February 6, 2008
Page A6
O pinion
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer
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-A r S s u ir l «íiu'oXS pie
to give an unem ployed American
the kind o f boost that an extra six
months to find a new job is. Simi larly,
anextra $300 per child is not likely to
improve a household's bottom
by M arc H. M orial
line as much as a summ er job.
In 2007, 1.3 m illion
To effect long-term positive
U.S. households faced
change, our leaders need to
som e stage o f foreclo­
invest in long-term strategies
sure, up 79 percent from
that teach its citizens how to
the previous year. This
fish - not to throw them a min­
s ta r tlin g
s ta tis tic
now, usually in anelection year.
coupled with declines
The Urban League movem ent,
in housing starts and sales explains
to som e extent w hy our nation's however, would prefer a more com ­
leaders w ant to stem the tide of prehensive effort that incorporates
an extension o f unem ployment ben­
econom ic decline.
It should com e as no surprise that efits, increased food stamps and
in light o f topsy-turvy markets and greater investm ent in sum m er jobs
skittish investors that the powers for at-risk youth.
With long-term unemployment up
that be would spring to action in the
by
20().(XX) in 2007, an extension of
m idst o f a com petitive election year.
unemployment
insurance coupled
R em em ber the 1992 presidential
with
increased
fixxl
stamps should
election when econom ics em erged
as a m ajor issue, thanks in part to be the first things put on the table.
Independent candidate 11. Ross Even in prosperous times, blacks
P erot’s crusade for a balanced fed­ experience twice the rate of unem­
eral budget? The billionaire’s cam ­ ployment o f whites. Just imagine
paign helped give Bill Clinton an how bad it is when the economy
electoral edge over Bush's father, tanks. Increased food stamps not
then-incum bent President G eorge only help the unemployed, they help
Where are the
jobs, solutions?
? It's wonderful that our nation's leaders
want to show their love to their
constituents in an election year. But will
they still love us after Election Day?
H erbert W alker Bush.
Together, House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi with Bush and M inority
Leader John Boehner arrived at a
$ 150- billion com prom ise that pro­
vides tax rebates o f $300 and up to
m oderate- and low -incom e house­
holds, am ong other things.
M uch to the N ational Urban
L eague’s approval, they also in­
cluded a provision raising limits on
Federal H ousing A dm inistration-
backed hom e loans designed to
help ease the credit crunch and to
give hom eow ners a greater oppor­
tunity to refinance debilitating ad­
justable-rate mortgages.
T here ’ s no doubt that every 1 ittle
bit helps, especially in lean times,
w hen a few hundred dollars can
ease the strain o f living paycheck
to paycheck like so many African
A m ericans do. But, in crafting their
stimulus package, our nation’s lead­
ers ignored tried-and-true strate­
gies used in past recessions with
much bigger bang for the buck than
what the House passed in January.
A few hundred dollars isn’t likely
the underemployed as well as part-
timers.
For black teens, more than one
third of them unemployed in Decem­
ber 2007, more than twice the rate of
white teens, summ er jobs help con­
nect them to the working world, giv­
ing them desperately-needed skills
and putting them on the road to
economic self-sufficiency.
It’s wonderful that our nation's
leaders want to show their love to
their constituents in an election
year. But will they still love us after
Election D ay? T hat is the real ques­
tion here. Is it w orth digging our
nation further into debt for a short­
term feel-good gain? Is it worth
putting our future in jeopardy by
investing in initiatives that fail to
achieve the best result?
O ur leaders should also use their
stim ulus package as a springboard
for future efforts to level the eco­
nom ic playing field for all A m eri­
cans o f all tax brackets.
MarcH. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League
Let’s Prevent the Spread of HIV
We can’t count
on the
government
J udge G reg M athis
It's been two decades
since the acronym s HIV
and AIDS becam e part of
the public consciousness.
Since then, AIDS has swept the
globe, killing m illions with no
thought to sexual preference, race
or age.
The death and despair left in
the disease’s wake has devas­
tated families, countries and en ­
tire continents. Currently, there
are 33 m illion people worldwide
living with the HIV virus, and the
AID S crisis is considered one of
the biggest tragedies in modern
history.
Billions o f dollars have been
raised at hom e and abroad to both
treat the disease and prevent in­
fection. But not enough has been
done in the United States to slow
the spread o f the disease in the
A frican-American com munity.
A ccording to the C enters for
D isease C ontrol, A frican A m eri­
by
cans account for only 12 percent of
the U.S. population, but make up 72
percent o f newly re­
ported HIV infections
and over 50 percent of
AIDS diagnoses.
W hy is the infec­
tion rate so high among
our people'.’ There are
a several reasons.
W hen AID S first
hit, it was seen as a gay white man s
disease; African A m ericans failed
to m ake HIV aw areness and pre­
vention a priority in our com m uni­
ties. Secondly, few financial re­
sources are dedicated to specifi­
cally fighting H IV /A ID S in the A f­
rican-Am erican com munity.
It is tim e for that to change.
A w areness is the first step.
T hursday. Feb. 7 is National
Black H IV/AIDS A w areness Day.
O rganizations across the country
are taking part, encouraging test­
ing and educating blacks about
prevention.
T he L et’s Talk, L et’s Test Foun­
dation, a C hicago-based group,
w ants 10,000 mi nisters from across
the country to com m it todeli vering
an HIV prevention and aw areness
serm on on M arch 30. U nderstand­
ing the pow er o f the black church,
the organization believes black
p asto rs need to lead the fight
against H IV /A ID S in the black
com munity.
T h ey are rig h t. W e c a n n o t
co u n t on the g o v ern m en t to ad ­
vocate for us. W hile som e funds
have been d irected to w ard the
co u n try 's black A ID S crisis, they
are sm all in co m p ariso n to the
b illio n s that have been spent in
Africa.
n atio n al secu rity .
Until som e clever advisor can
convince the pow ers that be that
the A frican-A m erican AIDS crisis
is a threat to the country's econom y
and social stability, black A m eri­
cans are going to, as Bush once
said, have to work harder to ad­
dress the issue ourselves.
W e can start by honoring N a­
tional Black HI V/AIDS Awareness
day. G et tested. Know ing your sta­
tus is a key step in stopping the
Get tested. Knowing your status is
a key step in stopping the spread o f
the virus.
1
D espite his m any m isstep s as
p resid en t, G eorge W. Bush will
leave o ffice in 2009 w ith a legacy
as being a p resid en t w ho put a
sig n ifican t am ount o f A m erican
m oney to w ard s fig h tin g A ID S in
A frica. T he reality is that Bush
th o u g h t A frica sh o u ld solve its
ow n problem s. C olin Pow ell, w ho
w as then the S ecretary o f S tate,
had to ev o k e the im age o f te rro r­
ists, co n v in cin g Bush the A fri­
can A ID S crisis w as a th reat to
spread o f the virus.
M inisters,com m itto “I Need You
toS urvive” S u n day.U seyourvoice
to educate your church and the
com m unity around you.
F or m ore in fo rm atio n , v isit
b la c k a id s d a y .o r g
an d
ltltfoundation.org.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
K M M M aM M M H i
Moving in a New Direction
President stands in our way
SEASONS
R ei >. C arolyn C. K ilpatrick
The President’s seventh and fi­
nal a d d re s s to C o n g re s s an d
America was laced with pessimistic
optim ism . The President lauded an
economic stimulus package that will
n o t h e lp m illio n s o f
A m ericans. None o f the
proposed provisions in­
clude the extension o f un­
em ploym ent benefits or
investing in a sum m er
jo b s program ; both o f
which would support the
sustainability o f ourcom -
prom ised econom y and
relieve the aw esom e bur­
den being shouldered by Am erican
families.
Am ericans arc facing fiscal and
social crises at hom e and military
and moral casualties abroad. They
are looking to our nation’s leaders
for actual rem edies to rem ove them
from financial ruin and chaos.
The rebuilding o f Louisiana and
M ississippi cannot occur without
providing adequate housing, jobs,
education and healthcare to the
thousands o f residents that once
called the region home. The deci­
sion to allow New O rleans to serve
as the back d ro p for the N orth
A m erican S u m m it o f C an ad a,
M exico and the United States we
hope will help rebuild New Orleans.
Throughout this D em ocratic-led
session o f Congress, M em bers of
both Houses have sidelined their
political affiliations tocrcatc bicam­
eral legislation aimed at moving
by
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r f a v o r it e n e i g h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s t o r e n o w d e l iv e r s
g r o c e r i e s r i g h t t o y o u r h o m e o r o f f ic e .
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
I
A m erica in a new direction only to
have the President derail our ef­
forts.
The President supported spend­
ing $ 10 bi 11 ion per month in Iraq and
vetoed health insurance for lO m il-
lion children w hich cost
less than $3.50aday, crip-
p lin g the m en tal and
physical w ell-being of
our m ost vulnerable citi­
zens.
T h e P re s id e n t o p ­
posed expanding federal
funding for em bryonic
stem cell research, d is­
abling our potential to
e ra d ic a te life th re a te n in g and
chronic diseases and to restore
h e a lth an d h o p e to m an y o f
A m erica's families.
In the rem aining 337 days o f his
presidency, we call on President
Bush to help A m erican families by
providing em ploym ent opportuni­
ties, quality education, and co m ­
prehensive healthcare for all Am eri­
cans.
The Congressional Black C au­
cus, 42 M em bers representing 40
million Americans from 2 0 states, is
determ ined to build stronger fam i­
lies. healthier com m unities and a
better America. We hope the Presi­
dent will work with us as we honor
ourcom m itm ent to America’s fam i­
lies.
Congresswoman Carolyn C.
Kilpatrick. D-Mich., is chair­
woman o f the Congressional Black
Caucus.
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