November 28.2012___________________________ æ1!«
^o v tíatth ©bscrUer_______________________ Page 9
O
pinion
Don’t Cut Our Kids Out of the Budget
Future depends on investing in children
M arian W right E delman
Barack O bam a won his re-
election fight because A m eri
cans w ho are com m itted to
m oving forward turned out in
record num bers to vote, espe
cially in battleground states.
But we can't go forward unless C on
gress sits dow n and m akes the hard deci
sions required to create a ju st budget that
invests in children, and creates jo b s for
their struggling parents while m aking sure
those who have benefited from huge tax
cuts pull their weight.
Exit polls on Election Day m ade it clear:
A clear m ajority o f voters agree that the
richest A m ericans need to pay higher
taxes.
C h ildren, the poor, and the m iddle
class cannot afford m ore devastating
cuts and in stability as they co ntinue to
stru g g le against hunger, hom elessness,
jo b le ssn ess, and loss o f sum m er school
and reg u lar school days as a result o f
by
this long econom ic dow nturn.
T o m ove forw ard, A m erica's se
curity and p ro sp erity depend on our
c h il d r e n 's a b ility to d r iv e th e
econom y o f the future. If a m ajority
o f our kids can't read and com pute
at grade level, we w on't have a strong
eco n o m y .
O u r leaders face cru cial budget d e ci
sions. T hey m ust cra ft solutio n s that
w ill protect the already porous safety
nets on w hich so m any children and
fam ilies rely, and invest in the health,
early child h o o d developm ent, and ed u
c atio n o f o u r children.
T he fundam ental p rinciple o f p ro
tectin g children and other vulnerable
p o p u latio n s has been a cornersto n e o f
d efic it reduction since the bip artisan
B alanced B udget A ct o f 1985. Every
autom atic b udget cut m echanism o f the
p ast q u arter century has exem pted core
low -incom e assistance program s from
any cuts triggered w hen budget targets
o r fiscal restrain t rules w ere m issed or
violated.
The A m erican people still strongly
support this principle. Last year, a G allup
poll found that 55 percent o f A m ericans
oppose cu ttin g spending on an ti-p o v
erty program s. A Public O pinion S trat
egies poll show ed even larger num bers
o f likely voters oppose cuts to M edicaid
(73 percen t) or education program s (75
p e rc e n t).
C utting ch ild ren from the budget now
w ill cost us all m ore in the long run.
On the o th er hand, econom ists agree
that investing in children prom otes e co
nom ic g ro w th . F or ex am p le, in v e st
m ents in education that raise high school
grad u atio n rates have been show n to
yield a public benefit o f $209,000 per
student in hig h er governm ent revenues
and low er governm ent spending, and
an econom ic benefit to the public purse
that is 2.5 tim es g reater than the costs.
Children constitute the poorest age group
in the U nited States. M ore than 16.1
million children in Am erica live in poverty
— more than one in five o f all children and
more than one in three children o f color —
so special efforts m ust be made to ad
dress the needs o f these m ost vulnerable
among us.
Poor children lag behind their peers in
many ways beyond income: they are less
healthy, trail in em otional and intellectual
developm ent, are less likely to graduate
from high school and to find steady work
as adults, and are more likely to head poor
families. Every year we keep these m il
lions o f children in poverty costs our
nation at least half a trillion dollars in lost
productivity, poorer health, and increased
crim e.
Rather than im posing strict austerity
m easures without regard for the human
consequences, we m ust invest now in
children to prepare them for the future
and help create jobs.
Be careful what you cut. If our children
aren't ready for tom orrow , neither is
America.
Marian Wright Edelman is the presi
dent o f the Children's Defense Fund.
Undeniable Victory on Election Day
NAACP poll finds
voters were engaged
by
Joi C. R idley
For the civil rights com
m unity, Election Day was
an u n d en iab le victory.
Ballot initiatives prom ot
ing equality were passed
in several key states and
M innesota’s attem pt to restrict voting
rights w as struck dow n. An N A A C P
swing state poll conducted in the days
leading up to the election showed that
African A m ericans were engaged on these
issues, and offered a snapshot o f the
black electorate at this point in history.
The N A A C P ’s polling found that a
m ajority o f African A m ericans support
the D ream A ct and m arriage equality,
both o f which passed in M aryland. The
data revealed m ajority support for m ar
riage equality measures. Fifty percent o f
jLlortlanb (Observer
African A m erican voters favor a constitu
tional right for sam e-sex couples to marry,
with 40 percent opposing it. Ninety-three
percent of respondents favor the Dream
Act, which allows undocum ented youth
to se ek U .S . c itiz e n s h ip (7 1 p e rc e n t
strongly, 21 percent som ewhat).
The poll, which interview ed 1,600 A f
rican A m erican voters in Ohio, Virginia,
Florida and G eorgia also suggested that,
despite their very high support for the
D em ocratic Party with President Obam a
at the helm, African A m ericans could be
convinced to vote for a Republican candi
date.
O nly 47 percent o f respondents were
“very enthusiastic” for the next D em ocrat
candidate follow ing President O bam a and
15 percent are unsure o f how enthusiastic
they will be in 2016. M oreover, 14 per
cent o f African A m ericans said they are
m ore likely to vote for a Republican in the
future if the candidate has civil rights
issues on his or her agenda.
Established 1970
Charles H. Washington
EDiTOR.Michael L eig h to n
A ssistant to P ublisher , P ublic R eiations : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t
A ssistant to P ublisher , O ffice M anager /C iassifieds : Lucinda Baldwin
A ssistant P ublisher : Leonard Latin
A dvertising M anager , P ublic R elations : Tony Washington
S taff W riter /P hotographer : Cari Hachmann
E d ito r - in -C h ie f , P ublisher :
-----------------
“This data reveals opportunities for the
G O P to im prove its relationship with our
com m unity. It suggests that the Dem o
cratic Party should not assum e it will see
the 2008 and 2012 levels o f black turnout
in 2016,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous,
President and chief executive officer o f
the NAACP.
Jobs and the econom y topped the list o f
m ost im portant issues to African A m eri
can voters, earning the vote o f 60 percent
o f respondents. N inety-five percent o f
respondents believe the federal govern
ment should engage in jo b creation oppor
tunities for all Americans. Respondents
also believe that the federal governm ent
has a role to play in education (95 per
cent), health care (96 percent), and jo b
creation (96 percent).
However, support for the federal gov
ernm ent is not support for governm ent
dependency. Eighty-one percent o f re
spondents believe that success depends
on self-reliance and determ ination, while
USPS 959-680 ---------------------
only 14% disagree.
“T his poll paints a picture o f how
African Am erican interests fit into our
new p o litical c a lc u lu s,” said M arvin
Randolph, the N A A C P’s senior vice presi
dent for cam paigns.
This calculus includes an African Am eri
can voting bloc that m ade up more than 13
percent o f the voting electorate for the last
two presidential elections, according to
national exit polls. The N A A CP helped
encourage this high turnout by registering
more than 432,000 new voters and edu
cating and activating 1.2 million voters -
both historic highs for the Association.
“This data underscores the decisive role
our community played in key battleground
states,” said Jealous. “People have said
traditional America has died. In actuality,
the real America, full o f diverse opinions
and values, has now risen. That real America
is what our nation was built upon.”
Joi C. Ridley works in communications
with the NAACP.
47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied
by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or
personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORT
LAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The
Portland Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association—Founded in 1885, and The
National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association
CALL 503-288-0033
news @portlandobserver, com
FAX 503-288-0015
ads@portlandobserver.com
subscription @ponlandobserver. com
P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR97208