1 0-TKE CAROLINA TIMES WT.. FEBRUARY tl,1M1
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Full .Employment Is Maj or Anti-Inflation
Answer of the 1980's
. By Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins
Everyone has noticed the dramatic in
crease in gasoline prices, since President
Reagan decontrolled domestic oil prices on
January 28, 1981.
Nationwide, the average price of a gallon
is $1.32. It appears that this price will jump
at least three cents more before the end of
February. And then before the market settles
down, the experts say that some additional
increases will occur.
Riding on the crest of this bad news,
comes some more news, which is good in one -sense
but bad in another.
The National Automobile Dealers
Association's recent convention in Los
Angeles, passed a resolution calling on the
auto manufacturers to roll back their new
car prices to October, 1980.
What has necessitated this; drastic move by
the NADA is the fact that half the nation's
car dealers either lost money or barely sur
vived in 1980. Worse yet, some 1600 of the
losers were forced out of business last year
by economic conditions which rival the
Great Depression.
If the prices were rolled-back this would
be good news to consumers.
Surprisingly the car dealers are saying that
not only are auto prices too high, but that ,
high interest rates charged by banks are
psychological road blocks for customers ;
considering buying new cars.
The unfortunate fact is that the auto
manufacturers lost some $4.0 billion last
year. They say that rolling back 1981 prices
would cause them to lose another $3.0
billion. ,
. This is bad news for consumers who may
now need to consider replacing their older
model autos.
It may be that the banks may come to the
consumer's rescue because even they are
beginning to complain about high interest
rates. One banker was quoted the other day
as saying: "I very truly believe we're in the
death throes of this present interest-rate con
; yulsion."
He warns that if we continue in the direc
tion we are going, it will "have a very serious
impact on the entire economy."
Another big banker notes, "The rapidity
of the climb in interest rates is having a
shock effect that the markets cannot ig
nore." The continuing rise in gasoline prices, the
high cost of transportation and the exorbi
tant interest rates, are the things that are kill-!
ing the economy, and keeping inflation at;
the nerve-hub of the problem. .
Related to these excesses, and also feeding',
inflation are rampant unemployment (IS.
million persons added to the unemployment'
rolls since last January), and critical price in-,
creases in food, energy, medical care and
housing. ,
There are ways out of this dilemma, but it
is going to require basic changes in the
policies of the Federal Reserve Board which ;.
has relied too much on tight money and high ' ;
'Interest rates to fight inflation, and which
has caused severe unemployment in the na
tion. ' '' ' '
11 Will HIMJ ICIUI1G lliai lliv vuiigiwn anu
the Executive Branch talk tough to the
Federal Reserve Board, to get the Board to
loosen ! its crippling restrictive money
policies.
And further, the Congress must insist that
the mandate of the ,1978 Humphrey
Hawkins Full Employment and Balanced
Growth Act be observed, especially as the
mandate outlines the measures for fighting
inflation. These specific anti-inflationary
measures include monitoring inflation
trends, anti-shortage programs, strengthen
ing competition, removing unnecessary
regulations, and a voluntary national in
comes policy covering all types of income.
The Humphrey-Hawkins Act wisely)
recognizes that the Congress must determine
the details of the wide range of economic '
policies needed to help achieve the broad
anti-inflationary goals of the Act. But the
policies must be more than adequate, if the
goals are to be reached. And the goals are
reachable.
What is required is that this great nation
not rest on its oars, or lower its sights, or
duck its duties but take the positive steps
needed to stimulate economic growth, put
people to work and fight inflation even if it
means across-the-board controls which, if
the proper things are done in the first place,
may not be necessary.
Let's Abolish Black to Be Equal
History Month
Food Stamps A Target
As we come to the end of
"Black History Month", the em
phasis on the discussion of ac
complishments of black people in
America's history will seemingly
come to an end. The ac
complishments of those Afro
Americans who discovered, in
vented, led, wrote, composed,
improved upon and what have
you, will be neatly tucked away
for another year.
We know that this is the only
time that black children have an.
opportunity to hear and learn any
quantity .
the only
sion and that is tp perpetuate
the myths and sterjptypes that
support a decadent white
supremacy theory.
' By Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
The Food Stamp program is stated to ex
pire this year, and if we are to avoid creating
a hungrier America, it will have to make its
should be included in the history way through an increasingly hostile Con
lessons every school day, not just A . v . tn .rnn
vvvii vuiw . v mivi x
program, few of its opponents plan anything
so drastic this early in the game. Rather, they
are targeting the program for drastic cuts in
funding and a harsh restriction in eligibility
requirements that would remove many needy
people fron the rolls. .
From its inception, the Food Stamp pro
gram has faced a rough road. It started as an,,,
This productive and pioneering
history of black! Americans
one month a year (if students are
lucky enough to have a teacher
who knows anything about it).
These and other ac
complishments would let our
young people know that black
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V irv uiaivri j vwjsj ., . y UTtr: - - r- BTIcmnt nft m
they have. It is expected that the Food Stamp
program will take over ten billion dollars in
the budget next year.
But that reflects the greater need for food
stamps, as more people are unemployed and
as food prices rise sharply.
If congressmen are concerned with cutting
costs, let them take positive steps to create
jobs and restore the general economy to
health. That way, people won't need food
stamps to survive they'll have paychecks
instead.
Not that food stamps provide any lavish
aid. The average recipient gets stamps worth
feed the hunKrybutift JreiDL about V4Ua month, which works out to perv,
lit .iiiii 1111 i iiiiiiiiii .ii i 1 1 . w--:kjwaui v. Aititi -r- Twinrr i u t ill ciirniini i ii j i .liiiu i i. ill . . itir-v r 1. 1 r-. nn . . i mi. i r"i 1 1 i-i . . ii isii-i
f ... -mmwt 11"'. iw. fm nil w hit n.y rfmt ..ik. "i,'(J mr.vn uw-kw. .m aimmuwwk .-1 V w w-. F in j-" ' - -r-w . tv. . un.-niiiiwi r iuvii .
maiOrilV race near OI inOSe aC- wuu; ym uiu mm uiv vuiuvu (mm naa always uccn iuukcu in inc. jucpttii ucuciu scaics oic uascu wn a iuuu an iiioi
rnmnlishments. This is nreciselv
- I j
why r we should abolish Black
History Month.
Treating those many ac
complishments as a special
category of history is; the wrong
approach. Dr. Charles Drew's
pioneering work in blood preser
vation and as founder of the
blood bank is not an accomplish
ment that should be relegated to
one month. His work affects us
every day and is a major reason
N that many Americans and people l
around the world are alive today, i
Open heart surgery, first done by'
Dr; Daniel Hale Williams, is now
an every day occurrence. The first '
clock made in America by Ben
jamin Banneker, the oil stove and
refrigerator by J. Standard ;
these accomplishments and others
while taken for granted need to be
properly attributed in the annals
of American history. There is on
ly one reason for denying inclu-
pf racism on their backs. Such
knowledge should help to inspire
our youth when they want to cry
that the reason they can't succeed !
in a white world is "cause I'm:
black". That is not to say racism1
does not exist or that there are!
times that ow will be treated un-;
fairly because of skin color, but
that if our forefathers were able
to accomplish what they did
under those circumstances we
should be able to conquer any
thing that now comes up.
We call on educators to insist
upon the purchase texts that in-'
elude the accomplishments and
contributions of all minority
Americans in the day to day
events of history. The sooner the
worth of all races of mankind is
properly acknowledged, the
sooner Americans will develop
mutual respect and aid this coun
try in living up to its creed of
'liberty and justice for all.
ment of Agriculture.'
Even after it got off the ground, the pro
gram came under heavy attack for escalating
costs, waste, and welfarism- Those attacks
increased after, the recessions sent the
numbers of eligible people higher and the,
Carter Administration, to its credit, loosen
ed punitive eligibility requirements.
The real reason; for attacks on the pro
gram have little to do with costs, which are
inevitable, or Waste, which is virtually non
existent. They have everything to do with the
fact that it is a program that helps poor peo
ple in a way that effectively demonstrates
how well a federal social program can work.
' Not that costs haven't been rising fast
the government admits does not provide an
adequate diet.
I Charges of waste have been made since the
program started. As a consequence, it has
been one of the most closely examined pro
grams 'on the booths. And. those examina
tions have failed to reveal the waste and
fraud so commonly and irresponsibly
made. , A) ,
In fact, there is no doubt at all that the
strict eligibility requirements serve to
discourage )many people from claiming
benefits', although the stamps are needed.
And the JJrban League's Black Pulse survey
last year revealed that large numbers of eligi
ble families7, including welfare families, do,
not receive food stamps.
Of those receiving the stamps, almost all;
have incomes well below the poverty level.
An exhaustive investigation made by govern
ment investigators in 1979 found few in-
stances of abuse and nine out of ten red-
pients below the poverty level, which itself is
set far too low to reflect current prices.
Of course. Congress should be concerned,
that about one out of ten Americans needs
food stamps to survive. The fact that over
twenty million people get the stamps and
millions more are eligible for them says,
something about inequality and unjust hard-
.nijHAte&af flirt ourjeonornywnR ioiri viai;oj
ftPWiiQ&wy-DreaaHi ot uie program is. a.
major reason why it must be continued and i
strengthened. Too many families depend on 1
food stamps for the program to be weaken-
ea. ideas now oemg noatea, sucn as reduc
ing the stamps given the elderly, or cutting
eligibility requirements, are unconscionable
at a time of high unemployment and ram
: paging inflation.
The stamp-slashers need to be reminded :
that a 1967 Field Foundation report found .
widespread hunger and malnutrition in :
America, affecting perhaps ten to fifteen!
million people. A followup study ten years
later after use of food stamps became. -widespread
found far less hunger, thanks
to food stamps and other federal nutrition .
programs.
Getting Smart
Government Spending Affects All
By Walter L. Smart
Executive Director
United Neighborhood Centers of America
Things You Should Know
William
HARRISON
EST I ,
k i t hrfe?. i.
Born in 1874, on a farm
in Clay County, Miss.He
studied at Roger Williams
University, Nashiville, Ten
nessee and at Chicago
University. He was admit
ted to practice law in 1992!
He parcticed in the V S.
Supreme " Court and was
special judge of the superior
court,(Oklahoma) and . was
president of more than one
important Negro civic
organization!
One of President Reagan's campaign pro
mises was to cut government spending and to
provide us with a cut in taxes. Many citizens
are looking forward to a cut in government
spending in the belief that it can be done
without affecting them.
Cutting Government spending touches not
just "the poor," but all of us. Consider for a
minute what the federal government pur
chases With the $616 billion or so it will
spend this year. Roughly 23 per cent goes for
common defense. An additional 36 per cent
goes for social security, federal and other
pensions, veterans' benefits and related
medical coverage one or another of which
almost all of us will receive. Another eleven
per cent goes to interest payments to all
holders of government bonds and notes.'
(Statistics from an article in the Washington
Post).
. - Only 1.3 per cent of the federal budget
' goes to what most people mean by
"welfare" cash payments to about three
'million needy families, and another 1.6 per
cent to food stamps for twenty million of the
.poor.
1 In fact, welfare costs are now such a small
part of the federal budget that it becomes an
nsienifVant factor when preparing thd
budget.
If money is to be saved, it comes down to
cutting out benefits for all of us not just
highways, dams, airport subsidies,
agricultural and maritime supports,'
downtown renovations, etc., but a lot of
things that fall in the category of "social ser
vice." These include programs to curb child
abuse a problem far from being limited to
the poor and to track down fathers who
skip out on their child support and alimony
payments many of these aren't poor at all
and subsidized loans for the children of
middle-class parents who now find it im
possible to put aside the $10,000 a year it
now can take for a college education in a
private institution.
Even the Medicaid program for the needy
spends the big chunk of its dollars not on
caring for slum kids with runny noese, but
on nursing homes and other institutional
care for people who find themselves outliv
ing their resources and without relatives to
assume the cost and responsibility for their
care.
OMB director David Stockman has noted
that waste-cutting "will hardly make a dent"
in the budget problem. He further stated,
that reducing waste will take not onlv time
but willingness to invest up-front money in
better management controls.
Add to this argument the amount of
money by which we plan to imcrease the
defense budget and you can begin to perceive
the kind of world we are building for
ourselves and for our children.
Believe you me, this is an issue which af
fects all of us: and all of us have a right to be
heard. Have you voted lately?
Keeping The Dream Alive
A Painful Topic
By Don McEvoy
a
This is going to be a very difficult column
for me to write and, I trust, equally painful
for you to read.
Ten years ago when one southern school
district was experiencing a controversial
school desegregation struggle, and Oath for
White Teachers and Principals was widely
distributed by a local hate-group. It was a
scurrilous document which proposed that
"all white high schools will write up as many
suspensions on Negroes as they occur, small
or large." The stated purpose was to
stimulate the drop-out rate" and make'high
school graduation as difficult as possible for
any black student.
That was 1971. Now, in 1981 this same
contemptible sheet is appearing again, this
(Continued on, Page U)
affirms
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