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Lancing, The Issues In 1978
By Hoy le H. Martin Sr.
Post Executive Editor
Among the ups and downs of
President Carter's first year in the
White House was the Bert Lance
affair. Lance, the Georgia banker
who became Carter's budget chief,
eventually resigned under pressure
because of his questionable banking
practices while heading the Calhoun
National Bank. Interesting, the clos
er Lance came to actually resigning
the more vicious the news media
became in its criticisms and allega
tions. In fact, a media mentality
arose that appeared more concerned
with character assassination than
with merely forcing Lance to resign.
We must add too that the media was
not alone inltslrssault on Mr. Lance.
The recently retired commentator
Eric Sevareid noted this when he
said, ignorant and biased reporting
has its counterpart in ignorant and
biased reading and listening." The
entire Lance episode appeared to
convey a mentality that said people
at the top in whatever venture must
be brought down.
We wonder too whether President
Jimmy Carter, Mecklenburg County
Commissioner Liz Hair, National
Urban League head Vernon Jordan
and others in both public and private
life may be facing the Lancing
mentality. We are all familiar with
the manner in which the highly
popular Liz Hair was ousted from
the Commission Chairmanship but
few of use are aware of the uncon
firmed report that some Carter
administration sources are attemp
ting to use the retiring congresswo
man Barbara Jordan to weaken the
leadership influence of Vernon Jor
dan (not related).
Search-And-Destroy
The most obvious and clearly seen
example of the search-and-destroy
our-leaders mentality appears to be
what is facing the President. We
noted in this column in^Juoq: that
many black leaders, congressional
liberals and organizations had be
gun to express growing dissatisfac
tion with President Carter's domes
tic economic policies. We thought
then and we think now that the jury
is still out on Jimmy Carter because
six months and even a year is not
long to make valid judgments about
the effectiveness of the highly com
plex job that the presidency of the
United States is.
While Carter himseu nas indicat
ed considerably more failure than
success in his first year - and it takes
a good man to admit failure - his
critics keep attacking his efforts
with a Lancing mentality. Carter's
less than successful efforts to reduce
unemployment, hold down inflation
and deal effectively with energy
crisis and the wèlfare problem led
him to say publicly, "My biggest
-- · - «· ·
mistake has been in inadvertently
building up expectations too high...I
have dashed some hopes and disap
pointed people that thought we
might be quickec." Significantly,
however, "building up expecta
tions" is the stuff - the political
rhetoric - that gets people elected to
any public Office.
Economic Recovery
We do not feel that Jimmy Car
ter's presidency needs to be defend
ed by us, however, we believe that
politics aside, $977 was not as bad a
year economically speaking as ma
ny would have us believe from the
standpoint of the White House's
contribution. It's true the economic
recovery begun under the Ford
administration has continued at a
slow pace and unemployment has
dropped only slightly (7.3 to 6.9
percent) since Carter took office,
nevertheless, these trends are on the
plus side and moving in the direction
of greater recovery. Even the rise in
the inflationary rate from 5.3 per
cent in 1976 to 7.3 percent in the first
three quarters of 1977 may be offset
in part by the new federal minimum
wage of $2.65 per hour, up 35 cent per
hour.
Delays in energy policy and wel
fare reform are more a problem of
congressional inaction and failure to
compromise than in the Carter
administration itself. The adminis
tration's tax reform pledge is still
largely just a pledge and his national
health insurance program has just
begun to become visible.
Carter's first year wasn't bad by
another standard too, this is, our
output of real goods and services -
six and one-third percent - for each
of the four quarters in 1977 was
greater than Carter expected. All
these developments together mean,
economist Paul A. Samuelson says
that "3 million*more people hâve
been able to find jobs (and these)
should be weighed in the scale of
economic pluses and minuses." of
the Carter year.
With this in mind we think it's time
for black leaders to do a little less
attacking of the Carter game plan
and spend more time and energy
attempting to put something into the
plan that is realistic and helpful. If
1977 was the year Carter didn't
deliver, let's make 1978 the year of
delivery. To do that rhetoric must
turn to action. Leaders must spend
more time getting the masses to
write their congressman demanding
action and in writing and submitting
alternative approaches than in just
say Carter isn't doing the job.
If we do these thing's, the 1977 that
began with promises and ended with
doubts can become a 1978 of action,
hope and confidence.
ι
THE CHARLOTTE POST
"THE PEOPLES NEWSPAPER"
Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
By The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
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Hoyle H. Martin Sr
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Cuban Intervention
Threat To Africa's Integrity
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well-being and political inte
grity of Africa is being under
mined by a trend of thought in
this country that minimizes
the significance of the mas
sive and widespread Cuban
intervention in Africa. Rather
than providing insights into
one of the gravest political
crises to threaten Africa sin
ce independence or proposing
a positive and constructive
American response, this ap
proach avoids or prefers to
wish away the problem.
Many statements from Afri
can leaders forcefully express
grave concern over the exten
sive presence of Cuban forces
on the continent. In January
1976, Zambian President Ken
neth Kaunda warned of "a
plundering tiger with its dead
ly cubs now coming in through
tfte(J6Ck doof," a clear refer
ence to the intervention, with
Soviet backing, of over 20,000
Cuban soldiers in the Angolan
civil war. On April 19, 1977 a
spokesman 01 the Zaire gover
nment charged that the inva
sion of Shaba province of
Zaire "was masterminded by
the Soviet-Cuban alliance us
ing Angola as its puppet."
Among the other African
leaders who have strongly
expressed alarm over Cuban
and Soviet intervention in Af
rica are President Leopold
Seghor of Senegal, President
Oman Bongo of Gabon, Presi
dent Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya,
President Houphet-Boigny of
the Ivory Coast, and Moroc
co's King Hassan. Moreover,
at the meeting of the Organi
zation of African Unity held in
Libreville in July a resolution
introduced by Senegal was
adopted "inviting" all mem
ber states of the OAU "not to
permit the <ise of their territo
ry for foreign military bases."
President Houphet-Boigny
said recently that "in less than
two years, the Cubans have
killed thousands of Angola ns
our African brothers murder
ed in cold blood. More victims
fell in this short period than in
the 15 years of guerilla war
against Portuguese colonial
ism. Yet the West rarely notes
this gruesome reality."
In recent weeks, the Carter
administration has begun to
demonstrate a firmer grasp of
African realities. Ambassador
Andrew Young, who once de
scribed the Cuban army in
Angola as "a stabilizing for
ce," now realizes that "what
we are seeing is a continuation
of death and destruction al
most everywhere there is a
Cuban military presence. It's
a new kind of cblonliiliim."
This shift connot be explained
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to gain political support in the
United States. Rather the Car
ter administration has had its
mind changed by a year of
contact with the views of
Africa.
In the minds of too many
Americans, however, Africa
remains an abstraction. Con
sequently, their attitudes to
ward Africa are shaped large
ly by the priorities and sym
bols of American politics. The
re is a powerful Impulse to
ignore African realities in or
der to preserve certain illu
sions about the Soviet Union
and to advance domestic and
foreign policy views unrelated
to Africa, to maintain that the
normalization of relations
with Cuba might be slowed if
the United States took even
the most minimal, moderate,
and restrained steps to ex
press our opposition to Cuban
behavior in Africa.
Some have contended that if
you just ignore the massive
presence in Angola, Cuban
involvement in Africa resem
bles a conventional foreign aid
program. Cuban involvement
is compared with earlier Isra
eli aid efforts, although it is
hard to think of two more
dissimilar programs. While
the Israeli aid program was
limited and primarily techni
cal, Cuba's role is primarily
military and without any self
l m posed limitations. The Cub
an involvement in Angola and
over a dozen other African
states, along with the presen
ce of East German, Soviet,
and other Communist "advi
sors," forms a menacing pat
tern which must be considered
as an extension of Soviet
power in a region that has
always sought to avoid entan
glement with the great pow
ers, and to dismiss the Cuban
Soviet threat to Africa, ignor
ing the warnings of African
leaders, demonstrates a shoc
king disregard for the well
being and political integrity of
nations of Africa.
Leaf Program
To End Soon
Charlotte's leaf collection
program by vacuum trucks
will be ending soon. Residents
are urged to rake their leaves
to the curb as soon as possible
for collection.
The vacuum collection be
gan in mid October with tru
cks moving in a clockwise
direction around the City. Mo
re than 7,500 tons or 2,100 loads
of leaves have been collected.
By Vernon Ε. Jordan Jr ««^ ~
TO
BE
EQUAL
Prospects For The New Year
What kind of a year will 1978 be? I'm not
peering into any crystal ball so I won't make
predictions. But there are some major issues
that will be coming to a head in 1978, and their
resolution has great importance for our cities
and for minority citizens.
The first of these is jobs. Congress will get the
Humphrey-Hawkins Bill and its passage will be
essential if there is to be a serious attack on mass
unemployment. The Bill's modest targets can
only be met through expanded federal job-crea
tion programs, including incentives to the
private sector to train and hire workers.
This is the number one priority for 1978. Just
about every other major public issue hinges on
the success of efforts to get more people i£b
jobs.
The nature of the expected tax cut will have a
lot to do with job-creation possibilities. Sharply
targeted cuts tied to formation of new jobs and
investments in urban areas may generate more
private sector hiring and training. Across-the
board cuts in the hopes of encouraging expanded
purchasing power to "trickle down" to cities and
the poor most likely will not make much of a dent
in fho nrnKlom
A second major issue will be the Administra
tion's promised urban policy. A team of top
officials has been working on a federal package
of aid to the cities. So far, reports about the
package are discouraging. Indications are that
the programs will be limited in scope and
nowhere near the necessary funds will be
allotted to it.
Reports out ot Washington indicate that the
planned urban package has already been chop
ped down to only about $2-3 billion in new monies,
just a fraction of what is needed for a real attack
on urban problems.
If that's true, then it indicates a serious failure
to come to grips with national problems and a
tragic acceptance of poverty and its consequen
ces. Patching together a handful of new pro
grams and better coordination of old ones
doesn't constitute an urban policy. It will take a
massive infusion of funds concentrated on prire
problem areas such as jobs, housing and schoofe
to break the trend of orba»» ■dfetft-ioiartierf and
declines in living standards and opportunities for
city dwellers.
The White House is working on the package
now. There's still time to improve it. It could be
the best thing that happens in the coming year,
or it could be the year's major disappointment.
We'll soon find out.
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Administration's welfare reform proposal. It
isn't the best plan possible, but it does represent
an improvement over the present welfare mess.
But Congress has been slow to deal with it.
Reports indicate considerable Congressional
hostility, and with the present mood of blaming
poor people for the malfunctioning of the
economy, prospects for passage are not bright.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the Bakke Case
is also likely to be one of 1978's highlights, but I
suspect the importance of that decision will lie
more in people's reactions to it than in the ruling
itself.
A decision in favor of Bakke probably will not
have a great impact on affirmative action
programs other than that of the university Bakke
wantes to enter.
os i sec it
The Realism In Annexation
By Gerald Ο. Johnson
Annexation seems to be a
big concern of people living in
the Charlotte area. The city
keeps on expanding its boun
daries while the people living
on the outskirts of town keep
complaining.
The people living outside the
city limits do not have to pay
taxes to the City of Charlotte.
By the same token the city
offers no services to people
living outside of its bounda
ries When the city decides to
expand its boundaries beyond
its current locations then the
re ιε, little that can be done t<
stop it. Consequently the peo
pie living outside the city limit
think it is unfair thiii they are
torced to become city dwellers
with little say in the matter.
The truth is annexation is
healthy for a city. It is healthy
for those individuals living
outside of the cities, also. Let's
take a look to see how.
Since the city has to pay for
police protection, fire protec
tion. help subsidize the school
system, city sanitation, local
government, and many, many
more services, it stands to
reason that conditions will
occur that will cause more
money to be needed to offer
urcsc services, λιι example σι
a condition that could occur is
giving a cost of living raise to
local government workers. In
order to get more money to
meet such conditions, the city
has but three recourses to
take.
1 ) Increase the tax rate
2) Increase the tax base
3) Federal subsidy
Federal subsidies are usual
ly earmarked for special pur
poses and they can't be spent
in any way the city might cho
ose So we can eliminate it
from the list.
) To increase the tax rate
simply means that the city
increases the percentage of
tax you must pay on your
property. If the individuals in
the city pay 1 percent of the
total value of the property In
taxes, then an increase to 2
percent will net the city twice
as much money. Unfortunate
ly, this method of getting more
money for the city is detri
mental First of all political
people realize that this type of
tax increase makes them un
popular at the polls So they
steer away from tax increase
decisions
But more importantly tax
increases ultimately will start
a chain of events that can lead
uerâid υ. jonnson
to a complété deterioration of
the city. To continue to raise
the tax rate wil' cause indus
try to look elsewhere to set up
shop. Once the industries start
leaving this will take a big
hunk out of the city's revenue
Moreover, those individuals
who worked at those indus
tries are now unemployed an
tries are now unemployed and
they become a liabilitv to the
tries move out, more and
more people will become un
employed and the city is get
ting less and less revenue
Therefore the city is forced to
increase the tax rate yet once
again ana me cycie continues
Corruption, crime and the
worlu will come in at this
point and take over the city.
Hence, there is a very fine
balance that must be main
tained in dealing with tax
increases.
To increase the tax base
means bringing more people
into the system at the given
tax rate. This is a very sound
means to get extra revenue
without ruining the tax ba
lance that exist. With this
added revenue the city is
guaranteed a healthy existen
ce. It can maintain higher
reveunues than expenses
Moreover, with annexation
the city is creating more jobe.
Since the expanded areas will
require city services, the city
will have to beef up its staff to
give these services. Note that
this method works in reverse
of the tax rate increase me
thod. The tax rate increase
method has a tendency to
deplete and deteriorate the
city structure, whereas the
tax base increase tends to
replenish and expand the city
structure
Also, the city puts itself in a
position to get subsidies from
the federal government more
easilv because of its healthy
position.
The local government of
Charlotte has been criticized
extensively for the unpopular
move of annexation. But it is
really a very sound govern
mental decision.
Finally, those individuals
living in the country that are
complaining do not realize
that if the city is left to
deteriorate, then they to will
suffer. The conveniences and
comforts they enjoy now at no
expense would be lost. The
merchants, the facilities, the
hospitals, and many things
would suffer if budget deci
sions went unchecked. Those
individuals recently annexed
are getting city service· and
guaranteeing a city's existen
ce with a minimum expense.
It has often been the case
that the black commumity has
ridiculed the white press for
inadequate and-or non-exist
ing coverage of black sports
events. However, I am here to
say that it is not the press that
should be blamed for poor
coverage but the organizers of
the event.
The press, especially, the
white press, expects an abun
dance of information to be
given out prior to the event
Such information is necessary
to guarantee an accurate and
informative report on the e
vent. Such infomation is non
existent in black circles.
For example, in covering a
Charlotte Mecklenburg high
school football game, statis
tics are made available to you
on both teams. Team Rosters
are given out with correct
Jersey numbers on each play
er. Key players are pointed
out on 'qulk' sheets to make it
easier for you to key on special
players. When its time to write
an article on the actual game,
it is child's play for an experi
enced sports writer.
Compare this with covering
an event for a black college.
There is no information given
prior to the game. TTie shirt
numbers that are given out on
the roster do not match the
actual numbers being worn by
the players. Moreover, you ha
have to search to find someone
to give you a roster By the
time the event starts the re
porter is red up with the whole
thing. Good newspaper cover
age is the result of a good
sports information director
(SID) which is s part of the
public relations department.
With a good SID person news
coverage is slways good