10-TKE CAROLINA TIKES SAT., MARCH 13,1332
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Business In The Black , , . - 4
Aid to Families Cut 32
: Fed Up With Federalism
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By Charles E. Belle
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- Presidents past and present have been
news for the last few weeks. With Lincoln
' and Washington to work with, the present
'. occupant of the White House could learn
a couple of lessons. Like Lincoln's "you
can fool some of the people all of the
time, and all of the people some of the
'' time, but you cannot fool all of the people
all of the time."
The administration's budget contains
many allusions to the "new federalism in
itiative," outlined in the President's State
of the Union message. But the sweeping
proposals for realignments of Federal and
State, responsibilities are not reflected in
trthe. budget projections of spending for
1984 and later years, indicating few peo
ple feel the new "federalism initiative'.' is
here to stay. Instead, only a sharp 327b
cut in "aid to families with dependent
children" of $2.6 billion is actually pro
posed for next year from 1981 's budget.
This is an especially devastating dollar
Editorial
Challenging Citizen Participation
Is One Approach
In its August 1981 report on citizen representation on ap
pointed boards and commissions in the city, the Durham Human
Relations Commission clearly presented a case for improved
We applaud the Commission for its generally fair and
evenhanded approach, not simply in saying there is a problem,
but also pointing out those external, often traditional factors
which mitigate against pat and easy solutions.
But we also believe that the Commission's recommendations
for improvement stopped far short of suggesting approaches that
will not only correct the obvious problem, but will also alter the
underlying principles that produced the problem to begin with.
Citizen participation is most often determined by the in
dividuals perception of his or her relationship with government
rather than by simple desire alone. i
DarrAnc fnr ovomnlo Vir hdiv ttfn tairatit frtr DMimitinnt..
' inai mey are me govcmmem pervptvv. pupuc ?ci vivc vv a.s
responsibility and an opportunity. T . , . f
On the other hand, persons who view government as a distinct
ly separate entity from themselves, are not likely to insist that
they have a responsibility and an opportunity to participate, par
ticularly in the governmental decision-making process.
Most often, these people certainly too many black folks
among them wait until decisions have been made, and then
they react, often unfavorablyor selfishly, in regard to relatively
narrow special interests.
Obviously, we must work to alter these negative and counter
productive perceptions. Therefore, we recommend a course in
Citizen Participation taught, hopefully, at NCCU or Durham
l ecnnicai msmuie, mat win explain locai government s many
roles ana enects on our lives.
The purpose of this course is not to passively convey
bureaucratic data and statistics, but rather to stir its students to
action to challenge them to participate. 7
. The results will be a reservoir of prepared, excited citizens who
not only understand the vital necessity of citizen participation,
but who are also eager to accept the challenges, the respon
sibilities and the opportunities to BE the government, rather than
be victimized by it. : -
Things ?m Should Kaov
10
UIS4
1785-1865
A POOR ORPHAN FROM
THE WcST INDIES WHO JOINED
THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONIST
ARMY AT AGE ELEVEN HE
BECAME THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN
IN HISTORY MASTER FENCER AND
MILITARIST. HE SERVED VVIOELY; WV'
RETIRED IN 1830 AND OPENED FRANCE'S
MOST FAMOUS FENCING SCHOOL IN tjS
MONTPELLIER HIS ADVANCED TEACHING I
METHODS WERE ADOPTED BY THE ARMY AND MOST
FTZtiCH FENCiNG SCHOOLS MANY OF WHICH ARE
NAMED AFTER HIM
Y"
dccision against black America. The un
due and disproportionate number of
black American women on AFDC rolls
.results from racism in America. In 1981,
' the 15 J per cent unemployment rate for
black American women was double the
rate for all workers.
The unemployment rate for black
American teen-age females is currently
more than double that for all teen-agers,'
according . to Dr. Leonard Cole
1 Alexander, director of the Labor Depart
ment's Women's Bureau.: She believes
there are "many difficulties" facing black
American women in their dual roles in the
home and work place.
Perhaps Dr. Cole-Alexander could sug
gest a solution to the President, especially
since black American women worker me
dian educational attainment has risen to
12.4 years nearly equal the level of 12.6
years for white women.
Equal job opportunities open up with
affirmative action goals would go a long
. way toward reducing the disproportionate
.'number of black American women on
AFDC in a positive and constructive man
l net. -r ''sM-ivr '
Making the same mistake as. Cicorge
Washington is a waste of time and human
resources We fire not ? worried about
whether Washington chopped down a
"cherry tree but his conclusion to call back
black Americans into military service dur
ing the, Revolutionary War. With defeat
looking lanky George in the face,
Washington found the common sense to
use all the human resources this country
had to offer in order to deliver freedom to
the colonies.
Countries come and go. Presidents per
sist in pretending the people prefer their ,
aesthetic form of government. People
must play at part in government and
government must play a part for people.
All of the people all of the time.
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Affirmative Action:
Blacks and The
Military Budget
By Gerald C. Home, Esquire ,
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The announcement of President
Reagan's budget has brought wounded
cries of outrage from the Congressional
Black Caucus. - . '
Like so many others, they have pro
tested loudly about the fact that programs
for the poor face the deepest cuts. Food
stamps. Medicaid and Aid to Families
with Dependent Children which were ex
pected to reach $36.5 billion in the current
fiscal year, would be cut back to $32
billion in the next year, a whopping reduc
tion of 12.3. .
At the same time, the Pentagon's
budget has been pushed up dramatically.
By fiscal year 1986, Reagan plans to
spend $342.7 billion (in current dollars)
more than twice the 1981 total.
Though some mistakenly feel that at
least building bombs and tanks means
jobs, a new study done by economist
Marion Anderson in conjunction with
Operation PUSH sharply challenges this
conventional wisdom.
Entitled Bombs or Bread: Black
Unemployment and the Pentagon Budget,
this finely craftetLpiece ..of research main
tains that the astronomical unemploy
ment fates preyaliff4, wtiohg blacks is
directly tied to Wore mifitary spending.
This study found that military spending
has a seriously depressant effect upon job
opportunities for blacks nationwide. Dur
ing the period 1970-1978 when the annual
average of military spending was $85
billion, it cost the jobs of 109,000 black
Americans each year. Every time the
military budget went up $1 billion, blacks
lost 1,300 jobs.
Blacks lost 483,000 jobs in construe-,
tion, the service sector, state and local
government. This number was far greater
than the 84,000 jobs gained from military
contracts even when combined with the
jobs of the 290,000 blacks who were
members of the armed forces.
Moreover, Anderson demonstrates
convincingly that if a billion dollars were
transferred-from military industry to
civilian industry 9,000 more jobs would
be created. . '
. If a billion dollars were used by state
and local governments to hire teachers,
police officers and firefighters, 35,000
more jobs would be xreated than if the
same billion dollars were used to hire
military personnel.' Either way, the
, economy gains and unemployment goes
down.
Even those blacks who work on '
military contracts suffer diminished job
opportunities, for if there are fewer jobs
available nationwide, a person who is
dissatisfied with his or her job, who wants
to ask for a raise or more has just that
much less opportunity to do so.
Thousands of blacks who join the arm
ed forces feel forced into this decision
because of job scarcity. Once in the armed
forces, their upward mobility is severely
limited. A young white person joining the
military has approximately once chance in
six of becoming an officer. An Afro
American has a slim one chance in thirty.
Perhaps the most startling conclusion
of this remarkable study is its clear'
demonstration that in the 21 states where .
90 of the black population lives, 17 of ;
them show a net loss of black employment ;
, when the Pentagon's budget goes up.
Fo example, New York suffers a net
loss of ,58,000 black jobs, Illinois-24,000,
Michigan-18,000,, Florida-14,000,
Pennsylvajiia-7,000. On the other hand,
the top three states that "benefit" from
military spending in terms of jobs gained
Hawaii, Colorado and Washington
Aatcttfi'fopdrtionately small black h-
pdpulatlbnsMThis ravaging of the staW x
employment rolls is surpassed by the Pen
tagon's effect on inflation.
Most military contractors produce on a
"cost-plus" basis. Thus, they have no in
centive? ta improve efficiency and cut
waste, Indeed, the contrary is the case, as
contractors get guaranteed profits no
matter what the costs incurred.
A report by the General Accounting
Office showed that 55 major Pentagon
projects were initially estimated to cost
$125 billion. As of September 1978, the ;
total cost of these projects was pat at $210
billion.. .
Moreover, resources are used in the
production of military hardware at the ex
pense of the civilian sector. Bombs are not
bought by the public. Building them
reduces the stock of civilian goods and
bids up the prices of raw materials. '
Over half of the U.S. scientists and
engineers work on military and space con
tracts. There is no mystery why German
and Japanese autos and electronics are
preferred. Laid-off auto workers would
do better to picket the Pentagon than
scream at the Japanese. '
Further, the federal government must
borrow money in the open market to
finance the military. This not only adds to
the federal debt, it adds to the interest
costs of servicing that debt and it bids up
interest rates the price of money
which everyone has to pay.
These high interest rates have a destruc
tive impact on the sale of cars, houses, on
city and state financing and, ultimately,
on jobs in all these areas.
Military contractors also enter the
money markets to borrow capital for
military production. This, too, reduces
the availability of capital for the civilian
sector and gives an additional boost to in-
This inflation whipsaws the black com
munity. The value of black paychecks are
reduced as raises don't keep pace with in
flation. Blacks are also hit through their
jobs. When interest rates spiral to 187 or
20, autos are not bought, homes are not
built, small businesses are not expanded.
Black workers are trapped in the vice:
higher prices with fewer jobs,
Consequently, jobs are exported from
the Midwest, Industrial Northeast, and
even the South to Taiwan, South Korea
.Ami 1 allii AmAri.a i ' r
-THuV f he'spiraT ccWihueVThe capital
siphoned off through taxes to the Pen
tagon means that it is not available for
civilian enterprises. Less capital invest
ment means fewer jobs and less spending
on maintaining industry. Railroads,
highways, bridges and the infrastructure
generally are neglected.
What is to be done? Slashing severely
the military budget is an absolute necessi
ty. Giving the generals so many toys to
play with only encourages them to be used
in PI SalvaHrtr anH plouhoro
. Taking a mere $10 billion in mass tran
sit would yield 300,000 jobs per year. An
investment of $457 million the cost of
twelve F-15 fighters planes would save
the Guaranteed Student Loan program
from a massive hemorrhage. The $400
million authorized for development of the
Pershing II missile system could restore
massive cuts from health education and
training programs.
All of these moves would aid the black
community, languishing at Depression
level unemployment rates. If you haven't
alreadv. let vnur Senator bnniv thicHiroct.
ly. For as time passes, it becomes even
clearer thai the Pentagon is a vampire
sucking the very lifeblood from blacks.
To Be Equal
SB53S83SBBS8BSSaE
Business And The Cities
By Johrr E. Jacob
I S5C 3SS S3B SSR 838 3t 338 3SS
The time has come or massive business '
involvement in making our cities work
better for all their people, and for special
efforts to bring disadvantaged minorities
into the mainstream.
' I'm hardly calling for the kind of
"voluntarism" the present Administra
tion is pushing as a partial replacement
for its abdication of federal respon
sibilities .., ,
Even with federal programs running
full blast, there, would be an important
place for private, sector responsibility. The
private sector is where the jobs are; where
countless decisions affecting cities and
their people are made, and where vast
potential exists for creative solutions to
many social problems.
But now, with the budget cuts,' the
spreading misery and hopelessness in
America s ghettos, and the abandonment
acs S3 SI SI
business and local governments as pro
viding opportunities for urban health.
It suggests that such "collarborative ef
forts" can stabilize cities, improve ser
vices and neighborhoods, and create
training opportunities and jobs for the
disadvantaged.
But it does not pretend that such efforts
can substitute for federal action or that,
as some fantasize, the private sector can v
fully replace federal programs. That's an
important point, for if we buy the sales'
pitch the Administration is making that
the private sector can do it all, then we
face bitter disillusionment.
Far better to demand from the private .
sector what it can and should do, which is ;
to . work with governmental bodies and '
community based organizations'toward
achievable progress. The CED report
mentions a number of case studies where
' Executive Director, National Urban League
ISiSSiSSSiBBgaSISlSIi
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I.E. AUSTIN
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of local governmenti to face those pro-. ,', such cooperation has paid off, and pro-" iUMf W!II0!L "u7.?:,.0n! ""Jli'?1
blems on their own, it will be absolutely , ; mises a further volume of in-dept analyses v JL UJSSSmSfSLX
ncauoat
necessary for business1 to sten up its pre
sent limited commitment.
That's what makes it so heartening to
hear prominent business leaders placing
fresh emphasis on the private sector's role
' in stabilizing local communities. That new '
interest probably has its most comprehen-
sive expression in a new report issued by
the prestigious Committee for Economic
Development.
the report, titled, "Public-Private Part-j
nership" sees partnership efforts between
ot mose situations. : ; '
If anything, the report might have plac
ed greater stress on the role of those com
munity based organizations. Often, sim
ple partnership with local government is
no guarantee thai benefits will reach the
disadvantaged, as can be seen by some
federal programs that let local authorities
have a "partnership" arrangement that
fails to include community groups.
A tri-partite partnership is cafledTor: '
, i i (Continued on Page 12)
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