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14-THE CAr.:LCTl!iSES-SATUROAY. JULY II. 1982 Editorials' To Be Equal ; mmmsmmmssmsssm a eep For North Carolina Reforming The Tax System When white North Carolinians feel the urge to brag about how our state has progressed, we hope they will think about this elec tion, shut their mouths, and go to work to eliminate their obses sion with insane racism that seems to permeate every decision. We hope that they will begin to recognize that their racism is the biggest threat to the survival of the U.S.A. as a great nation in this world not communism. Racism is literally destroying this country and those who continue to practice it are the most un American. Will they who are so insecure ever be able to remove their blindfolds of insecurity before it's tod late? The time is very late now! ,. ' The far, far better prepared man lost the run-off election for the 2nd district congressional seat for one reason and one reason only black skin. If Michaux's skin had been white, he would have swept the election the first time around based on qualifica tions alone. We do not weep for Mickey. We weep for our state our con gressional district, our country - which needs Mickey in Con gress far more than Mickey needs the headaches of the job. . By John E. Jacob ': Executive Director, National Urban League End The Farce When the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People endorses a candidate, that's news. And it is time that Com mittee leaders recognize that and act accordingly. ' The endorsement decisions should be openly and formally announced the evening after they are made. That, then, would end this farce of secrecy. The secrecy of the Committee's vote is a farce both as a matter of practical applica tion, as well as a direct result of the Committee's historical struc ture. . . " Every year, on the eve of every election, Committee leaders stand up and plead with the audience, all black people, at their meetings not the publicize the decisions made in the meeting. But the Committee has ab solutely no way of enforcing that desire, partially because every black person in Durham County is a member of the Com mittee, including those who are co-opted, or who have interests that conflict with Committee in terests. They participate to whatever degree they chose and then go tell whoever they choose. The openness of the Commit tee is admirable, but we might as well face it: with that openness, we render secrecy a farce. There is no way to determine who might be in the meeting for purposes inconsistent with the Committee's objectives. There is,, no way of knowing what so meone might do as a result of having lost a vote in the Com mittee, jor when they sincerely believe the Committee has made a mistake. But one thing history appears to indicate is that whatever peo ple might do, one of the things they don't do is keep the results a secret. Actually, the desire for secrecy often puts unfair and unrealistic demands on people. For example, if a black employee of a candidate comes to the meeting, often at the. behest of the candidate, is this person going to leave the meeting and tell his or her employer that the results are secret? To believe that is unrealistic and unfair because the Committee can't give this employee a job. Neither can the Committee subsidize his or her personal and family respon sibilities until the person finds a new job if the employer can didate fires the black person for adhering to the secrecy rule. If a black campaign worker comes to the meeting and his or her candidate wins, should this person not get that exhilerating word to the candidate and other campaign workers?, If (hj.s sup porter's candidate doesri 't get ' the endorsement should not a conscientious campaign worker get that word out as quickly as possible so as to minimize as much as possible the impact of not getting the Committee's en dorsement. So it seems to be an unfair and impractical burden that the Committee . places on many black, folks with this secrecy practice. And since it seldom, if ever, works anyway, why not simply publicize the decisions immediately after they are made, and end this farce of secrecy? To do ,. this will also erase the pall of treachery that hangs .over the Committee's work aftet every decision. Every" Few months some hot new idea surfaces in Washington. This time it's the flat rate tax and it has attracted interest from liberals and conservatives alike. ". The basic idea is simple: wipe out all tax loopholes and then tax all income from all sources at a flat rate. Since the tax base would be larger than it is under the pre sent loophole-ridden systemj the govern ment could collect as much revenue with : lower rates. v. ' ;, ,. . '' Like all simple ideas, this one has some appeal.. But it is a good idea to examine this piece of goods very carefully before buying it. Given the fact that the same people who helped blow holes in the pre sent tax code so enthusiastically embrace the flat tax, we ought to be suspicious. And a good ground for suspicion is the fact that a flat tax would replace what is in theory, at least '-r- a progressive tax system with higher rates for those who earn more. That makes sense, even if a high White House aide has called the progressive in come tax "immoral." But tax progressivi ty is a sound corrective for adjusting gross disparities in income; those in the highest brackets have the greatest stake in society and so can and should do more to support it. But all that is theory. In practice, the ; affluent take advantage of a broad variety of tax shelters and tax-free investments. Such special tax benefits, called tax ex penditures, cost the government about $250 bjllion a year through lost revenues from individuals and businesses. - The other bad thing about those loopholes is that they distort the. economy, since investment decisions are not necessarily made because they are wise or productive, but because, they shelter income from the tax man. So why not move to a flat tax For one thing, the flat tax system would im mediately become encumbered by fresh loopholes. ; c You can be sure that present modest tax breaks for low ahd moderate income peo ple such as deductions for charitable con tributions or exclusion of social security benefits would go by the boards. But old loopholes for the affluent would worm their way back into the tax code. And the principle of progressivity is im portant; it should be kept in any reformed tax system. Even if all rates are reduced by ending loopholes, it is unfair to tax a $10,000 earner at the same rate as a $100,000 earner.. A Most plans for a flat tax rate would cut tax rates for high income families and raise them for everyone else. That kind of "reform" would be disastrous. The only way a flat tax rate system would be palatable is If it is part of an in come maintenance plan that transfers funds directly to peqple who don't make enough to pay taxes. , . In one form or another, such a "credit income tax" has been suggested as a replacement for the welfare system. In troduced on a sliding scale, it would pro vide helpful supplements to low income working families while providing a minimum acceptable level of sustenance for the poor and correct the inequities of the present welfare system. If such an income maintenance pro gram were to be part of a reformed tax system then it would be assured of wider support. But without such a combination of an income maintenance system and the tax system, there is no justification for moving to a flat rate tax. The - present, problem lies in the loopholes, not in the progressivity of the tax system. People are angry about taxes because the' system is not fair it is not progressive in its workings and the average' wage-earner often pays higher rates than the wealthy. Stripping away loopholes would broaden the tax base enough to lower all rate levels and result in a progressive tax system people can respect. Civil Rights Journal h A Message To Black Preachers In America, there are. almost sixteen million black Christians. Less than two million are members of predominantly white denominations. The black church has always kept the flame of freedom bur ning in the hearts of our fathers. In a sweep of phrophecy the Apostle Paul hail ed the preacher as God's agent for the. saving of humankind. As a black preacher, I am of the belief and opinion that we must lead the black church away from a future of being an imitation coun try club. White Christianity is primarily middle class oriented. The black church cannot take on this kind of character simply because so many in the black com munity are not middle class. The white church has historically been ineffective andor silent on the great issues of racism, war, poverty and injustice, with a few exceptions, such as the United Church of Christ, a young denomination. On the other hand, these issues have been the life blood of the survival of the black church. We have had to address these issues because these are the issues that are afflicting our community. We of the black church have the unen viable responsibility of providing the fulcrum on which black liberation and By Charles E, Cobb Executive Director United Church of Christ Commission For Racial Justice ' 'i . - self-determination must rest. Our ministries are inextricably tied to politics, economics and social values. There was a time when the black church was alive and awake. It simply is not enough to call ourselves a sleeping giant, as we so often do and yet continue to sleep. My brothers and sisters of the black clergy if we, the black church, are this sleeping giant, then we have the respon sibility of waking the black church and making it the giant it once was and ought to be. This is our challenge. ' Business In The Black Kennedy Snd Kruschev Cohcefned; Nucleaif Negligence Negates Gains Another Perspective By Charles E. Belle Being Black Is A Qualification In the fight for the 2nd district congressional seat, 'the I. T. "Tim" Valentine camp hurled many racist charges, at H.M. "Mickey'- Michaux, while at the same time contending pubjicly that race was not an issue in the campaign. Of all thejnsults attributed to' the Valentine camp, one in par ticular demands an immediate, forthright response. The statement charged in ef- feet that black voters who sup ported Mr. Michaux voted for "race" in ' the June 29' Democratic primary, while white voters who backed Mr. Valentine voted for qualifica tions; The very nerve. Based upon his education, his background and his political ex-: perience, Mr. NjBghaux is clearly qualified to sit With the nation's lawmakers and try to help guide; America into new directions. After all, he's an attorney, a former assistant district at-; torney, a businessman, a former state legislator and U.S. At torneyand. has been sue-, cessful in each pursuit. But there is more. Mr. Michaux qualifies and frankly leads the field in the race for the 2nd district seat, not because he "happens" to be black or in spite of the fact, that he's black, but - rather BECAUSE he is BLACK. This definition of being BLACK speaks less to pigmenta tion than it does to perspective, perception, , sensitivity and at titude. . And in a time when this na tion sorely needs leaders with a positive perspective, perceptive vision and an attitude sensitive to the needs " of people, Mr. Michaux clearly qualifies. But unfortunately, 2nd district voters whose to repeat the mistakes of tradition and denied Mr. Michaux an oppor tunity to service this district. ! , We contend strongly that Mr, Michaux was clearly the more qualified choice for the office. And one of those qualifications, a chief qualification, if you will, is the fact that he is BLACK. . So the supposition that when black voters vote for black can didates they are voting for race rather than qualifications stands soundly refuted, because being BLACK is a quali fication . "It is a grave and fearful thing that I do to lead this great nation into war." Had the speaker forseen nuclear war he would have winced even more. As it turned out, the atomic bomb was used against mankind in that World War II man made hell. Hope has sprung eternal that the world would be safe from nuclear holocaust since the end of World. War II. Now each of us, "red and yellow, black and white," must decide if further detonation of nuclear weapons is wise., , Well, I don't know about you, but I for one am not yet ready to end all living life on this earth. Every individual will, of course, have to decide hisher fate and that of all further generations in the near future. Failure to sign a nuclear weapons test ban treaty by both super powers allows other more irresponsible nations to ' develop nuclear capability to be used against any country. Fighting for your life and all other life is the issue. Nuclear war once started knows no boundaries or favorite persons, Finding fault with the peaceful develop ment of nuclear reactors for the produc tion of low cost electricity should not cloud the real issue of nuclear prolifera tion in preparation for the last world war. "First strike" thinking is dumb. Both sides of a Soviet-U.S. conflict can retaliate by killing at least 40 per cent of , the others entire population. Polution of the atmosphere, inevitable in even a limited clash, will absorb the death of un told billions after an exchange of nuclear bombs. Both crop and water contamina . tion will close the books on earth as everyone knows it today. Dr. Glenn T. Seaburg, former chajr man of the Atomic Energy Commission, currently professor of chemistry, Univer sity of California, Berkeley, before a solemn Commonwealth Club of Califor nia audience, admitted "the hour is late. Let us hope not too late," to prevent pro liferation of nuclear weapons. A personal witness to the first limited Test Ban Trea ty in August 1963, Dr. Seaburg saw John F. Kennedy and Nikita Kruschev as con cerned citizens for the safety of all humn society. Signatures for a test ban treat' took place after the Cuban missile crises created the "conscious courage" to ens off atmospheric nuclear bomb testini: Unfortunately, as Dr. Seaburg reflect' ' this removal of one of the greatest fears of mankind surrounding nuclear explosion releasing deadly radioactivity into the at- ' mosphere, is today not an immediate con cern of enough countries. Coming to a conclusion on a total nuclear test ban would be quicker if the danger was being demonstrated daily. Death by nuclear explosion is more likely today than yesterday. You, however, may not be counting the days until calamity. Consider nevertheless, that it will be swift or very slow and painful, as there can be no plans for medical assistance after the start of this final war. Nuclear weapons wreck hospitals and kill the help. Have a nice day. 'Army Of Occupation' (Continued from Page 13) plex of security forces in the operational area is designated by the Ovam bo word 'omakakunya.' We found it hard to determine the literal meaning of the word, but its implications are by no means flattering 'bloodsuckers,' ' 'bone pickers', and so on. Not all units may be guilty of atrocities but the local population is inclined to lump all security forces together under one com mon label. Stringent security , measures arc " provided ' for in two proclama tions: AG9 and AG26. AG26 allows the Ad ministrator General to detain any Namibian likely to be a threat to law and order. AG9 allows for the repeated detention of persons on 30-day orders without recourse to legal counsel. That detention and in terrogation in any part of the tountry are ac companied by beating, torture, spare diet and solitary confinement is accepted as common knowledge. We found this attitude among most church representatives we met and among many others as well. Reports of what oc curs in the operational area indicate that it is commonly accepted that in searching out SWAPO guerrillas the Security Forces stop at nothing to tand their attitude when they say that they do not fear the SWAPO guer rillas Z but . the South African Security Forces. These forces arc looked force information out of upon generally people. They break into( throughout Namibia as - an . .. ai iuj f occupation." . '.. Wc discussed SWAPO with practically all the homes, beat up residents, shoot people," steal and kill cattle and often pillage stores and tea rooms. When the tracks of SWAPO guer rillas arc discovered by the Security Forces the massive and that local people are in would be easily vie danger. Harsh measures torious in any free and arc intensified. People: fair election held under arc blindfolded, taken .United Nations supcrvi from -their homes and; sion. people we met and. gain ed the impression that support for SWAPO is it left beaten up and even dead by the roadside. Women are " often raped. It is not unknown for, a detachment to break into a home and, while black soldiers keep watch over the family,; white soldiers select the' best -looking girls and Church circles like the, Council of Churches in ' Namibia and ' the en tourage of the Lutheran Bishops of Ovambo Okavango said that they had no evidence : that SWAPO was Marxist. On the contrary, they knew great numbers of take them into the veld -SWAPO guerrillas who to rape them. There is no are believing and practic- redress because reporting irregularities or atrocities to commanders is con sidered a dangerous or fruitless exercise. ' Since such actions tns Christians. Whatever the Marxist tendencies of SWAPO, it seems to be a movement with powerful ; popular support, inspire ing nine apprcnemiuii m are accepted as tne majority oi tnns characteristic among tians in Namibia. people in the operational area, it is easy to unders- As is usually the case in situations of conflict, the picture presented on one side by the South African government and on the other by the chur ches in Namibia and by persons interviewed by the representatives of the Southern : African Catholic Bishops' Con ference arc so different that . they scarcely seem to refer to , the same issue. According ' to , the Prime Minister "the struggle surrounding j South . West ( AfricaNamibia is in creasingly .turning into a struggle between the ad vocates of the N free ex pression of the right of self-determination and the advocates of power seizure by means of force !and intimidation." V,,' South Africa, in the . eyes of (he prime minister, is an Unselfish - benefactor of the Nami- biann people and its great protector against .violent domination by SWAPO. ' ; In contrast with the picture presented by the. South African authorities, South , Africa, in the eyes Of church personnel and other Namibians that our representatives inter viewed, is the blamewor thy party. It is South Africa, they maintain that ail along has been the main cause of the . conflict; firstly, by refus ing to give up its control of the country when the United Nations ter minated the mandate and the International Court gave an advisory opinion justifying this action: secondly, by maintaining its armed forces in the country and ,by trying, to impose a ; political pattern on Namibia based on apar theid and ensuring its subordination to South 'African interests; third ly, by withdrawing from the Geneva negotiations of January 1981. It also seems clear to us that the great majority of Namibians have one overriding desire and mai i. me implementa tion of UN. Security Council Resolution 435, resulting in a ceasefire, the withdrawal of South A r: C !. -. fMiieau security forces and the holding of elec tions under; United Na. tions auspices. They are : a . quae prepared to live .with'! whatever govern ment emerges from these or any other party or, .combination of parties. - x.. .
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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July 31, 1982, edition 1
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