Page 26
The
Portland Observer Black History Month
February 23, 2011
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Egypt: A Lesson for Our Country
People’s
interests must
come first
and for the c o rp o ra tio n s.” R eal
"p eo p le” w ill only be paw ns to be
m anipulated w hen corporate m oney
to tally d o m in a te s o u r e lec tio n s.
A lready w e ’ve seen how corporate
lobbyists dom inate the legislative
by F rank K napp J r .
p ro cess.
M ake no m istake
Sm all businesses are and should
about it — the peaceful
be very concerned. W e know that
E gy ptian rev o lu tio n
big U.S. and m ulti-national corpora­
was brought about by
tions are only interested in profits
the w orkers and sm all bu sin ess regardless o f the consequence to
ow ners o f that country protesting sm all businesses.
together. T hey w ant econom ic o p ­
The fact is that w hat is good for
portunity for all and a dem o crati­ big business is often not good for
cally elected governm ent that puts sm all business.
its peo p les' interests above the in­
Sm all businesses m ust fight for
terests o f the financially pow erful, ourselves and not sim ply rely on
w ell-connected oligarchy.
T here is a lesson here for our
country.
paternalistic big businesses to al­
low scraps to fall o ff the bountiful
table they have bought for th em ­
selv es.
R ight now in W ashington big
c o rp o ra te c a m p a ig n d o n o rs are
pushing for even m ore tax in cen ­
tives for off-shoring production and
jo b s - lost opportunities for sm all
b u sin esses to supply g o o d s and
services to dom estic m an u factu r­
ing and few er w orkers buying from
our local sm all businesses.
These political donors w ant to
elim inate regulations aim ed at pro­
tecting us from another financial
m eltdow n causing another great re­
cession — one that destroys the cus­
tom ers base, credit and loans small
businesses need to survive.
T hey also w ant to cripple any
chance for com prehensive national
energy and clim ate legislation - a
s ig n if ic a n t
o p p o r tu n ity
fo r
jum pstarting a green econom y that
will both create new small businesses
and offer m ore opportunities for ex ­
isting ones.
organizing to take back our dem oc­
racy from these corporate “persons.”
W e understand that what the E gyp­
tians are dem onstrating to get, we are
on the verge o f losing.
So whi le our m em bers o f Congress
publicly express their support for the
Egyptian peoples' desire for real de­
m ocracy, they need to look at the
direction our ow n country is heading
and start listening to the concerns o f
our citizens and small businesses.
Egypt is a w arning to the U nited
States.
These and other goals o f big co r­
porations, m any that now have no
al legiance to our country or any coun­
try, are likely to be successful not on
the m erits o f the ideas but on the size
Frank Knapp Jr. is president
o f the corporate cam paign chests.
and chief executive officer o f the
Fortunately, citizens and small South Carolina Small Business
businesses across this country are Chamber o f Commerce.
O ur governm ent structures are
becom ing ever m ore influenced by
those w ith extrem ely deep pockets
at the expense o f our citizens and
small businesses. A nd while we have
a tradition o f a dem ocratic election
process to address needed changes
in our governm ent, that process is
becom ing less and less dem ocratic.
This im portant issue was the topic
o f m any m eetings on my recent trip
to W ashington, D .C. — reducing the
extraordinary influence o f big co r­
porate m oney in our governm ent.
Last y e ar's C itizens U nited Suprem e
C ourt ruling that corporations are
“ people” that have a C onstitutional
right to spend unlim ited am ounts o f
m oney to influence elections has
m oved our country rapidly dow n
the road to a far less dem ocratic
nation — a road we w ere already on.
O ur governm ent “o f the people,
by the people and for the people” is
in jeo p ard y o f becom ing “o f the
corporations, by the corporations
Piston Turned Mayor Shoots a 3 Pointer
Dave Bing lays
out an economic
recovery plan
M ayor B ing’s “Detroit W orks” the other ravages o f the great reces­
plan is engaging D etroiters from all sion. O ver the last several years,
walks o f life to develop strategies for unem ploym ent has been as high as
s tro n g e r n e ig h b o rh o o d s , s a f e r 30 percent in som e neighborhoods.
streets and access to jobs.
The jobless crisis has resulted in
As part o f that plan, the h u n d re d s o f a b a n d o n e d h o u se s
by M arc H. M oriai .
mayor wants toeliminate blight throughout the city.
A few years ago, many
and bolster the c ity ’s tax base
Facing a budget deficit o f $300
people wondered why a former
by enticing Detroit police of­ m illion and the continued decline o f
Detroit Pistons Hall-of-Fam er
ficers - more than 50 percent once-proud neighborhoods. M ayor
w ho had built a successful
'o f w hom currently live in the Bing has turned to innovation as a
business after he left basketball, would suburbs -- to buy renovated aban­ solution.
run for m ayor o f one o f the most doned houses in the city w h ich they
He is practically giving aw ay 200
beleaguered cities in America.
can purchase for as little as $1,000.
abandoned hom es in the East En­
But as he approaches the half­
Fifty years ago, more than 2 million glish V illage and B oston-E dison
way mark o f his first term , D ave Bing people called the M otor C ity home. neighborhood to police officers w ho
has laid out an econom ic recovery Today that num ber is around900,000
currently live outside the city. Fed­
gam e plan for Detroit that is w inning and shrinking, largely due to the col­ eral stim ulus funds will be used to
accolades from his constituents and lapse o f the auto industry, an epi­
renovate the hom es, m any o f which
attracting national attention.
dem ic o f housing foreclosures and are being equipped for m axim um en-
ergy efficiency.
In addition to the increased tax
revenue, the m ay o r and m any c u r­
rent residents say that tfie presence
o f police officers will deter crim e and
im prove relations betw een the p o ­
lice and citizens.
M ay o r Bing is turning D etro it’s
challenges into o p portunities and
in the process m aking the city m ore
com petitive to businesses and m ore
livable for residents. W e think this
is a fantastic idea that co u ld be
extended to teachers and firefighters
and replicated around the country.
In his state o f the city address
last year. M ay o r B ing said, “ W e
co u ld have listened to those w ho
said o u r city w as a lost c a u s e ... W e
could have co n tin u ed politics as
usual and p ro m ise d ch an g e but
continued dow n the sam e path that
got us here. But w e decided that the
old w ay o f doing things w as no
longer good en o u g h .”
W e applaud the m ay o r’s co m m it­
m ent and vision.
As President O bam a rem inded
us in his State o f the U nion address,
the only w ay to bring jo b s back to
o u r com m unities and “w in the fu ­
tu re” for o u r children is to out e d u ­
cate, out innovate and out build our
global com petitors.
M ay o r B in g ’s in n o v a tiv e a p ­
proach to rebuilding D etroit is p u t­
ting those w ords into action.
Marc H. Moriai is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.