Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Oct. 2, 1982, edition 1 / Page 10
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10 THE CAROLINA TiKES- SATURSAY, OCTOSER 2. 1S32 Editorials' A Strategy For Warren County Jo Be Equal . . ' What's Behind 'The New Federalism" J While we sympathize with Warren County residents faced with the burial of 60,000 tons of roadside dirt laced with cancer causing PCBs in a dump in their county, we also see that the demonstrations will continue to be fruitless. The PCBs are going in the dump site.. We don't believe there is much that can be done to stop that. Consequently, once the emo tion, born of fear and uncertainty, dies down, and when the well intentioned, but mostly publicity conscious civil rights leaders leave for another cause, Warren County's newly elected county commissioners should develop a more workable strategy to deal with the problem. ; Realistically, why are the PCBs in Warren County? The technical people say because the soil conditions there are ideal. The citizens of Warren County say the dump site is there because their county is poor and predominantly black. Chances are both of them are partially right. But we suspect that the basic criteria had much more to do with money than with either technology or race. ' Where else in the Piedmont area, within reasonable trucking distance of the 210 miles of polluted roadsides can you find 140 acres of land that is not only undeveloped, but with no concrete plans for industrial, commercial or residential development? We daresay that one would be hardput to find that particular condition any place in this area other than in Warren County. Thus the state toqk the federal government's $1.52 million and put;the toxic dirt in 'a place where there is no apparent economic loss to the state as a result of this selection. Thus, the Warreri County Commission, with its newly elected black majority, and( the county's recently elected state legislator Frank Ballance must put their heads together immediately to develop an ongoing strategy for the county and how it will han dle this dump once it is sealed. tn the final analysis, the county government faces but two im portant questions regarding the toxic waste dump. These ques tions are: what can be done to protect the county's citizens from potential hazards associated with the dump site? also, how can the local government use the dump to enhance its industrial and commercial development position? We suggest the following: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials say they will monitor the test wells on the site twice annually once the landfill is sealed. The County Commissioners shduld propose that EPA train a couple of county employees to test the wells more often than that. The county owns 120 acres of the 140 acre tract, and the Commissioners should put together a package that calls for the federal and state governments to help finance the construction of a toxic waste management research facility on that 120 acres. The rationale is simple. North Carolina is the natidn'Tith'highesfc generator of industrial toxic wastes. In many respects, there is still much to learn about how to manage and dispose of these wastes. A research land testing management facility in Warren County would not only serve the people of Warren County, but would serve well the state and the nation. Finally, we suggest that the county commissioners develop a rating system that shows what impact the PCB dump has on the county's ability to attract industry and commercial interests to locate in their county. If it can be clearly shown that the dump has cost the county some money in industrial and commercial development, then the state and federal governments should be held liable for that.; . . .And Furthermore . i . In addition to what we have mentioned above, we believe the Warren County residents should take other steps as well to ( minimize the impact of the PCBs. The new County iCommisisioners, as soon as they take office in December, should; direct the " County Health Department to develop a proposal to have every resident within five miles of the , landfill site given a complete, free, health examination. The purpose of the examination will be to have a specific health profile of the people living immediately adjacent to the landfill. Thereafter, each of these residents should get free, annual medical examinations, and at the first hint of any deterioration of their health, a series of precautions should be moved into place, to makersure the PCBs don't cause a cancer epidemic. We believe such a health monitoring and evaluation program : The Administration's push for- its "New Federalism" continues. Having ' modified its original proposal to meet some of the misgivings of the governors, - , it is pushing ahead with, its plan to turn ' federal programs over to the states. Despite the jockeying on issues such as medical costs and welfare, the real guts of ; the "New Federalism" lie in turning more ' mundane programs to state control, pro grams like job training, transportation v aid, and many others, . ? - . . , This would be accomplished in .two ' steps. First, the programs would be taken over by the states but financed by Washington initially. Then the federal money would be phased out and the states would have to finance those programs . or simply drop them. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what will happen. Some states will try to carry essential programs; others will be only too happy to end them and let their beneficiaries - typically the poorest citizens fend for themselves. The ideological underpinnings of the "New Federalism" include a belief that the national government should play a far smaller role. This is often cloaked in the fiction that when decisions and programs are confined to the local level, citizen par ticipation is greatest. That is a fiction because the real world outside the old civics books just does not work that way. SvSsvXv:-:-:' Federal programs mandate citizen par ticipation, allow for-wide discussion of proposed regulations, and are subject to oversight by Congress and the executive branch. They have proved more respon sive to public needs than locally-run pro grams typically have been. Rather than having wider citizen par ticipation, local programs generally are controlled by narrow and powerful local interest groups. While on the national level such powerful blocs often cancel ' each other out, on the local level the group with the greatest financial and political clout dominates. . . That means poor people and cities often wind up with the short end of the stick when states run programs instead of the federal government. Andeven on the city government level, in most cases funds and programs are managed for the benefit of just about everyone except the poor. So the rhetoric about strengthening local democracy has very little to do with the real world where poor neighborhoods , don't get the police protection, tne . transportation facilities, or the health care facilities enjoyed by the moreaf fluent areas. Theipresence of federally-financed and controlled programs1 helps redress the balance. The New Federalism would ; reverse that and lodge all power with the state and local elites that have always sacrificed the poor to other interests. By John E. Jacob Executive Director. National Urban . The New Federalism is really about the 7 elimination of programs in transporta tion, health, job training, and many other areas, not just the transfer Of those pro- grams to state control. Its authors are ful-. ly aware that many states will simply drop those programs when the federal fjonds , disappear. - ,, - - , The New Federalism then, virtually in vites the states to compete with each other to pressure the poor to migrate to the few remaining states likely 'to attempt to preserve some sort of civilized standards. ; of aid to the poor. -nl' It is strange that this- "New Federalism" should emerge at a time ; when it has never been more clear that our ; major national problems transcend -localities and regions. Poverty is not an Atlanta problem, transportation is not a .;. Los Angeles problem, job training, not a Boston probien) iney are an national problems transcending specific cities and regions. :.' ' , , '. . To substitute fifty state policies,, stari-.-dards a bureaucracies for single, unified national programs seems to be the op-. '. posite of enlightened conservatism. Make no mistake about it the "New " Federalism" is no abstract reshuffling of authority , between the states and Washington. It is a disastrous new, phase of a war on the poor and a new means of dividing a nation that should be striving for greater unity and common purpose. An Independent View From Gapitol Hill U.S. Complicity In Massacre In Lebanon By Gus Savage Member of Congress In response to tne massacre oi morc than 1,000 defenseless Palestinians in the refugee camps at Sabra and Chatila, on; the outskirts of BeirutrPresident Reagan ordered U.S. troops to return to Beirut, with French arid Italian peacekeeping soldiers, to encourage the Israeli army to withdraw. : ' r According to generally accepted reports Israel invaded the West section of .this capital city of Lebanon, contrary to its agreement which secured the withdrawal of PLO forces, and with Cabinet approval permitted Israeli equip ped and trained "Lebanese militiamen" to travel the some 35 miles from the " Lebanese-Israeli border and enter the camph;fcple for a murderous rampage which lasted more According to a Los Angeles Times report, Israeli soldiers "ringed the camps with armor and sealed off all escape routes... The uniformed (Lebanese) militiamen wore Israeli helmets, were armed with Israeli guns and were taking orders from the Israelis... Entire families were slain... Mothers died clutching their babies... All men appeared to be shot in the back.;; Israeli soldiers stationed less than 100 yards away did not respond to the sound of constant gunfire or the sight of truck loads of bodies being taken away from the camps." The assassinated Lebanese President elect Bashir Gemayel and Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon had previously in dicated their intent to "eliminate" the rc- thaining-PLO supporters. An on-the-scene UPI report moaned, . "Some looked no older than 6 or 7... They were murdered... Everyone who was in the camp when the killers moved through was simply mowed down... in civilian clothes... (They were victims of pure hatred"' This is one time that I substantially agree with the Reagan Administration's , reaction. However, it should have been taken as part of a United Nations force in order to reduce its risks, to increase its stability, and in respect for existing East West world differences. Indeed, our government should have discontinued military assistance to Israel upon Israel's invasion of Lebanon tlfree io months ago. We should not aid or con done aggression. ' The most sophisticated fighter-: bombers, the latest missiles, and the most . destructive weapons used by Israel to kill1 and maim thousands of defenseless old men, women and children in Lebanon are provided by our government with our tax dollars $2.5 billion this fiscal year alone. These funds could have been much better spent at home, to promote con structive employment for our jobless, education for our youths, and security for our elderly and needy. I have consistently spoken out and voted with the distinct minority in Con gress which has sought such a change generally in our federal priorities. In fact. I am proud to be one of the few co- , sponsors of a resolution proposed in Con gress last June calling for Israeli military forces to withdraw then from Lebanon, although my colleagues have not had the courage or conscience to even consider it. Moreover, it is to the shame of the so called organized peace movement ift America that it has not vehemently ex pressed its support for such demands upon Israel and our government in the face of the atrocities we all have seen on our living room television screens almost nigh'tly for 15 long weeks. It is further evidence of the moral bankruptcy of America's racist white liberal and organized labor movements previously ex pressed in their opposition, neutrality or jej-Com to weaken black joalsjn the Bakke ,. case, school busing for integration and ex tension of a strengthened Voting Rights Act. Justice and equality demand that we back the Palestinians' insistence upon the same right to a homeland with secure borders, within the former Palestinian Jewish area that we support for the Israelis. America must recognize the legitimate representatives of the Palesti nian people, the PLO, just as we do the .Begin government of Israel -r and no. longer give to the 3 million Israelis mor I economic aid than we do to the over 300 million starving, black people of the 4' sub-Sahara nations of Africa combined We must become more even-handed and fair-minded in our Middle East policy. Business In The Black t Minds Awash In Blood Watch White Male Unemployment By Charles E. Belle should be planned for a minimum often years. ' Finally i we also believe that the new Warren County Commis sioners should move quickly to make sure their county cannot easily become a toxic wasteland. They should: Adopt an ordinance that makes it illegal to sell, property for toxic waste disposal without adequate public hearing and possibly a referendum. This ordinance should cover sales to private en tities as well as to public agencies. Adopt a resolution that allows the board of commissioners to automatically challenge any effort by the state to condemn War ren County property for this purpose, and to take the matter to court. , .,; . , y ' . ..' Instruct the county manager to begin putting aside a sum of money in each county budget to help finance the effort to protect themselves from further toxic waste intrusion. We believe if all the citizens of Warren County take a positive and sustained approach to this problem, they can not only turn it around so that the PCBs are not terribly detrimental, but they can also set an outstanding example of how to take lemons and make lemonade. - If theri is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who propose to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation arenwn who want crops without plowing Up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. The want the ocean's majestice waves without the awful roar of its waters. ; 'Frederick Douglass The U.S. economy is t beginning to hemorrhage. Having seeit the look of hunger and hopelessness among young' black Americans, it's a shame and a pity in a nation of plenty. Poverty is their only current prospect. At least for the next 12 months. Many people arc hoping the .economy will eventually turn around by year's end. Evidently they arc unaware of our clcphant-likc economic direction. It's down as in deep. Do not believe for one moment than he end isjrt sight. It is questionable whether, or . noty the ad- ministration will be able to even ideptify the tea leaves. . A touching quote is that "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." But then again if you arc mindless or one minded, maybe you do not care. Consider that unemploy ment is now growing in white America's , ranks; reaching almost nine per cent for white males. Make sure you keep an eye on the movement of a more pointed nerve cell, that is the unemployment figure of white American married males (WAMM). ! When this WAMM unemployment rate runs into double digits things wilt getdone in the White House and Congress. A1 Cries for help are already being heard around the White House. Wcidcnbaum, chairman of the President's Council1, of . Economic Advisers has been banished to the midlands. Martin Fcldstcin.' Harvard University economics professor and cap- v tain of the capital formation theory isjo be the new chairman of the President's Economic Council. Another crack in the ultra conservative encasement, of the .White House. ' When it doesn't work, it hurts. Half of jthc White House goals have gotten bogg-v cd down. Disseminating its theoretical thoughts to promote more savings and in vestments, in hopes of its leading an economic rcvitalization and new wayc of v entrepreneurship in America. Instead, high unemployment is leading to record child abuse. A cynic might observe black American youth beat up or others while white American kids get bea up. Alas, by their own parents. In soim states where unemployment has risen rapidly, cases of child abuse have more than tripled. Taking out the fading myth of middle class on their own children. Considering "a mind is a terrible thing to waste" compare the dual effect on body and souVSome -quick review of family finances find that after adjustment for in flation, median family money income declined by 3.5 between 1980-81 . American households have beenmarching back in time. Indications are tna 1982 will reveal and even faster regression for the American household. Helpis not on the way, in fact, it is stumbling to a stop. The American economy is composed of a large number of small businesses and a small number of large businesses General Motors can barely generate a profkon $60 billion in sales. Saving grace for the black American group has got to be small businesses. A total of almost II million, small businesses providencarly 38 of all the goods and services produced in the economy, the Gross National Product, GNP. Small businesses arc getting smaller in numbers and sizes, especially in retail trade and manufacturing. Small businesses must ' fight to over-' come continual high interest rates, infla tion and foreign imports. Today's small businesses have but a 37 chance of be ing around four years and a less than 10 chance of surviving ten years. It will, take time, quite a few more months and a 10 unemployment figure for white American . married males to reach the mythical minds of this administration (hat there is blood in the streets. ! L.E.AUSTIN Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 (USPS 091-380J (Mrs.) VMM Austin Edmonds EdHor-Publisher KmntthW. Edmonds fienoral Manager L.M.Austin Production Supervisor Milton Jordsn Executive Editor v Curtis T.Perkins Contributing Editor-Foreign Aflalrs . Published ovory Thursday (datad Saturday) (eicopt tho wook following Christmas) m Durham, N.C., by llltail liihll.lurt Inrimivitail HalUni, Mmf wmi.w flHHiivi.vtvi nivwf.i.i m.innu a.u i P.O. Box 382S, Outturn, NX. 27702-3825. Otttct located at 923 Old Faytttovlto Street. Durham, N.C. 27701. Second Class Postage psid at Durham, North Carolina 27702. Volume 60. Number 39. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE CAROLINA TIMES. P.O. Box 3825, Durham, N.C. 27702-3825. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One year. $12.00 (plus 48s sales tax lor North Carolina residents). Single copy 30c. Postal regulations REQUIRE advance pay ment en subscriptions. Address all communications and make al chocks payable to: THE CAROLINA TIMES.. . 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The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Oct. 2, 1982, edition 1
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