OPINION
The Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
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elaine Pitt Business Manager
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
wali D. pltt Digital Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
1st UP
Chronicle file photo
Kim Porter speaks to protesters gathered outside
Winston-Salem City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 1,2015.
Livable wage
shouldn't be
just for city
Lately there has been a good deal of talk about
poverty. A nonprofit asked for money to fight pover
ty in its year-end appeal for funds, for example.
Mayor Allen Joines, who is running for re-election,
has said he has formed a 21 ?-member panel to fight
it.
Recently, in a discussion among people who
help people in poverty, an interesting phenomenon
came to light. This phenomenon seems to be a key
element for people who are in poverty. It's a cycle
of poverty.
This concerns the working poor. When people
are not making enough money to make ends meet,
they seek help from social services. Food stamps
and welfare help these people make ends meet. But
when the people axe fortunate enough to make a lit
tle more money that puts them over a threshold,
those social services are cut. The people are worse
off than they were before they received more money
in wages. So, there is no incentive for people to
make more money to make ends meet.
Social services are governed by laws, mostly
state laws. Rob Schofield, in his Forum column,
talks about how North Carolina legislators and
Governor McCrory have cut those services drasti
cally over several years. In the meantime, the num
ber of jobs available in the state has not grown to
meet the number of people who are seeking jobs.
This makes it harder for people, especially those in
poverty, to move up to jobs with livable wages.
A livable wage would help bring people out of
poverty. It is such an important issue that Council
Member Derwin Montgomery advocated a $15-an
hour wage for city workers after a protest support
ing a livable wage showed up on the steps of City
Hall in November.
A livable wage is needed for all kinds of work
ers.
The key is having people in elected offices who
will make the laws governing social services and
livable wages favorable toward people who need
help.
This year, citizens have the chance to put people
into office who can change lives for the better. The
N.C. General Assembly is full of people now who
don't seem to have compassion for its poorest resi
dents. As Rob Schofield says: "The plain and
unavoidable truth is that state leaders dia precious
little in 2015 (or 2011, '12, '13 or '14, for that mat
ter) to improve the lives of average North
Carolinians.
Kim Porter, a community organizer for N.C.
Waste Awareness and Reduction Network who led
the rally in November, said: "Our elected leaders
must work for working people, immigrants and peo
ple of color. We're going to make our voices heard
in this election."
Feb. 19 is the deadline to register to vote in the
March 15 primary. Education is the key to selecting
candidates who can change the direction in which
we are going. Start now determining who those
candidates are so that Winston-Salem- and North
Carolina can reverse the downward direction law
makers have been taking us. Make your voices
heard.
( ? j i
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CBC commends
Obama's efforts
to make us safer
To the Editor:
' i ni_ -i.
congressional Diacx caucus
(CBC) Chairman G. K. Butterfield
(NC-01) and co-chairs of the CBC
Gun Violence Task Force, Reps.
Robin Kelly .(IL-02) and Brenda
Lawrence (MI-14) released the fol
lowing statement in response to
President Obama's executive actions
to reduce gun violence:
Gun violence has taken its toll on
communities across America, and has
particularly had a disproportionate
impact within the African-American
community and urban areas across
the country. We have long witnessed
the impact of horrific events that have
unnecessarily taken the lives of
countless individuals'and it is time for
sensible gun laws to help lessen the
burdens that such violence has creat
ed. Over the past decade, more than
100,000 people have been killed as a
result of gun violence and many of
these incidents could have been pre
vented. Today's executive action to
reduce gun violence is a step in the
right direction and members of the
Congressional Black Caucus com
mend President Obama on the resolve
to keep communities safe and keep
guns out of the hands of individuals
who never should have had access or
the ability to purchase a weapon in
the first place.
CBC Chairman G. K. Butterfield,
NC-01
I applaud President Obama's bold
executive actions taken today [Jan.
5]. These policies will have an imme
diate impact by keeping guns out of
the hands of criminals and dangerous
individuals and preventing gun traf
ficking, while also protecting the
Second Amendment rights of respon
sible, law-abiding citizens. While
President Obama's executive actions
are crucial steps in reducing the
senseless gun violence plaguing our
nation, they do not absolve Congress
of its responsibility to act. There are
gaps in existing gun laws that leave
us all vulnerable to gun violence,
holes that only Congress can plug.
With over 30 Americans being killed
by a gunjevery single day, inaction is
not an option. Congress has a moral
I
obligation to address the public health
epidemic of gun violence in America,
and the CBC Gun Violence Task
Force will keep pushing to pass rea
sonable and responsible gun safety
laws to save lives.
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, IL-02
I strongly support the President's
proposal to address gun violence, by
providing for new ATF and FBI
resources and staff as well as support
for mental health programs and
reviews. Nothing in the president's
proposal restricts our Second
Amendment right to bear arms or our
right to privacy. It does, however,
address several loopholes that bad
apple gun dealers have been able to
exploit for far too long. It also
addresses the appalling lack of access
to information related to people who
have been legally determined unfit to
purchase firearms. This includes
felons, those convictecl of misde
meanor domestic violence, and peo
ple who have been found to be a risk
to themselves and others and prohib
ited from possessing a firearm for
mental health reasons.
U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence,
MI-14
Rep. Adams lauds
Obama's action
on gun violence
To the Editor:
[Studies show that every day
when background checks are used,
more than 170 felons, 50 domestic
abusers, and nearly 20 fugitives are
prevented from buying a
gun. Currently, background checks
are not required for those purchasing
a gun from a gun show, through the
Internet, or through a classified ad.
U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams (NC-12)
applauded President Obama's
announcement to take executive
action to prevent gun violence in
America.]
Far too many innocent lives have
been taken at the hands of guns. I
applaud President Obama for this his
toric step to curb gun violence in our
country. The president's action not
only helps strengthen the background
check system but fuels research to
make guns safer, expands mental
health services and helps to keep ille
gal guns off the streets.
I have long advocated for
increased gun safety measures and
introduced several pieces of legisla
tion in the North Carolina General
Assembly aimed at preventing gun
violence. This is why now, as a mem
ber of Congress, I believe we can't
continue to stand idly by. We must
bolster the president's efforts by pass
ing solid legislation to keep guns out
of the hands of criminals and the dan
gerously" mentally ill, while also pro
tecting gun rights for law abiding cit
izens.
President Obama s executive
action on gun violence:
* Provides new guidance on exist
ing federal laws, clarifying that any
individual in the business of selling
firearms must obtain a license
through the Bureau of Alcohol, '
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) and conduct background
checks on prospective gun pur
chasers;
* Increases funding to hire more
ATF agents, provide resources for
tracking illegal online firearms traf
ficking and strengthen domestic vio
lence outreach efforts;
* Invests in resources to expand
access to mental health care; N
* Removes barriers that prevent
the reporting of mental health infor
mation to the background check sys
tem; and
* Directs the Departments of
Defense, Justice and Homeland
Security to conduct or sponsor
research into new technology to make
firearms safer.
U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams
(NC-12) Washington, D.C.
[More than 30,000 people die
from gun violence each year. Adams
is a cosponsor of H.R. 1217.,
the Public Safety and Second
Amendment Rights Protection Act of
2015, bipartisan legislation to expand
the existing background check sys
tem to cover all commercial firearm
sales, including those at gun shows,
over the Internet or in classified ads
while providing .reasonable excep
tions for family and friend trans
fers. She has also cosponsored
the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of
2015, the Protecting Domestic
Violence and Stalking Victims Act, as
well as a resolution to create the
Select Committee on Gun Violence
Prevention.]
1
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