luly 14. 2010
îl!‘‘|Jortlattô (Obstrue tr
Page 7
O pinion
American Senate Careless and Unconcerned
Unemployment
doesn't take a
holiday
lions o f dollars to states to pre­
vent layoffs o f state and local
workers, extended M edicaid re­
im bursem ents for states and made
available $1 billion for a youth
sum m er jobs initiative.
by M arc H. M orial
The filibuster by a coalition o f
It is unconscionable
the heartless, the careless and the
that the Senate took a
unconcerned, meant that on July
10-day July 4th recess
1, u n e m p lo y m e n t c h e c k s
after failing to pass a m uch-needed stopped for 1.2 million Americans.
jo b s bill.
That num ber could reach 2 million
As a result, unem ploym ent ben­ by the time the Senators return
efits for m ore than one m illion out from their vacation. This will have
o f w ork A m ericans have now a devastating impact on the mil­
been term inated. The bill w ould lions o f Americans who have been
have also extended tax cuts for out o f work for at least six months.
sm all businesses, provided bil­ Without the extension o f unem ­
ployment benefits, many may lose
their homes, their life savings and
the ability to provide for their fami­
lies.
W ith 15 million Am ericans cur­
rently out o f w ork and 45.5 per­
cent o f them falling into the cat­
egory o f the long-term unem ­
ployed, there is an urgent need for
legislation now that funds direct
jo b cre atio n , train in g for the
chronically unem ployed and ex­
tension o f m uch needed unem ­
ploym ent benefits. The crisis in
urban A m erica is even m ore se­
vere.
The Labor Departm ent's latest
em ploym ent report show s that
the econom y lost 125,000 jo b s in
June, resulting in an overall un­
em ploym ent rate o f 9.5 percent.
The unem ploym ent rate for A fri­
can A m ericans rem ains in double
digits at 15.4 percent and for
black m en it has soared to 17.4
percent. The unem ploym ent rate
for Latinos also rem ains dispro­
portionately high at 12.4 percent.
Clearly, instead o f taking a vaca­
tion, the Senate should be w ork­
ing overtim e to create jo b s and
put Am ericans back to work.
The Senate's failure to pass a
jo b s bill before taking a recess
m ay represent an all-tim e low in
Congressional ineptitude and in-
difference. And to those who place
deficit reduction ahead o f critical
investm ents in jo b creation I say,
the m iddle o f the great recession
is no tim e to hold the welfare o f
the A m erican people hostage to
ideological debate. Millions o f citi­
zens are suffering and urgent ac­
tion is needed now.
I urge the Congress, the Presi­
dent and all Am ericans do de­
m and the Senate get back to work
im m ediately to pass a jo b s bill that
will save jo b s and provide needed
relief for Am erican families.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer o f the
National Urban League.
SÄ®®“
The Million-Dollar Penny, a scorecard on Global Wealth
by
S am P izzigati
Every summer, several financial
firms competing to get the banking
business o f the world's m ega m il­
lionaires release what amounts to
scorecards on global wealth. These
data-packed reports tally the cur­
rent num ber o f our international
rich and super-rich, by nation and
region.
World Wealth Report 2010 is
the most comprehensive o f these
scorecards. It's got some fascinat­
ing details about the planet's wealthi­
est o f the wealthy, those house­
holds worth at least $30 m illion-
that's not counting their primary
residence and "collectibles."
These "ultra-high-net worth"
households m ake up less than 1
percent o f the global m illionaire
total, yet in 2009 and 2008 they
held m ore than a third o f com ­
bined global millionaire wealth. In
other words, the global financial
crash that mega-millionaire specu­
lation triggered has ended up con­
centrating even m ore w ealth in
m ega m illionaire pockets.
T h e M e rrill L y n c h and
Capgem ini researchers who pre­
pared this report also offer som e
lusciously revealing inform ation
about what they call "passion in­
vesting," the vast sum s the rich
plow into everything from coun­
try club m em berships and yachts
to jew elry and fine art.
Global m illionaires, they say,
"returned to passion investm ents
in 2009," but the overall volum e
o f these passion investm ents still
hasn't rebounded all the way back
to pre-financial crash levels.
T hat com plete rebound, the
report adds, m ay com e shortly,
since "au ctio n houses, luxury
goods makers, and high-end ser­
vice providers all reported signs
o f renewed dem and tow ard the
end o f 2009."
One sign o f that increased de­
mand: Late last year, an antique
penny—a 1795 one-cent piece—
w ent at auction for $1.3 million.
That m arked the first tim e a penny
had ever gone for over $ 1 million.
This resurgence in "passion
investm ent" illustrates the latest
W orld W ealth Report's overall
theme: The global millionaire "seg­
m ent reg ain ed ground despite
w eakness in the world econom y."
W e have that w eakness be­
cause average consum ers still
don't have the buying capacity to
get n atio n al eco n o m ies g oing
again. And those average con­
sum ers don't have that buying
c ap a city b ecau se incom e and
wealth are getting even m ore con­
centrated at the top. An antique
penny, thanks to that concentra­
tion, can now fetch more than a
million dollars.
But imagine if our wealth were
m ore equally shared. Imagine that
the $1.3 m illion that went for a
1795 penny had been sitting in­
stead in the pockets o f average
consum ers. O ver 1,500 o f those
co n su m ers could have bought
brand-new en ergy-efficient re­
frigerators with that $ 1.3 m illion.
And what do you suppose would
do our e c o n o m y -a n d our world-
-m ore good, one deep pocket
spending $ 1.3 m illion on a penny
or 1,500 households buying new
energy-efficient refrigerators?
The good folks at Merrill Lynch
and Capgem ini will m ost likely
n e v e r ask th at q u e stio n . W e
should.
Sam Pizzigati writes a newslet­
ter on excess and inequality fo r
the Institute fo r Policy Studies.
Arizona Lawsuit F itting
by
J ose I barra
The Oregon Commission on His­
panic Affairs commends the U.S.
Department o f Justice for having
taken legal action against Arizona's
new immigration law. It is fitting that
the suit was filed the day after Inde­
pendence Day, a time when Ameri­
cans reflect on the nation’s unity
and values.
The Commission has taken pub­
lic positions against the law since
the legislation first started to sur­
face and has challenged the false
assumptions on which it was pro­
moted. For example, there is no
"Arizona crime wave" that led to
this law. The bill's c h ief propo­
nent, Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce,
intentionally conflated the seri­
ous and real violence on the M exi­
can side o f the border with the
uniform ly non-violent undocu­
m ented im m igrants. M ore evi­
dence o f that is the fact that the
U.S. side o f the border has the
safest com m unities in the U.S.
Also, the claim that the federal
government is not serious about
undocumented immigrants cross­
ing our borders is patently false.
Although more work is being done,
the size o f the border patrol has
been quintupled in recent times, and
u n a u th o riz e d c ro ssin g have
dropped sharply. Finally, the issue
o f immigration is governed by fed­
eral not state law.
We are proud o f Oregon cities
that have joined in condemning the
law, including Portland, sister city
ofTucson, Ariz. Even Arizona’s law
enforcement community says the
bill damages law enforcement and
invites racial profiling o f its resi­
dents. It is an ill-conceived and
poorly drafted law that hurts a lot
more than it helps.
Jose Ibarra is chair o f the Oregon
Commission on Hispanics Affairs.
Multnomah County Health Department's
j
HIV C o m m u n ity Test Site offers |
c o n fid e n tia l HIV testing |
with or w ithout your nam e |
at these locations:
I
Downtown Community Test Site
Call 503.988.3775 for an appt.
Mon I Thurs | Fri
426 SW Stark St., 6th Floor,
Portland, 97204
“ Free with this coupon”
I
Public Health
|
|
|
|
Northeast Health Center
Just walk in
I
Tuesdays | 5:30 - 7:15 pm j
5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, 2nd Floor, |
Portland, 97211 |
Se habla español: other interpretation by appointment.