cmm t comment)
“Great White Hope Or New Racism?”
by Hoyle H. Martin Sr.
Post Editorial Writer
Ten years ago, the report of the
National Advisory Commission on
Civil Disorder - better known as the
£erner Commission - said quite
bluntly, “This is our basic conclu
sion, our nation is moving toward
two societies: one black, one white -
separate and unequal.”
Today, some ten years later, it can
be successfully argued that in spite
of the gains of a token number of
blacks, comparatively little has
changed. The report noted this
clearly by saying further, “Race
prejudice has shaped our history
decisively in the past; it now threat
ens to do so again.”
One such threat is in the recent
announcement of Mayor Frank Riz
zo of Philadelphia. Rizzo said he will
not seek a third term as mayor but
rather will champion the rights of
non-black ethnics. Reportedly, Rizzo
said, “I am now going to defend the
people, the people of this city that I
believe have been kicked around too
long. I’m going to defend the rights
of American citizens who happen to
be ethnics. The whites have to join
hands to get equal treatment. When
blacks say something, it’s to help
their people. When the whites get
together and ask for something
they’re racist. Now where’s the
fairness here?”
£ Frank Rizzo is in fact interested in
becoming a 13th hour Yankee
George Wallace by building a power
base rooted in racism. Futhermore,
Rizzo is actually seeking a new
career because he cannot legally run
for a third term as mayor of
Philadelphia and his political advis
ors have told him he’d never win a
nomination for governor.
Rizzo, for many Philadelphia whi
tes, symbolizes the “great white
hope’’ for those who supposedly fear
blacks, now one-third of Philadel
phia’s 1.9 million population. The
problem with the Rizzo mentality is
that it fails to recognize that the
concentration of blacks in most
large cities is the result of segregat
ed housing patterns created by
whites in spite of laws to the
contrary. Furthermore, white peo
ple who supposedly don’t “get equal
treatment” simply don’t exist.
tsiacK Amencans, on me omer
hand, have simply been highly vocal
in the last decade in their efforts to
rectify 246 years of slavery, 100
years of discrimination and segre
gation, and 12 years of meaningful
justice and equal opportunity.
Frank Rizzo, and others like him,
appear to be committed to arousing
racial fears, real or unreal, if it will
serve their purpose of dividing the
races for personal gain.
Let us hope that all right-thinking
Americans, black and white, will be
able to recognize that the Frank
Rizzo’s of this great country cannot
lead us to racial harmony, peace,
prosperity, and meaningful equality
of opportunity. Let’s retire the
Frank Rizzoes as we move ahead to
a better America:
Why The Morality Crisis?
• “The America of the 1970’s is in a
class by itself. Never before has so
Urge a share of the popuUtion
indulged in an orgy of self-pamper
ing, overdosing, loafing, sponging,
Slurging, cheating, shoplifting, loo
tg, philandering, (and) even mur
dering.” These are the words of
newspaper columnist Jack Ander
son in an article dealing with the
moral crisis that has gripped Ame
rica.
There are, undoubtedly, those who
disagree with Mr. Anderson and
would consider his words just anoth
er example of what some would
refer to as his sensationalist writing
style. Others might argue that there
is no moral decline in the United
- States, but rather simply another
cycle of what is a common part of
our history. Another cycle not with
standing, when a school teacher
engages in sex with a 15 year old boy
on the pretext of teaching sex
education, when parents prostitute
their own children, when business
men lie and cheat in the name of
profit, when wife-swapping occurs,
when honest people are ridiculed,
when criminals are admired, when
television and movies give us heavy
doses of crime and sex, and when
winning a little league baseball
game is more important for a
parent’s ego thani good sportsman
ship and character building is for the
parent’s participating child, to men
tion but a few, we have a morality
crisis.
While there are certainly no sim
ple or easy answers to why this
crisis exist, we nevertheless believe
that a primary cause is evidence of
our values about success, particu
larly economic success. The profit
maximizing system calls for in
creased output with diminishing
cost. For the individual it means
maximize what you can get while
minimizing your effort to get, thus if
you can get a days pay without doing
a day’s work, so be it.
Until we can get our profit maxi
mizing value back into a proper and
rational perspective, the moral cris
is we face will continue to plague us
and destroy our nation.
“IT IS INCONCEIVABLE TO ME THAT WE WHO HAVE PREVAIL
ED IN SPITE OF THE BARBARISM OF WHITE PEOPLE SHOULD,
IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 20th CENTURY, STAND AS MUST
SPECTATORS TO OUR OWN DOOM.”
HEAR
NOTHING
Community ControL..By???
Washing I m
ReelecIioims ,
CONGRESSMAN 1
JIM MARTIN S
Making Federal Workers Responsive
The Federal civil service
system is an honorable orga
nization of conscientious, de
pendable people trying to ad
minister a government of
growing size and complexity.
It has become entangled in the
same red tape that it imposes
on businesses. It currently can
take up to three years to fire
an incompetent worker for
just cause. Of the nearly 3-mil
lion federal workers who are
governed by civil service, only
226 lost their jobs last year for
poor performance. The pro
cess of removing the incompe
tent worker is so complex and
frustrating to departmental
managers, some agencies set
up what is termed “turkey
divisions” where unsatisfac
tory employees can be relega
ted so they will not interfere
with normal operations or
obstruct changes which are
designed to improve a depart
ment or agency.
- As another illustration, a
large part of the delay that so
frustrates private citizens in
dealing with the federal bu
reaucracy is due to the com
plicated rules and regulations
that the bureaucracies are
directed to enforce. President
Carter, as stated in his own
words, “came to Washington
with the promise - and the
obligation - to help rebuild the
faith of the American people
in our government.” I agree
with his statement that “we
need a government that will
respond to the needs of the
American people and not be
preoccupied with needs of its
own.”
For many Americans, Pre
sident Carter’s proposal to
overhaul the Civil Service'sys
tem will not be of direct
interest. They rarely contend
with it. For those struggling
against inefficiency, delay
and waste, the plan deserves
‘‘prime time” attention. The
President is to be commended
for his recommendations to
reorganize the civil service
system and restructure its
operations. His plan would
replace civil service with two
new offices: a new merit
system protection board
which would be responsible
for protecting the rights of
federal workers, including
“whistle blowers” who point
out irregularities; and a new
office of personnel manage
ment which would hire and
perform other personnel func
tions.
These are good ideas. Com
petent and responsible mana
gers in the federal system
must be given the authority
and flexibility and incentives
to manage their respective
operations. At the same time,
career federal employees
need protection from political
pressures. The taxpayers also
deserve a day’s work for a
day’s pay. The present per
sonnel system is wrought with
so much red-tape that a man
ager is virtually helpless to
discipline, much less dismiss,
the employees who are not
performing their jot* A dis
missal proceeding can take
hundreds of his or her working
hours and cost the taxpayers
thousands of dollars in lost
production time and paper
work
Any administration must be
able to depend on the loyalty
and responsiveness of its top
managers if it is to properly
manage the-federal haresu
cracy. The MERIT-BASEE
senior executives as proposed
by President Carter, could be
moved from Job to Job, wher
ever needed; they could be
given bonuses for good per
formance, or they could be
quickly demoted without bu
reaucratic entanglements.
Another 72,000 high-level of
ficials would go on an incen
tive-pay plan, and would lose
their automatic increases.
Whether this system based on
evaluation of merit can work
in the governmental sector the
way the profit motivation pro
duces incentive in the private
sector remains to be seen. To
be given a chance, however, it
first has to be tried.
The President does not suf
fer form illusions of quick
acceptance by federal work
era and Congress. His plan U
revamp civil service is a step
in the right direction. The civil
service system is 96 years old.
By Vernon E. Jordan Jr.EBBHBSSSI
• » F
TO
BE
EQUAL
* • _>V^ .
Black Unemployment Down
Under the leadership of Secretary Patricia
Harris, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development has moved swiftly to ensure the
best use of scarce federal urban funds.
The Community Development Bloc Grant
program is the centerpiece of federal efforts to
aid the cities. It replaced categorical grants -
federal grants for specific projects and pro
grams. Under the bloc grant system, the
government transfers money to the cities with
few strings attached.
Naturally, local officials preferred this way of
doing business. They could use the money in ^
almost any way they felt their cities needed it,
without the complex federal restrictions that had
tied their hands in the past.
The only problem was, the money wasn’t
reaching poor and moderate income neighbor
hoods. The law creating the bloc grant system
stipulated that’s where the bulk of the money
was supposed to go, but there was little
cui urucuicii i.
In 1975, the National Urban League conducted
a survey of how the bloc grant system was
working in 24 cities. The results were depressing.
Not more than half of the Community Develop
ment funds were going to the neighborhoods that
needed them mo6t, and of those, about a third
were used for land clearance projects to prepare
for uses that would generally benefit higher
income people.
Then HUD itself analyzed the results of the
program and confirmed the Urban League’s
studies. In fact, HUD found declining resources
going to the neighborhoods occupied by low and
moderate income families.
That’s were Secretary Harris came in. Shortly
after taking office she implemented policies to
increase the amount of bloc grant funds going to
poorer areas. HUD staff all across the country
were ordered to follow new targeting policies.
Then, the Secretary proposed new regulations
on the use of Community Development funds,
requiring that three-fourths of the grants would *
* aaabr™ “'"“WmM*?
Many local ... a negative view,
claiming the regulations would remove the
flexibility they (Mice had. Chiefly and flexibility
consisted of putting improvments into middle
class neighborhoods to win votes at election
time, improvments paid for with federal funds
intended for lower income neighborhoods.
By contrast, community groups overwhelm
ingly supported the Department’s new thrust. By
targeting funds into poorer neighborhoods, the
lives of their residents would be improved and
the neighborhoods saved from continued decline.
Many pointed out that the proposed 75 percent ,
rule would end past abuses while preserving
plenty of local flexibility in the use of the funds.
Almost as important, the proposed regulations
included stronger administrative controls over
the quality of the bloc grant projects. This
ensures that, for the first time, resources
targeted to low and moderate income areas
would truly benefit the people who live there.
The final regulations were published on March
1, and now have the force of law.
THE CHARLOTTE POST
“THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER”
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
2606-B West Blvd. - Charlotte, N.C. 28208
Telephones (704) 392-1306, 392-1307
Circulation, 9,915
60 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE
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Bernard Reeves.General Manager
Hoyle H. Martin Sr.Executive Editor
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Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3,1878
Member National Newspaper Publishers
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the property of the POST, and will not be returned.
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Black Unemployment
by Gerald Johnson
Senator Lloyd Bentsen of
Texas noted that unemploy
ment among Blacks and Mexi
can Americans remains high.
Bens ten said “This country
can not abide a situation in
which vast segments of our
population are effectively ex
cluded from the mainstream
of our economic life.”
The comments were made
at the opening of the Joint
economic committee hearing
on urban policy. Bens ten is
vice chairman of the commit
tee
"Every citixen of this coun
try should have a stake in our
free system. Every citixen of
this coutry should have an
opportunity to make a produc
tive, constructive contribution
to our society," Bens ten said.
The senator went on to say
that such staggering rates of
unemployment breed crime
and costs taxpayers billions of
dollars. “More importantly"
the senator continued, “they
breed despair and frustration.
It is a shameful waste of
valuable human resources in a
era of human rights It is
degrading and debilitating. It
is a situation which we can not
be permitted to continue.”
“We cannot abrogate our
responsibilities to these indi
vidual. We can, and we must,
create employment opportuni
ties for the millions of low
skilled, chronically unem
ployed Americans. There are
few items with a higher priori
ty on our economic agenda for
the future.”
Senator Be ns ten concluded
his remarks by saying, "In
addressing the chronic prob
lem of structural unemploy
ment, we must be willing to
try new ideas and test out
innovative concepts. A job is a
vital fact of life to every
American citixen It is a pre
quisite to decent, productive
existence in our society. ”
"We have un obligation - an
economic, moral and humani
tarian obligation - to foster
opportunities for unemploy
ment, in the private sector If
possible and in the govern
ment sector If necessary. For
It Is surely better to.pay to
work than to pay them to do
nothing."
What a touching speech It
gets me right here (luckily
you can’t see where I’m point
ing) The speech did point out
one thing though. It demon
strates the lack of understan
ding of serious problems by
our selected officials. It would
seem that with all the resour
ces Senators have available to
them. They have never (to
Gerald Jofamon
my knowledge) researched
this problem thoroughly.
Congress passed the mini
mum wage bill and the increa
sed FICA, both of which has
an increasing affect on unem
ployment. Low skill workers
are the first fired whenever
company coats go up. Both
increased FICA and mininum
wage increase company cost.
Hence it seems ironic that a
congress that would peas into
law two bills that Increases
unemployment among low
skill workers would talk about
decreasing unemployment.
Moreover Goverment crea
ted jobs are more political
than practical Hence, tocrea
te jobs through government
programs will last only as long
as it takes a new congress to
take office. This is not a
solution to the problem.
Instead of throwing good
money away, a program ne
eds to be devised that would
give companies the opportuni
ty to train individuals to be
productive. If the Government
will give tax credit for train
ing programs that were deve
loped by companies than the
first leg of the situation would
be solved. r
While the Individuals are in
training the Government cou
ld pay their salaries. After a
designated period the compa
ny will be responsible for the
employment of that indivi
dual. This type of idea, though
cursory as far as details, has
several advantages over Gov
ernmental programs. Gene
rally, the government eras tea
jobs that are service oriented
and public oriented. They of
fer no usable training skills
and provide no incentives.
With the same money put Into
a program that would allow on
the job training those pro
blems would be eliminated
Also, the cost of the training is
not an added expense to the
company, it Is in fact eoedit.
This idea could be worked
out into a good program. The
benefit of taking low-skilled
employees and giving them
better skills is much more
beneficial than Just giving him
a Job.
Speakingof Government
Senator Proatmire, one of
the few congressman devoted
to cutting down waste in Gov
ernment, has recently report
ed on some of his findings
Tkka note.
The Department of Tram
portation spent $229,000 on a
study forecasting transporta
tion Mads in the year 2029.
The report's findings Included
1) If there is a mw ice age,
very large numbers of people
will bo forced to migrate
south.
2) If a population surge dove
lopu p0Op)6 inllMd
having children around, there
would be an increased de
mand for transportation ser
vices of all kinds. I) If guerilla
warfare brake out in urban
arena, than automobile use in
afflicted areas would become
risky.
The Department of Agricul
ture (USDA) spent $49,000 to
determine haw long it takes to
cook breakfast. They spent
$119,417 to produce a report
called Mothers' Attitudes To
ward Cotton end other fibers
in Children’s Lightweight
Clothing.” The report con
cluded that Mothers’ prefer
wrinkle-free garments for
their children. Now that’s a
Reel Mother Pa Ya.
The list of dubious research
projects doesn’t stop here. The
Federal Aviation Administra
tion spent 930,000 for a study of
the body measurements of
would-be airline stewardess
es.
With a |M1 million dollar
budget, the National Science
Foundation has stniaurtorofl
funds on such as the sexual
behavior of the dabbliim Afri
can Black Duck. ”
The Government gave
Washington University 925,ooo
to **uge people’s reaction to
seeing an octupus in a barn
yard.
The Smithsonian institute
was granted 999,000 to compile
a dictionary of the unwritten
Mayan dialect which is spoken
io.«o
. tom on and on and
the dollars squandered are
maseivo.
J* •“j* ‘“•torbing, to me,
tnet the Government conttn
“—..to ral*e taxes, without
curbtag the abuses of federal