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............ - 4 ; Editorials Our Political Leaders: A Good Lot. . .But. One should not tonstruc from The Carolina times story, last . week that we "attacked Durham's black political leadership". Quite the contrary. ; " Our leaders, political, moral, social, business or whatever, are all human, with every human foible that besets each of us. But the positions they occupy are so crucial to the comrrjunity's overall welfare that we simply can't afford the wisdom of hind sight. By its very definitibn, the term "leaders" is ambiguous. For ex ample, Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary gives more than a dozen definitions of the term, and in the context of this discus sion, two of them are very enlightening.- f One definition says a leader is: "a person who has comman ding authority or influence." We certainly want our leaders to fit that definition. Cultivated and trained in the reality of being' black in America, our leaders, those chosen and ordained by us to represent our interests, carry the authority to speak in our behalf. Our goal in conferring that authority is that they will influence political decisions favorable to our interests. But another definition, also in Webster's, carries a veiled threat. That definition says a leader is: "something that guides fish into a trap". And now you understand our story. We are not fighting with our political leaders, and when we point out indiscretions, or even mistakes in the future, the intent is to reinforce the first definition of leader, and to make sure that the second always refers to "finned" fish and not us. Spring Is Here This beautiful weather that we've been blessed with just makes the heart sing. There's probably nothing more reassuring than to come awake each morning just before the sun's rays grace the eastern skies, and hear the cheerful chirping of birds, smell the pleasant aroma of blooming flowers and anticipate the bounce our step will pro bably have that day. And as we greet the day, dressed and ready to take care of business, , there's nothing that turns that day into a pleasant ex perience any more than the. bright sun, with its invigorating warmth. Yes, there's something about Springtime that seems to make life more worth living, and things more worth doing. So 'we highly recommend; taking- advantage, of ..both , the beaut if ul,weather;and the longer daysttfVurn off the Television: get out of the house and enjoy this lovely Spring. ', Swimming In The Mainstream The message is clear. Blacks must learn to swim and swim well in the mainstream We've heard it in recent months from almost every direction, and last week it came through again, loud and clear, from William Clement, who sits on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority . Our hope is that people will hear the message and heed it. The time is gone when black people can content ourselves with wading along in a sort of "baby pool" of economics, politics and other vital issues in this country. We must develop our skills and dive headfirst into the mainstream. ",'' And some of you who've been swimming around in the mainstream for years must agree to serve as lifeguards for those among us who are going to have to tread "water for a while. ;.; ':. ;;;-;';-' "-'v; 'S-, . If there is ho struggle, there is no progress. Those who propose to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean 's majestic waves without the awful roar of its waters. " 'I . v - 4 j ; .Frederick Douglass ' Affirmative Action: Warning: Reaganomics Kills Blacks , The health of blacks in this country has.; long been on a precipitous slide. The .dreary statistics about high rates of 'cancer, heart disease ,' diabetes, etc., are directly tied to the perilous conditions blacks find themselves in. And if the Reagan Administration budget cuts arc ' pushed through, expect a worsening of an . already dire situation. . - The African National Congress or South Africa, which is spearheading the. liberation struggle in the land of apar theid, has pointed out how the Pretoria ; regime has a decided interest in killing off as many blacks as possible out of fear of growing black militance. In the U.S., the "chip and robot k revolution" has ' meant that blacks as workers ;2lare rapidly becoming -superfluous, thus killing off blacks here is approaching the level of South Africa. Take the school lunch program, for exam-. pie, which has . improved the health of thousands of black (and white) youth. Treating catsup as a, vegetable stirred" mass outrage when it was proposed. But that was hot .Reagan's only absurd maneuver. He has sought to treat pickle relish as a vegetable also, not to mention treating cookies and corn chips as bread. Furthermore, Reagan wants to have the . egg used in making a cake credited toward the allotment of meat and meat substitutes and have the juice used in jam counted as a "fruit serving I Under Reagan's proposed rules, a black high school student might be served two slices of cheese, one-fourth cup of grape juice, one cupcake, a cup of whole milk and a quarter-cup of canned peaches for lunch! , i . Since the school lunch program has often provided black youth the only wor thwhile meal received during the course of the day, malnutrition rand even death among these blacks is expected to ensue. But they won't be the only ones hurt. Over 20 of the food served in school lunches represents surplus commodities purchased by the federal Government to stabilize farm prices. The remaining 80Ve ..is purchased locally, with direct benefits to the local economy. According to Carol ' By Gerald C. Home, Esquire ' . . Tucker ; Foreman, former assistant ' agricultural secretary for food and con sumer services, if less food is used in : school lunches, both farmers and local . economies will suffer, r v " ' In his haste to give blacks the shaft, j Reagan doesn't appear to recognize that ' he is sinking the entire economy. The, school lunch program is not the only vie-, tim of Reaganomics that will wreak havoc V among blacks. Dr. Robert Davis, one of ? five blacks in the U.S. with a Ph.D. in t demography, and a professor at North'. Carolina A&T State University , has ' spoke.n eloquently on this impending crisis. f : "As the economy contracts, blacks will 1 experience a notable increase in suicides ' ' alcoholism, violence within black families ' and stress related illnesses such as cir rhosis and hypertension, the leading cause of strokes." He added that the closure of urban health clinics offering pre-natal care and, rising health costs generally would. mean! the black infant mortality rate will go un- checked. . Already almost one dollar in ever 10 generated by the U.S. economy goes for: medical care today, as against one dollar; in 20 two decades ago. Spiralling health1 care costs are leaving many in the dust but particularly blacks. The mean figure for a mere visit to aT doctor is a hefty $23. The mean charge for a dental visit is a whopping $48. While some have health insurance to cover such costs, blacks are more likely than whites says the American Public Health Association to be bereft of such a " cushion. This is compounded by the shutting' down of public hospitals after bitter . and raging battles in cities with substantial black populations such as New . York, Philadelphia, Washington, St. . Louis, etc. i A case in point is Provident Hospital, located in Baltimore's predominantly black Northwest side. More than 50V of ; its patients receive medicaid, a program to be slashed severely by the Reaganauts. t The Reaganauts are pushing madly the ' .rule that medicaid patients should be -limited to only 20 days of in-patient care. Thus, hospitals like Provident can either ' evict a patient after the limit is up or treat , the patient until care is no longer needed 1 and face the prospect of not getting paid .. for its services by the state or federal government. - '.' - - -' -. , - This could bankrupt the entue c-pera-:' , tion. And, if the hospital were to close its 'doors, the community would lose 1,000, jobs, more than $20 million a year budget and education and training opportunities ' s for young physicians and dentists of col-: or. . While Reagan is working overtime to gut health care for the black and poor, handouts - to - the - wealthy continue unabated. A recent study by Gail Wilen . sky of the National Center of Health Ser vices Research confirms this dastardly state of affairs. She documents that the Government spends as much on health care for the rich ' as it does for the poor, when tax breaks' . for insurance and medical statements are taken into account. ; , In 1977 alone, the Government lost ' $7.5 billion because employer-paid health ' insurance premiums were tax free; and the ": Government lost $2.4 billion because of medical deductions on individuals' in , come tax forms. These tax breaks tend to favor the af-; fluent with 60 going to the high-income 1 and only 1 7e to the poor. Moreover, while the Government spent $10 billion on medical care for the poor, through tax breaks, an equivalent amount was ex pended on the rich. If such trends continue, either black health or the entire health care system will . collapse. There are alternatives, as ever. Congressional Black Caucus member Ronald V. Dellums has introduced a bill which, if passed, would go a long way toward ameliorating many of the pro blems described above. But it will take pressure on the entire Congress and raised . voices to ensure its passage Until then, holding the fort against Reaganomics is a dire necessity. To Be Equal j. The; Enterprise Zone1 Experiment , ' r f i Bv John E.Jacob Executive Director, National Urban League Congress is considering a 'new expert- - ment whose sppporters say holds the, Vpo-ri " miseof revitalizating the urban economy " and creating jobs for the poor.' , , ;: The Urban Jobs and Enterprise 2ne Act, better known i as the Kemp-Garcia , bill after its prime spbnsors, is one of several ; proposals, including an Ad ministration ; bill; that would offer tax breaks to companies in impacted areas. , , The basic idea is to use the tax system to entice prospective employers into- the inner-city and stimulate job-creating ac tivity there. ' "V 1 v ' As Congress confronts this important proposal, it will have to carefully consider all aspects of the plan. A final version that ,is carefully tailored to urban realities could well bring new job opportunities to people now locked out of the job market. But if Congress falls into any one of several pitfalls, it could wind up creating a " costly program that fails tornake a dent in : , urban unemployment. . 1 One basic question Congress must decide is whether the enterprise zone plan is a business assistance measure or a job creation effort. . ' Obviously, there are elements of both ' in the package. But if the plan is to create enough jobs then its business assistance components must be targeted at job creating incentives. , ,. For example, a final bill that induces capital-intensive industries that are highly automated to move into a zone will not end up creating many jobs. But if the final , version of the plan tilts toward labor intensive companies and small businesses, : then it could cut urban unemployment. Virtually all jobs created in our , economy are created by small businesses. . , While big ; corporations have already received enough tax breaks to virtually wipe out corporate taxation in the next few years, highly targeted tax breaks could be the difference between success or failure for smaller enterprises. ,. - Congress will, alsq have to, resist the tempttjon to turn an enterprise zone into a Christmas tree' bill with lots of goodies distributed so thinly across the country that the experiment never has a chance to work. In the past it has turned targeted economic development programs into broad aid programs covering affluent and poor sections alike, with nobody getting enough benefits for the program to make an impact. Another danger lies in weakening pro visions requiring 'significant portions of the - work-force to be residents of the zones. It would not be surprising if so meone came along with an amendment whose effect would be to throw - tax dollars at a company that moves its ad dress to a zone without hiring the disad vantaged. On the plus side, the Congr and should, beef up the resources for training, housing and wial service provisions needed by the one's, residents if theyare to benefit from the program. Enterprise zones have a 1;ir better chance of success if they ' are conn plemented by such support services. As Dr. Andrew Brimmer has written: "enier prisc zones standing alone (although sheltered by tax incentives) arc unlikely ring tne disau- ongress could. ie plan with to be a viable means of rescuing depressed urban areas." , , , So no one should be under any illusions that enterprise zones are a panacea that will automatically transform the inner ci ty. They imply dangers that poverty value increases would displace poor tenants, dangers of simply shifting unemployment from one area to another, and dangers of weakened protections for workers and the' environment. Those dangers are worth risking if the payoff will be more jobs for the inner city poor. But let's go into this with our eyes open and with a full appreciation for the experimental nature fit the program. I back enterprise zones carefully designed to create the maximum number of jobs for the disadvantaged primarily because they are the only game in town. Che situation of the black poor is so lesperate we should trv anvthina that has of interest to VETERANS 111 NORTH CAROLINA BLACK PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Born in Columbia. $.C, Jn 1871 . educated in New' Hampshire, he was class orator ancl co-editor of his college paper. He got his Ph.D. in 1$95: his M.D.' from Jefferson Medical College. Philadelphia. . in 1906: As a scientific researcher, - he made medical history Mb his pioneer work on the causes and preven tion of tuberculosis. He was also a celebrated chronicler of Negro history. , .'. 'v . - ' , ' c i u ' - -Continental Features rrf- V . m ) . mJJ Federal help for veterans and moat other categories of citizens is being tightened or reduced by the current admin istration. But other sources of aid, often overlooked because of their variety and special re quirements, remain available. Consult your state or county veterans' office. Virtually every state offers special benefits supplementing federal programs handled by the Veterans Administration. ' Among the most valuable can be school loans' and scholar -ships often available to the ' children and spouses of de- ' ceased or severely disabled veterans and former prisoners of war. Not aU are so limited. ' ''-vu.:'.-: Some states, like Virginia, . exempt war veterans from paying tuition at state colleges if they are no longer eligible for GI Bill benefits. Minnesota offers hondrably discharged ' state : veto $250 toward tui tion ' after GI benefit are .exhausted. - Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Ohio give preference to vet erans and their families In ; tenant selection for housing : projects. Other states waive certain business or profes sional licensing requirements , or fees. Benefits like these . do not cost taxpayers money but provide a readjustment boost to men and . women who have honorably served their country in uniform. LE. AUSTIN Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 (USPS 091-380 (Mrs.) Vivian Austin Edmonds Editor-Publisher , : Kenneth W. Edmonds Ganersl Manager L.M.Austin Production Supervisor Milton Jordan Jordan Associates EditorialAdvertising Consultant Curtis T. Parkins Contributing Editor-Foreign Affairs vnievHia sirsei, Dumam, N.C. 27701 Una located at 823 Old Fi Class Postage paid it Durham. North Carolina 27702. Volume 60, Number 11. Office Second POSTMASTER: Sand address changes to THE CAROLINA TIMES r.0. Box 3825. Durham. M.C. 27702-3825 TIMES, North Carolina residents). Single copy 30t. Pastel regulations REQUIRE advance payment ea subscriptions. 'Address an trnmSnt and nuke si checks payable tp: THE CAROLINA TIMES. umcnwm ,Bfl ' fSSSnSW . AmslosmMod tSSSSZ fT l,oeWto"' Nrt" Cmn tokNwZt Association. Opinions axprssssd by columnists In this aewipsoer da eat Necessarily represent the policy af this iiewsDsaar - " '' "IP WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE for I r the retura af ua-
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May 8, 1982, edition 1
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