Page 2 The Skanner January 20, 2016
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
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Opinion
Blackonomics: Unrepresented by Our Representatives
D
oes it really matter who
wins the Presidency?
How can it matter to
Black folks, considering
the way we “play” politics? We
have no power, no leverage,
and little or no influence in
the political arena -- and even
worse it seems we are reluc-
tant to do what it takes to gain
any political clout. So why do
we care so much about the up-
coming election?
Is our political strategy to
say, “I got plenty of nothing,
and nothing is plenty for me”?
Or, “You got to give the peo-
ple, give the people what they
want”? Do we even have a
strategy other than listening
to flowery words from politi-
cians and watching them give
speeches and participate in
debates?
We have empowered an
aristocratic class of pompous,
self-righteous, lying, con-
descending, affluent, aloof,
money-grubbing, narcissis-
tic, insincere, unconcerned,
yet powerful individuals
that many of us hold in high
esteem, for reasons unbe-
knownst to me.
All the incumbents and can-
didates need are a few nice
sounding phrases to make us
think we are in high cotton.
To make matters worse, Black
“leaders” once again are tell-
ing us to vote, but they are not
in specific discussions about
James
Clingman
NNPA
Columnist
who to vote for and why. Oh
yeah, I forgot; the NAACP is
“nonpartisan” (yeah, right)
and cannot endorse or sup-
port any candidate. How con-
venient — and what a joke that
is.
The vast majority of Black
folks are already in the tank
for Hillary. Anyone can see
that. Black organizations will
“
We are merely props for a
circus act.
Where does all of this polit-
ical high drama leave us? Our
unemployment rate is still
double that of Whites, and
we are not creating jobs. Our
health is the poorest in the na-
tion, especially with illnesses
like diabetes, and we don’t
own a dialysis center. Our ed-
ucation is substandard, and
we are not establishing our
own schools. We are dispro-
portionately
incarcerated,
but we are not selling any-
thing to the prisons. Many
economic solutions are in our
hands.
And here’s a political solu-
tion courtesy Rep. William
If you want equity, justice, and
equality, you must…become irri-
tants, become abrasive
—Rep. William “Bill” Clay
feature her at their conven-
tions, and preachers will in-
vite her to their pulpits.
On the other hand, Bernie is
courting Blacks via his “Black
lives matter” rhetoric, and
Trump is saying how much
Black people love him, while
the other Republican candi-
dates are reluctant to serious-
ly lobby the Black vote — in-
cluding Uncle Ben.
“Bill” Clay (D-Mo.): “If you
want equity, justice, and
equality, you must…become
irritants, become abrasive.
Your political philosophy
must be selfish and pragmat-
ic. You must start with the
premise that you have no per-
manent friends, no perma-
nent enemies, just permanent
interests.”
We have set politicians up
as kings and queens, the price
for which can be found in 1st
Samuel, Chapter Eight:
“This is the way the kind of
king [you want] operates. He’ll
take your sons and make sol-
diers of them… regimented
in battalions and squadrons.
He’ll put some to forced labor
on his farms, plowing and har-
vesting, and others to making
either weapons of war or char-
iots in which he can ride in
luxury. He’ll put your daugh-
ters to work as beauticians
and waitresses and cooks. He’ll
conscript your best fields, vine-
yards, and orchards and hand
them over to his special friends.
He’ll tax your harvests and vin-
tage to support his extensive
bureaucracy. Your prize work-
ers and best animals he’ll take
for his own use. He’ll lay a tax
on your flocks and you’ll end
up no better than slaves. The
day will come when you will
cry in desperation because of
this king you so much want
for yourselves. But don’t expect
God to answer.” – The Message
Bible
Unnerving, isn’t it?
James Clingman is the na-
tion’s most prolific writer on
economic empowerment for
Black people. His latest book,
Black Dollars Matter! Teach
your dollars how to make more
sense, is available on his web-
site, Blackonomics.com.
Gov. Rick Snyder Poisons Poor to Save a Few Bucks
F
lint, Mich., is impover-
ished. The auto plants
have closed. Forty per-
cent of the city’s 100,000
residents live below the pov-
erty level. It is majority mi-
nority. It’s been in fiscal crisis
since 2011, with the state tak-
ing over budgetary control
and a state-appointed “emer-
gency manager” driving pol-
icy focused on cutting spend-
ing.
Flint residents are Ameri-
cans, but — like many impov-
erished Americans — they are
forgotten. And state officials
led by Gov. Rick Snyder have
shown that they consider the
residents disposable.
In Flint, the water supply
has been poisoned by lead.
Police are now delivering bot-
tled water from door to door.
But it may be too late for hun-
dreds of kids who are already
suffering from elevated lev-
els of lead in their blood. The
damage done is irreversible
with lifelong consequences,
including lowered intelli-
gence and long-term mental
and emotional damage.
How did this happen? The
emergency manager — ac-
countable only to the gov-
ernor and state officials
— decided to save money
by switching Flint’s water
supply from Lake Huron to
Rev. Jesse
Jackson
NNPA
Columnist
a cheaper source, the Flint
River. Only the river had
been poisoned by waste from
nearby factories for gener-
ations. The toxic wastes not
“
emergency. Finally, a Flint pe-
diatrician tested the blood of
children and discovered lead
levels double and even triple
the prior amounts. State offi-
cials denounced her work be-
fore realizing the truth could
no longer be hidden.
Finally, Gov. Snyder ended
the denial. He declared an offi-
cial emergency, and four days
later called for delivering bot-
tled water. The head of his en-
vironmental agency resigned.
Snyder apologized for the ca-
Flint residents are Americans,
but — like many impoverished
Americans — they are forgotten
only turned the water brown,
it corroded the aged pipes of
Flint’s water system, unleash-
ing lead into the water. Feder-
al law required that the water
be treated, but that would
have cost $100 a day, so it was
not done.
Parents began to complain
of rashes and hair loss. The
state’s environmental quali-
ty agency denied there was a
problem. High-level state offi-
cials knew that the water sup-
ply was lead poisoned for six
months before declaring an
tastrophe, but calls for him to
resign continue to build.
Flint is not alone. Across
America, in ghettos and bar-
rios, reservations and rural
valleys, the poor are isolat-
ed and too often forgotten.
Systems basic to civilization
— plumbing, water systems,
school houses, garbage col-
lection and treatment, roads
and public transport — are in
squalor, lacking even the in-
vestment to keep them up to
minimum standards. Impov-
erished neighborhoods often
lack hospitals, grocery stores,
and decent public spaces. The
poor are left to fend for them-
selves, rising to attention
only when violence breaks
out, when innocents are shot,
when tragedies like Flint be-
come public.
The cost of this callousness
— in lives lost, disease, men-
tal damage, crime, drugs,
hopelessness — are immense.
This isn’t about money. We
pay more on the back end —
in prisons and emergency
rooms, cops and guards, pris-
ons and addiction centers —
than we would have to spend
on the front-end investments
that would give every child a
chance.
Conservatives
continue
to call for dismantling envi-
ronmental regulations. They
slash budgets for policing vi-
olations by corporations or
cities. They want to slash sup-
port for poverty programs
and block-grant them to the
states and localities. The next
time you hear that rap, think
of Flint, its poorest children
betrayed by state officials.
Think of Flint, deprived even
of safe water in order to save a
few bucks.
Think of Flint and investi-
gate your own community.
The horrors of Flint are not
exclusive to that city.