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President Obama must defend Safety Net
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R
ecent
unemployment
reports have given the crit-
ics of President Obama
another excuse to blame him for
the economic problems of the
country. Those most critical of
him are the Republicans, the Tea
Party and every conservative
American and business interest
who would like to put the interest
of the wealthy above the interest
of all Americans.
History shows us that unemploy-
ment has been no stranger to
America
since
the
Great
Depression.
During
the
Depression, President Roosevelt
responded with a Public Works
Administration program that put
Americans to work on roads and
other public projects; World War II
geared up the War Machine in
terms of manufacturing and pro-
duction that provided jobs for all
those not actively serving in the
military; the G.I Bill with loans for
education and home purchases
coincided with the Korean War
and using the War Machine for
business productivity while G.I.
benefits went to those in school
and not fighting in that undeclared
war; the Vietnam War once again
geared up the War Machine in
terms of both using manpower in
drafting men into service and pro-
ducing all the items needed for a
war.
With the end of the Vietnam
War, once again America was
faced with high unemployment.
This time America responded with
the Manpower Development and
Training Act, providing job train-
ing along with veteran benefits to
unemployed former soldiers and
V oIcE AND V IEWPoINT
John E. Warren
training for those individuals with
low job skills. These efforts coin-
cided with the Great Society that
Lyndon B. Johnson picked up after
the death of John F. Kennedy. The
Great Society brought a number of
programs and services to help the
unemployed and the under
employment and funded the cre-
ation of community nonprofit
organizations which also provided
jobs. Manpower Development and
Training Act was replaced by the
Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act known as CETA.
One of its strongest points was its
Public Service Employment provi-
sions under Title II that provided
jobs for police, firemen and teach-
ers at a time when cities were hav-
ing great financial difficulties in
the 1970s.
It was also during the mid-1970s
that Congress passed the
Humphrey/Hawkins
Full
Employment Act establishing trig-
gers for the implementation of
unemployment insurance benefits
to areas reaching a 6.5 percent
unemployment rate in pockets of
single member statistical areas
(SMSA) using census data. During
periods of high unemployment,
benefits were extended to help the
chronically
unemployed.
President Obama engaged in the
extension of such benefits last
December when the Republicans
held the measure hostage until
they got tax benefits extended for
the wealthy.
during the Great depression of the 1930s middle-class
Americans were so needy they needed food handouts
The point of all of this is that interests, have decided that
President Obama is not responsi- President Obama, with his concern
ble for this period of high unem- for all Americans, is a threat to the
ployment which will get even tax credits, subsidies and tax
worse if the debt ceiling is not breaks. The oil companies, drug
extended in the weeks ahead. The companies and insurance compa-
Republican leadership in the nies fear the fact they must change
House of Representatives wants how they do business because of
the cutting of entitlement pro- the Affordable Health Care Act
grams which include social securi- and regulatory changes Obama
ty, Medicare and aid to children has implemented.
President Obama, hold your
and the elderly; It must be remem-
bered that the legislative powers of ground on entitlements, health
the nation rest with the U.S. care and the domestic programs
Congress under Article I of the you have supported to benefit all
U.S. Constitution. The President Americans. Americans, regardless
does not make laws; he signs of your color or ethnic identity, if
you are not wealthy, you are
them.
Finally, let us remember that already a victim of the attacks on
U.S. businesses are sitting on over President Obama.
$1 trillion in cash with which they
Dr. John e. warren is the pub-
could hire layoff or unemployed
workers and boost the economy. lisher and Ceo of the San Diego
But big businesses, like the Voice & Viewpoint newspaper
Republicans who represent their
Justice Says the richest must Pay Fair Share
R
arely have the divisions in
American politics been
more clear - or more oner-
ous. In less than a month, on Aug.
2, if Congress refuses to raise the
nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling,
the United States economy could
be thrown into a fiscal tailspin that
would eviscerate America’s credit
rating, lead to sky-high interest
rates, rip a giant hole in the social
safety net, jeopardize the well-
being and savings of millions of
working and middle class citizens
and result in the loss of hundreds
of thousands of jobs.
Majority leaders in the House
and minority leaders in the Senate
have taken the unprecedented step
of linking a raise in the debt ceil-
ing to the debate about deficit
reduction and spending cuts. In
effect, they are attempting to
extort big cuts in programs bene-
fiting working and middle class
citizens while protecting exorbi-
tant tax breaks for oil companies,
corporate jet owners, and hedge
fund managers. They say this is
the only way they will agree to
increase the debt limit. Fiscal
experts such as Nobel Prize win-
ning economist Paul Krugman,
Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner and Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke warn that
if such extortions happen, severe
disruptions will occur. Beginning
Aug. 2, social security checks may
be halted. Medicare, Medicaid,
and unemployment benefits may
Page 4 The Portland Skanner July 13, 2011
T o B E
E quAl
Marc Morial
stop.
Troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan may not get
paid. And hundreds of thousands
of government workers may be
lishment in 1917. Former
President George W. Bush
raised it seven times without
objection while racking up tril-
lions of dollars of new debt for
the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and big tax breaks
for the wealthiest Americans.
The Obama administration is
not oblivious to the need for
spending cuts. For months, Vice
President Joe Biden has led bipar-
tisan negotiations aimed at agree-
Some in Congress suggest protecting
the wealthiest Americans by taking
from the middle class
laid off. This is no way to run the
most trustworthy and powerful
government in the world. And, it
is no way to honor the hard work
ing on a sensible deficit reduction
plan.
Progress has been
made. But recently several mem-
bers of the so-called “Gang of Six”
“We refuse to believe that there are
insufficient funds in the great vaults of
opportunity of this nation.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
and sacrifices of its people.
It should be noted, that prior to
this current showdown, the debt
ceiling has routinely been raised
almost 100 times since its estab-
walked out of the negotiations
because of ideological resistance
to balancing spending cuts for the
middle class with ending some tax
breaks for the wealthy.
As they defend the rights of
working-class Americans, I would
urge them also to consider the rec-
ommendations included in the
National Urban League’s 12-Point
Jobs Plan, “Putting Urban
American Back To Work.” The
creation of Urban Jobs Academies
to train the critically unemployed,
or Green Empowerment Zones to
locate manufacturing jobs in urban
areas, could ease the transition to
spending cuts.
So far, the president and sensible
members of Congress have stood
firm in their refusal to give in to
ideological extortion. As the
President said in last week’s press
conference, “Any agreement to
reduce our deficit is going to
require tough decisions and bal-
anced solutions. And, before we
ask our seniors to pay more for
health care, before we cut our chil-
dren’s education, before we sacri-
fice our commitment to the
research and innovation that will
help create more jobs in the econ-
omy, I think it’s only fair to ask an
oil company or a corporate jet
owner that has done so well to
give up a tax break that no other
business
enjoys.”
We
agree. Raise the debt ceiling, but
not on the backs of working and
middle class Americans.
Marc h. Morial is President and
Ceo of the national urban
league.