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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2012)
Opinion Republican Lies on Small Businesses “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers o s s g nt h k s e e y d - The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds T wo things always happen when there is a debate about whether Congress and the president should extend the George W. Bush tax cuts: 1) Republicans drag out the tired and misleading argument that any effort to return the tax rate to the pre-2001 levels amounts to “a job- killing tax hike.” and 2) The corporate media fails to cite evi- dence that the popular GOP talking point is, in fact, a lie. President Obama has reignited the debate by proposing yet again that we return to the pre-Bush tax rates. Individuals earning up to $200,000 and couples making $250,000 would be exempt from returning to the higher rate. If implemented, only the top 2 per- cent of taxpayers would see a tax increase. But Republicans are opposing Obama’s proposal because they are doing what they always do best – protect the wealthy. But instead of acknowledging the truth, they prefer to use the dis- guise that they acting on behalf of small business owners, although we know their main interest is pro- tecting big business. There’s a reason the GOP takes this approach. As the Los Angeles Times reported, “Polls also show that Republicans do better when they frame upper-income tax increases as a threat to small busi- nesses, a group that voters tend to like.” There is nothing wrong with reporters quoting Republican talk- ing points. But there is something wrong with the corporate media, in an effort to appear fair and bal- T HE C URRY R EPORT George E. Curry anced, giving equal weight to dueling claims when one is demonstrably false. Fairness & Accuracy in Report- ing, the media watchdog group, stated: “The corporate media’s bias toward giving credence to official claims from both political USA Today (7/10/12) – Head- line: “Obama Seeks to Extend Tax Cuts to Middle Class; GOP Critics Say Plan Will Hurt Small Busi- ness.” Washington Post (7/10/12) – Reported that Republicans “charged that the president’s plan would raise taxes on small-busi- ness owners.” It also said, “Obama said his plan would cover 98 percent of the working public and 97 percent of small-business owners.” Los Angeles Times (7/11/12) – Said Obama’s plan “would extend George W. Bush-era tax cuts for those making up to $250,000 a year but not for upper-income Instead of acknowledging the truth, they prefer to use the disguise that they acting on behalf of small business owners, although we know their main interest is protecting big business parties means you have to treat that question of facts as a matter of opinion – which, of course, is a problem, if you think that separat- ing fact from misinformation is a key part of a journalist’s job.” FAIR added, “And the failure to challenge Republican distortions gives them no reason to stop mak- ing them…This is especially true when media don’t tell the public that the claim is almost entirely bogus.” Among the examples cited by FAIR: Americans.” As FAIR noted, “That is incorrect; wealthy Ameri- cans will also receive a tax cut on income they earn up to the $250,000 level.” As Media Matters, another media watchdog group, pointed out, Fox News makes a habit of letting hosts and guests impart inaccurate information about the plan to let the Bush tax cuts expire on the richest 2 percent of Ameri- cans. For example, Alex Cortes of the Restore the Dream Foundation said on Fox and Friends when the issue was being debated in 2010 that returning to the pre-Bush lev- els “aren’t just tax cuts for the so-called wealthy. It’ll hit 50 per- cent of all small business income.” According to the Congressional Budget Office, the two large tax cuts under George W. Bush result- ed in a loss of $1.5 trillion in federal revenue. Obama agreed to a deal with Republicans to extend them until the end of this year, which will bring the total to $2.8 trillion. Now, he’s proposing another, more limited exten- sion. If the Bush tax rates are allowed to expire, the top two income brackets will rise from the current levels of 33 percent and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent. Media Matters said, “And according to PolitiFact, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has projected that in 2011, ‘Only 3 percent of all taxpayers who reported having positive business income will see their taxes go up under the proposed Democratic initiative’ of letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire.” In its report on the small busi- ness smokescreen, FAIR summed it up correctly in its headline: “Small Business Baloney.” George E. Curry, former editor- in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Associa- tion News Service (NNPA) and editorial director of Heart & Soul magazine Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com Romney and NAACP: Missed Opportunity A s anyone who has followed me knows, I have been extremely critical of Presi- dent Obama’s non-engagement with the Black community. Obama has deliberately ignored the plight of the Black community while giving preferential treatment to the homosexual and Hispanic commu- nities. But I can’t in good conscience criticize Obama and then give the Republicans a pass when they dis- play similar behavior towards the Black community. I can’t excori- ate Black Democrats for following Obama blindly and then remain silent when Black Republicans do the same towards Romney. Yesterday, as I watched Mitt Romney address the NAACP, I tried to force myself to be opti- mistic about what he would say. But my years of being an avid Republican prepared me for the worst. And that’s exactly what I saw. Romney had a golden opportuni- ty to make a credible argument for Blacks to support him. But because he doesn’t have experi- enced Blacks in his inner circle, he thoroughly embarrassed himself and deserved to be roundly booed. For Romney to speak before a Black audience and not talk about the Black entrepreneur is like going to church and not mention- ing God. This is what happens when you don’t have the right people around Page 4 The Portland Skanner July 18, 2012 GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Raynard Jackson you, people who understand com- munications, messaging and the nuances of the audience being addressed. Contrary to what the White media thinks, the preachers and politicians are not the leaders in the Black community – business- men and businesswomen are. That Black business person is typically else, business leaders understand the cost of capital issues and there- fore are more likely to support a reduction or total abolition of the capital gains tax. He or she is more likely to support school choice and vouchers, all topics the NAACP members can relate to. So, the point is, the Black busi- ness leaders are the most important entry point to the Black community and Republicans, of all people, are totally ignorant of this fact. And they will remain ignorant of what’s important to the For Romney to speak before a Black audience and not talk about the Black entrepreneur is like going to church and not mentioning God head of the board of trustees or the deacon board of the church. So, if you get the business leader on your side, he or she will bring along the minister and the congre- gation. Business leaders have a vested interest in having an educated Black community because they have to hire people in order to grow their business. Like every- one else, those leaders care about crime and don’t want employees to be victims as they travel to and from work. More than anyone Black community until they have campaign staffs that look like America. Like Jeremiah in the Bible, I have been labeled as one crying in the wilderness. And I am not about to surrender that label now. Am I the only one who is offended that Romney has fewer than five Blacks on his national campaign staff and none in top decision- making positions? I am talking about someone who controls a budget, has the final say on hiring, and has the ability to put an event on the candidate’s calendar or arrange a private meeting with the candidate. Am I the only one who noticed the optics of Romney not having photos of any Black Republicans on his campaign Web site? Am I the only one who is puzzled as to why Romney has never met with a group of Black entrepreneurs? I was stunned to learn that Rom- ney had chosen a recent Democrat-turned-Republican, Ashley Bell, to be one of his sur- rogates and to help him craft his speech to the NAACP. Bell is a decent guy, but am I to believe that Romney couldn’t find any veteran Black Republicans who have both party credentials and relevant presidential campaign experience to help him craft the speech that would define his relationship with Black America? Does his staff know people such as Shannon Reeves, Allegra McCullough, David Byrd, Aaron Manaigo, Francis Johnson, Ada Fisher or James House? If they don’t, I will be happy to put them in touch. For Romney to pick a Republican-come-lately over Party vets who have taken all kind of criticism for supporting the Grand Old Party is a grand old insult to those Black Republicans who have toiled for years in the vineyard of Republican politics. Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com
