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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2012)
December 12, 2012___________________________ (OhscrlU'r______________________________________ Page 9 ___________ O pinion Deficits, Deceit, and the Body Politic Protecting the most vulnerable by N orman and V elma H ill holds, 53 percent among black households, and 54 percent among Asians, compared to 16 percent among whites. We know this statistically and experien- tially. We are black and have spent most of our lives in the American civil rights and labor movements. A 2010 survey found that 86 percent of whites and 92 percent of blacks believe So cial Security benefits are worth the cost. A recent poll revealed that, by a 51 percent to 33 percent margin, Americans think that pre serving Medicare as is outweighs reducing the deficit. A new survey found that only 13 percent of Americans favor major changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are the foundations for the wellbeing of scores of millions of middle- and low-income Americans. Without Social Security, 14 million more low-income Americans would be living in poverty. Because of Medicare, 33 million older people live longer, have access to quality care, and are not driven into poverty by rapidly rising health-care costs. Medicaid is a health-care lifeline to Americans not yet eligible for Medicare, which covers some 60 million Americans. Because of historical and lingering dis crimination, racial minorities in particular need these programs. Overall, they have less in come and fewer assets than whites, so a higher percentage of their retirement income comes from Social Security benefits. Also, Medicaid. because they more often have physically Republicans have ginned up a lot of con demanding jobs, they rely more on Social cern about a so-called fiscal crisis. Since the Security disability and require more health emergence in 2010 of “tea party” organiza care after retirement. tions, their condemnations of budget defi If there were no such support from these cits have become almost hysterical. But there programs, the proportion of impoverished, is no fiscal crisis. Right’s right: No. Fiscal. elderly African-Americans would rise to 62 Crisis. percent from 24 percent, and for Hispanics, In this period of economic downturn, defi 61 percent from 19 percent. cit spending is actually a stimulant that the The disproportionate dependence on economy needs. The "debt crisis" isn’t fis these programs has grown as the wealth gap cal; it’s a political mirage, a smokescreen (income and assets) between whites and used by right-wingers to justify cuts in social minorities has grown. From 2005 to 2009 insurance. wealth fell by 66 percent among Latino house Minorities should take the lead in oppos ing those cuts, particularly through their social organizations, trade unions, and their ethnic-based groups. Their greatest allies are the facts. Social Security does not contribute to the deficit. Its payouts come from Social Secu rity tax revenues and interest from safe, con servative investments. Furthermore, even if nothing is done. Social Security can con tinue meeting 100 percent of its obligations until 2036. Solvency could be extended de cades further by modest reforms like raising the cap on taxable income for Social Security from its current $ 110,100 and by gradually increasing the Social Security payroll tax by ™ In this period of economic downturn, deficit spending is actually a stimulant that the economy needs. The "debt crisis" isn't fiscal; its a political mirage, a smokescreen used by right-wingers to justify cuts in social insurance. Act promotes preventive care by providing free screenings for early disease detection and by offering community-based preven tion grants. It also promotes a policy of payment for results rather than by the num bers of procedures performed. Additionally, its Independent Payment Advisory Board will help detect potential cost savings. Sig nificant cost reductions could also be made if Medicare were allowed to bargain with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. Despite overwhelming public opposition to social program cuts, and despite the Demo cratic victory in November, Republicans continue to press their attack, now using the "fiscal c lif f to attach social spending. The cliff, as you know, refers to legislatively mandated tax hikes and spending cuts of a drastic nature that will take effect after Dec. 31 unless Congress acts to cut the deficit. According to some (but not all) economists, the automatic hikes and cuts will lead to a new recession. Whatever compromises must be made, the President must draw a red line against reduced benefits in basic entitlements. He must stick to his campaign pledge to let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire and to find ways to cut expenditures that do not hurt the most vulnerable. The President must stand by his Novem ber mandate, and we must do all we can to assure that he will. 1 /20 of one percent (0.05) over 20 years. The eligibility age increases and benefit cuts proposed by Republicans are totally unnec essary. Medicare, it is true, faces more serious challenges. But it is not going bankrupt, and prudent reforms — not radical changes — can extend its fiscal health well into the future. Republicans say that increased life expect ancy and the surge in retiring baby boomers Norman Hill, staff coordinator o f the his make benefit cuts and increases in age eligi toric 1963 March on Washington fo r Jobs bility a no brainer. On the contrary, the main and Freedom, is president emeritus o f the A. cause of increased Medicare costs is soaring Philip Randolph Institute. Velma Hill is a health care inflation, which can be contained. former vice president of the American Fed President Obama’s Affordable Health Care eration o f Teachers. iiio rw jin ti Opportunity One Industry at a Time Overcoming economic inequality by B enjamin T odd J ealous There is a missing compo nent to the national discus sio n c o n c e rn in g how to strengthen and rebuild the American economy. It is true that high unem ployment, a weak national in frastructure, the need for stronger public education, the concentra tion of wealth, and the deficit are all chal lenges to the nation’s economy. But being left out of the discussion is the continued economic marginalization of racial and eth nic minorities. The American economy has always been strongest when it’s kept the middle class within reach for most Americans. But with white households holding nearly 20 times the wealth of black or Latino households, and with rising disparities in unemployment, poverty, and income, the future of the middle class has never looked more uncertain. As the country rapidly becomes majority- minority, the nation’s economic well-being is increasingly tied to overcoming racial eco nomic inequality. The economic challenges that people of color face are reflected in the recently released NAACP Opportunity and Di versity Report Card which analyzes the hotel and lodging industry. Mediocre grades among the five lead ing hotels we exam ined — Hyatt, Starwood, W yndham, M arriott and Hilton — reveal the widespread lack of investment in minority suppliers, the over representation of people of color in the low est paying entry level positions, the under representation in the more highly paid ca reer-track positions, and finally a lack of commitment tocollecting basic diversity data that could be used to strengthen inclusion efforts. Our report shows that black-owned busi nesses, which comprise seven percent of all businesses in the U.S., make up only 0.9 percent of all vendors receipts — a troubling red flag that signals how far corporate America has to go in their supplier diversity outreach. And while people of color are 36 percent of the population, only 13 percent of the governing bodies in the hotel and lodg ing industry consist of people of color. One of the most disconcerting findings of our report card is that all of the top five hotel and lodging corporations do not collect di versity data from their franchise properties. This means for four out o f five of these leading corporations no data is collected for the majority of their individual hotels. This is unacceptable. The NAACP is calling for these corpo rations to collect the diversity data al read y m an d a te d by the g o v e rn m e n t through E E O 1 reports. We are also asking for planners of m ajor events to request EEO1 reports from any individual hotel they are considering for their event so they can make diversity and inclusion part o f their assessm ent as to which hotel is worthy of their business. The National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners has already voiced support for this action and we will be working with our com munity and civil rights partners as well as local bureaus of tourism to make widespread the use of EEO1 data as an important and widely used factor for determining which hotels qualify to hold major events. The EEO 1. survey is a primary means that the Equal Employment Opportunity Com mission uses to advance its mission derived from the 1964Civil Rights Act. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act focused on prohibiting racial discrimination in employment and al most 60 years later we still find great racial and ethnic disparities in business and its workforce. The Opportunity and Diversity .Report Card and our call to action for greater use of EEO1 data should not be seen as just a “civil rights” matter but should be understood as a means of dealing with one of the greatest threats facing the American economy over the next 30 years, racial economic inequality. We at the NAACP have always seen racial inequality as a grave threat to the country and in the next few decades if serious action isn't taken to bridge this divide the entire nation will see the economic results of this inequality. Benjamin Todd Jealous is president and chief executive officer of the NAACP.
