g iv e n a
minimum sentence; five gram s gets ch an ce to turn th eir lives aro u n d
you a m inim um o f five years. Sure, w hile m ost ad d icts o f c o lo r are
some crack addicts were sent to crim inalized.
treatm ent centers but, for the most
M uch like their crack addicted
part, crack use was - and is - treated counterparts, the predom inantly
as a crim e.
white users o f meth now appear to
D espite the fact that the m ajo r­ be getting preferential treatm ent as
ity o f crack users in th is cou n try well.
are w hite, the ‘p u b lic ’ face o f
States like Illinois, Indiana and
crack has alw ay s been black or M ontana are building special ‘meth
brow n. O v er 9 0 -p erce n t o f those units’ within prisons to specifically
sen ten ced to p riso n fo r crack- house and treat meth addicts and
The Housing Authority of Portland invites
all community members to attend an
away from that; perhaps
the failed w ar on crack has taught
them that crim inalizing drug addic­
tion only overcrow ds prisons, cost­
ing taxpayers billions.
L et’s hope that, instead o f in­
creasing ‘meth budgets,’ federal
agencies will use all o f their re­
sources to treat all drug addicts.
Instead o f setting up ‘meth pris­
o n s’ state and federal governm ent
can fight the drug w ar by putting
their energy tow ards creating drug
treatm ent program s that work, do­
ing away with mandatory minimums
and restoring judicial discretion so
addicts can get the help they need.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
Letter to the Editor
H um boldt Gardens
''CL n B I T v
new laws will allow judges
to sentence individuals
convicted o f meth-related
crim es to drug treatm ent
prisons.
W h en p o lic y m a k e rs
first heard o f the perils o f
meth, their original reac­
tion was to enact stiffer
drug penalties. W isely,
I they seem to be moving
Breaking the Law
W iretapping A m ericans without a warrant appears
to violate the C onstitution and the president has
adm itted to doing ju st that.
The adm inistration says the spying program is
narrow, and even said it's lim ited to people with ties
to Al Q aeda. However, the president already has the
authority to track terrorists. Further, the New York
Tim es reports the facts differently, saying the data
was overw helm ing and often led to innocent A m eri­
cans.
The W hite House is claim ing that Dem ocrats are
the only ones objecting to the program , but there is
strong bipartisan concern. Republicans like Lindsey
G raham , Sam Brow nback, John M cCain and Arlen
Specter have offered som e o f the harshest criticism o f
the program.
The W hite House has claim ed the authority to
conduct secret wiretaps because o f a Congressional
resolution passed after 9/I I. The non-partisan C on­
gressional Research Service found that the resolution
d id n ’t authorize the program , and found it “unlikely”
that any court would agree with the W hite H ouse’s
justifications.
I believe that this is clea r evidence that the
P resident’s actions fall outside the scope o f the laws
o f this nation. We should be outraged.
Dennis J. Parker
Southwest Portland
IN F O R M A T IO N A L F O R U M
Wednesday, February 8th, 6:00-7:30 pm
at OAME - 4134 N. Vancouver
For every Portland police officer,
there is a story...
Topics will include:
A
• relocation and supportive services for existing
residents;
Svi
• community design, construction contracting,
and a diverse workforce;
• affordable rental apartments and opportunities
to become first-time homeowners.
I 1
A pre-proposal m eeting fo r p ote ntia l Construction Manager/General
Contractor (CMGC) proposers w ill occur immediately prior to the Forum, from
4:00-5:30 pm. Contact Jerry Walker, HAP’s Purchasing Manager, for more
information on the CMGC process (503)802-8509.
Officer
Dana Lewis
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>
O
"W h a t I e njoy m ost
a b o u t police w ork
is helping people. I
e n jo y being able to
help som eone conquer
goals, and overcom e
challenges. That's w hy
I e n jo y m y career so
m uch ."
Join us and write the next chapter.
Apply by: February 10, 2006, 4:30 p.m.
Contact Officer Larry Anderson: 503-823-0473.
Visit our website for officer stories, or apply on-line:
www.joinportlandpolice.com