Opinion
Farewell Sam and Good Luck
“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
B RUCE P OINSETTE
Reporter
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
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.
As 2012 comes to an
end, Mayor Sam Adams
is bowing out of Portland
politics, at least for now.
Mayor Adams is one of
the sharpest, most clear-
sighted leaders the City
has seen in a long time.
He will be missed.
As chief of staff for for-
mer Mayor Vera Katz, his
clout was legendary. He
understood the city
bureaucracy and how city
hall operates, and he was
determined to make the
City of Portland work for
ordinary Portlanders.
So it was a great disap-
pointment when he start-
ed his tenure under a
cloud. The bright, new
energy that had swept
Barack Obama into the
presidency had also
made Adams our first
proud, gay mayor. But
his secret fling with a
teenager made many
doubt his honesty and
maturity.
To Adams credit, he
refused to let that sour
beginning define his term
as mayor. If anything, it
seemed to spur him to do
his best work. Adams has
tackled just about every
issue of importance to
F ROM THE
P UBLISHER
Bernie Foster
the city: from economic
development, jobs and
sustainability, to educa-
tion, waste disposal, gun
violence and police
accountability.
Under Adams, the city
created its first economic
development plan. The
Portland Development
Commission reconsid-
ered large-scale urban
renewal and the prob-
lems of gentrification, and
moved to create smaller,
targeted Neighborhood
Prosperity Districts. So
far they seem to be help-
ing business and improv-
ing neighborhoods
without pushing out long-
time residents.
And yes, Adams also
championed the Educa-
tion Urban Renewal Dis-
trict downtown – a
decision we questioned.
Time will tell.
In education, he created
the Summer Works and
the 9th Grade Counts
programs, along with
Future Connect pro-
gram, a scholarship pro-
gram for students
attending community
college. Behind the
scenes too, Adams was
a cheerleader for organi-
zations that help minority
youth. Just ask the folks
at Portland Opportunities
Industrial Center, the
Native American Youth
Association or the Immi-
grant and Refugee Coali-
tion of Oregon.
Equity too was behind
Adams support for fluori-
dation. Whether you
agree or not, Adams took
that stand because he
believed it was the right
thing to do.
In the run up to the may-
oral election, we heard
from readers who wished
Adams was in the race.
Ultimately, the city elect-
ed Charlie Hales to be
our next mayor. We
expect Hales will do
many good things as
mayor, including continu-
ing to pursue stronger
police accountability.
Mayor Adams stood up to
the police union on the
right of cities to fire offi-
cers who fail to meet the
standards we expect. No
issue is more crucial to
minority communities
than police accountability.
Adams has consistently
pushed the bureau to
make that happen. We’re
not nearly there yet Just
this week the police
union has filed to block
the city’s agreement with
the Department of Justice
on police use of force.
Mayor-elect Hales, we
hope you’re watching
closely.
Dogged in his pursuit of
jobs and economic
opportunities for Portland,
Adams promoted cross-
city partnerships and put
equity at the center of
city policy. In the end, he
turned out to be exactly
the man to guide Port-
land through the Great
Recession. We wish him
all the best in his next
position. But we won’t be
surprised to see him back
in the political fray some
day.
Farewell Sam and Good
Luck.
What do you think Adams
legacy to Portland will
be? Let us know
@theskannernews or
news@theskanner.com
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Page 4 The Portland Skanner
Racial wealth gaps are largest on record
According to findings from the
Center for Responsible Lending’s
newest report, The State of Lend-
ing in America and Its Impact on
US Households (State of Lend-
ing), the typical household has
just $100 left each month after
paying for basic expenses and
debt payments. After controlling
for inflation, the typical house-
hold had less annual income at the
end of 2010 than it did at the
beginning of the decade, 2000.
Moreover, as worker productivity
increased, the workplace has sel-
dom rewarded them with higher
pay.
Even in house-
holds with two
wage-earners, the
amount of dispos-
able or discretionary
income after paying
monthly expenses
was less in 2010
than it was in 2000.
The combined effect
of stagnant wages along with
unemployment and under-employ-
ment is forcing families to curb
spending and use any available
assets to keep financial pace. For
families with no savings or assets,
new debt was incurred.
“The recession and slow recov-
ery have led to declining net worth
for the average U.S. household
and a disproportionate decline for
African-American and Hispanic
R ESPONSIBLE
L ENDING
Charlene
Crowell
households”, states the report.
In communities of color, income
declines are higher in part due to
declines in over-representation in
two types of employment that his-
torically provided stable and
even more severe. In fact, the
decline in wealth from 2005-2009
between communities of color and
white households is the largest
documented wealth gaps since the
Census Bureau began publishing
wealth estimates in 1984. The net
worth for African-Americans
dropped 53 percent and among
Latino families, 66 percent. By
comparison, white household
wealth declined only 16 percent in
the same years.
Households headed by persons
aged 55-65 saw the largest losses
in wealth. People at or nearing
retirement
lost an aver-
age
of
$90,000
from 2007-
2010.
As
wealth and
retirement
resources
declined,
many older
workers remained in the labor
force longer than retirees in previ-
ous decades.
As an increasing number of
older workers delay retirements,
some younger workers experience
higher unemployment and declin-
ing labor participation. A conse-
quence of their delayed entry in
the workplace increases the num-
ber of households doubling-up,
living with friends or non-family
CRL: Typical American Household has
only $100 after monthly expenses
December 26, 2012
secure jobs: manufacturing and
construction. These two industries
respectively suffered job losses of
10 and 20 percent. African-Ameri-
cans who formerly worked manu-
facturing and construction jobs
lost more than twice the number of
jobs between 2007 and 2011 than
they previously gained in the pre-
recession decade.
These losses in income also
caused losses of wealth that are
members due to economic hard-
ship. From, 2005-2010, the num-
ber of these households grew 50
percent.
CRL further notes that consumer
spending accounts for approxi-
mately 70 percent of total U.S.
economic activity. As large num-
bers of consumers continue to
tighten their fiscal belts, sustain-
able economic recovery will likely
be delayed.
“In order for the U.S. economy
to grow again”, states the report,
“individual households must find
themselves in a position to
increase their spending. This will
be difficult as long as households
continue to face stagnant incomes,
increasing expenses, increasing
levels of debt, and declining net
worth.”
To read more about CRL’s
Household Balance Sheet, visit:
http://www.responsiblelending.or
g/state-of-lending/.
Please send your
news tips to
info@theskanner.com