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.