The skanner., January 16, 2013, Page 33, Image 33

H O N O R I N G D R . M A RT I N L U T H E R K I N G , J R .
Siek
Kitzhaber
continued from page 3
continued from page 14
According to a November
2011 report by the nonprofit
Feeding
America,
which
includes a nationwide network
of some 200 food banks, one in
five of America’s children are at
risk of not having enough nutri-
tious food to eat. For Hispanic
and African-American children,
the statistic is one in three.
The prevalence of poverty is
higher for minorities – 27.4%
of African Americans were liv-
ing in poverty in 2010, accord-
ing to Census data. For
Latinos, the figure was 26.6%,
and for Asians it was 12.1 per-
cent. Nearly 10% of whites
lived beneath the poverty line.
Poverty is generally defined
as earning $22,314 per year for
a family of four. A person
working 40 hours per week at
the federal minimum wage of
$7.25 per hour earns $15,080 per
year, gross. According to the
National Association of Child
Care Resource and Referral Agencies, childcare alone can
cost anywhere from $3,582 to $18,773 per year.
An Indiana University white paper released last
Wednesday and prepared at the request of Dr. Cornel West
and public television host Tavis Smiley, examined the
impact of the recession on poverty and near-poverty in
America. “At Risk: America’s Poor During and After the
Great Recession,” con-
cluded that the number of
long-term
unemployed
between December 2007
and June 2009 was the
highest since the govern-
ment began recording such
figures in 1948. “By the
third quarter of 2011, 4.4
million people (32% of the
14 million people out of
work) informed surveyors
that they had been without
work for more than a
year,” the report said.
Using the official federal
definition, 15.1% of the
population is living in
poverty – 46.2 million
people. Using a supple-
mental measure that takes
into account the geograph-
ical differences in cost of
living, the number rises to
16%.
What would King have
to say about it?
“Like racism, the problems associated with poverty are
like weeds that will spread when left ignored,” said Carson,
who has spent most of his professional life studying King’s
writings and speeches. “He would remind us that poverty
and economic inequities threaten the future of American
democracy.”
We must rapidly begin the shift
from a ‘thing-oriented’ society
to a ‘person-oriented society.
When machines and
computers, profit motives and
property rights are considered
more important
than people, the
giant triplets of
racism,
materialism, and
militarism are
incapable of
being conquered.
did when he last addressed a joint session of the House
and Senate two years ago. The November election gave
Democrats control of the state House with a 34-26
majority after two years sharing power with
Republicans.
Rep. Tina Kotek, of Portland, was elected speaker,
becoming the first lesbian to lead a state legislative
chamber in the United States. She took the oath of
office alongside her partner, Aimee Wilson.
Kotek urged her colleagues to listen, not to be afraid
of different perspectives and not to shy away from
robust but constructive debates.
``All the voices need to be heard, from the most vul-
nerable to the most well-heeled, if we are to meet our
moral obligation to represent and serve all
Oregonians,’’ Kotek said.
Democrats retained control of the state Senate with a
slight 16-14 edge. Sen. Peter Courtney, of Salem, was
elected to a sixth term as Senate president _ a position
he’s already held longer than anyone else in Oregon
history.
Lawmakers will have a busy calendar when they
return next month to formally begin their business.
The economy has stabilized, avoiding the massive
budget deficits that lawmakers have faced in recent
years. But the costs of providing government services
are rising faster than tax revenues, and the Legislature
will still have to cut millions in spending to arrive at a
balanced budget.
On top of budget issues _ including school funding,
pensions and prison sentences _ lawmakers also will
confront environmental issues, transportation funding
and immigration issues.
Working
together to
keep the
dream alive
The Pacific Northwest
Regional Council of
Carpenters
The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters is
over 20,000 carpenters, piledrivers, drywallers, mill-
wrights, trade show workers, shipwrights, exterior/interi-
or specialists, scaffold erectors, insulators and related
craft workers who have banded together to maintain and
improve Safety, Wages, Benefits, Training and Working
Conditions.
The Portland and Seattle Skanner Martin Luther King Special Edition January 16, 2013 Page 17