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; Editorials & Comments :Gov. Hunt Must Not Forget! . In the last 30 days we have witnessed the loss of Howard Lee as Secretary of the State Depart . ment of Community Develop J»enl—and_Helen Little as a member of the Transportation Board. Mr. Lee resigned from his post following excessive cri ticism of the CETA job training controversy. Ms. Little, one of two blacks on the 23-member Transportation Board, was not reappointed to a second term. While these losses were occur ring, a third white female de partment head was named. In addition, a white female was named to head the state’s prison system, a system with an incar cerated population that is more than 50 percent black and has no black deputy administrators. We should add that of 27 purchase agents in the state’s Purchasing Department, only two are black. Considering that low number, we have to wonder if that explains why out of $400 million spent by state govern ment with private businesses last year only $2.5 million was spent with black-owned busi nesses. As we think about these de velopments, we have to wonder too whether Jim Hunt is also (like Reagan) attempting to turn the clock back or whether this is the beginning of a new trend. Whatever the reason, blacks •need to let Jim not forget that they supported him in larger percentages than whites on the issues of succession in office, in his bid for a second term, his tax program and the competency test plan.— Therefore, as Hunt looks to the future as a possible candidate for the Senate or Vice President, he needs to be sure that he does not —ffirgeUhose who have supported him through the years to get him where he is today and may hope to be in the years ahead. It is time Mr. Hunt, for a close] look at the number of blacks on' your boards and commissions or the number who hold positions as department heads, deputies or assistants, judgeship appoint ments, and similar positions of responsibility and high-level decision-making or policy formulation. We are not suggesting that blacks should be appointed be cause they are black, but rather that there is a vast untapped black resource in our state that can and should be used at all levels of state government. Therefore, we challenge you Governor Hunt to seek, find and appoint from the available black talent men and women who can and should serve their state go vernment with honor and de dication. We also challenge blacks in our state to make themselves available for service. The time for action is now. :: Protecting The Voting Rights Act President Reagan has tended .to be very adamant in his poli tical philosophy and, therefore, inclined to hold firm in his conservative policies. This has been very evident in his view point on the budget, defense spending (up), social programs (down) and his tax cut plans. Reagan has taken an equally conservative position on the Voting flights Act of 1965 which is due to expire in August of 1982. On this issue, Reagan supports the views of people like Senator Strom Thurmond of S.C. He opposes the “pre-clearance” provision of the Aet which re— quires that some states and parts of others get U.S. Justice ap proval before implementing any changes in their election laws. Obviously, the law affects most ly Southern states with a long history of mechanisms to deny blacks the opportunity to vote. They want to weaken the Act by expanding it to include all states. Such a move would alienate some Congressman currently in support of the Act as well as so overburden the Justice Depart • ment that effective enforcement would be lost. Reagan made a dramatic change from support of expand ing the Act to all 50 states to supporting extending the Act for 10 years in its present form. The President’s changed viewpoint arose after heavily favored Re publican candidate Liles Wil liams was defeated by an ob scure Democrat named Wayne Dowdy. Dowdy won because of heavy black voter support generated by Ms. Williams favoring Reagan’s viewpoint on the Voting Rights Act and other conservative issues. Mr. Dowdy's win captured-a House seat held by the Republi cans for the last nine years. When blacks were told in a simple straight foward radio ad that Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers had died for their right to vote, and that now Reagan and Ms. Williams aimed to take their voting right away, they went to the polls to voice their objection. Again, it was the power of the black vote that may have changed the direction of politi cal history. Register and vote, it’s your right and your duty. : THE OIARLOTTE POST * ___ ‘ 11 Second Class Postage No, 965500 “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday _i>y The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. 1524 West Hlvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Telephone (704) 376-0496 Circulation 7, 151 _ 104 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson.Editor, Publisher Bernard Reeves..General Manager Fran Farrer.Advertising Director Dannette Gaither.Office Manager . Second Class Postage No. 963500 Paid At Charlotte, N.C. under the Act of March 3. Member National Newspaper -.Publishers Association . North Carolina Black Publishers Associating Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m. Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of the POST ^^^_^^^andjAdiniotbe^eturne<L^^^^^ National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publnhers. Inc. 2480 8. Michigan Avc. 45 w S| Suj(, , ( atom* SLU*1" York’ N Y "">•* C aramet 5-4290 (212)1X9*1220 V < BLACK’S DESTINY IN OWN HANDS.... YOU MUST BECOME INVOLVED IN THE WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY A View From Capitol Hill Budget Cuts Spells Hard Times viu» od v<t)^r .Member of Congress The Reagan Administra tion's tax plan, like its budget proposal, spells hard times for Americans who just don't happen to be wealthy or heads of major corporations. And, unfor tunately, the Democratic Party’s alternative plan offers little more in the way of relief. A modified version of the Kemp-Roth proposal, the President’s tax plan pro vides a 25 percent, three year across-the-board tax cut for individuals and a 10-5-3 depreciation sched ule for business. The Democratic plan, be ing drafted by the House (Ways and Means Commit tee, calls for a total $40 billion in tax cuts for in dividuals and $13.6 billion -for business depreciation and rate cuts in calendar 1982. For business the De mocratic plan offers speedy write-offs of the cost of assets; cuts in the corporate tax rates; tax relief for distressed indus tries; and tax credits for research and development, There is no question in _my__mind that the Reagan Administration’s plan fa vors big business and the rich. At the same time, the Democratic alternative plan also favors big busi ness. In fact, it goes a step further than the Presi dent’s program in liberal izing the depreciation write-offs business can take on the cost of new equipment and machinery. After a phase-in period, the Democratic bill would al low the entire cost to be written off in a single year. The Hance-Conable Bill, H R. 3849, and the Dole Bupartisan Tax Reduction Program (the Senate Fi nance Committee’s bill) Gus Savage own represent the Admin istration’s point of view. If the Democrats fail to adopt the alternative plan offered by the Ways and Means Committee, Hance-Con able will be offered as a substitute as was the Gramm-Latta budget proposal. i ne country is suffering from high inflation and high unemployment. Any tax proposal which would serve the public welfare should be aimed at curing these evils. In my opinion, the Reagan proposal falls short on both counts. Many economists, in cluding some conserv atives, believe the Admin istration’s tax plan is itself inflationary. The Reagan tax proposal assumes that the individual savings real ized will be either invested or saved, this providing or freeing up money for busi ness to make capital in vestments. This supposed ly would fuel the economy and reduce unemploy ment. Nothing in the hi story of economics justi fies this assumption. In es sence, it is an article of faith. ( George Bush, now our Vice President, called Rea gan's tax proposal “voodoo economics” during the Re publican Primary. He said that if enacted it could bring on an inflation rate of 30 percent or more. This is because many economists think that individuals would simply spend the money, thus driving up the inflation rate because more money would be chasing fewer goods. Democratic liberals and moderates fear that a tax cut of the magnitude of the Administration’s plan, cou pled with the sharp rise in defense spending sched uled to take place over the next few years, will strong ly contribute to inflation ary pressures in the economy. In my view, the Congres sional Black Caucus’ alter native budget plan con tained tax provisions which do more to preserve the integrity of social pro grams, provide a tax break that is fair across-the board, and generate a bud get surplus. The CBC plan contained these features: -a 10 percent tax credit for social security expen ditures for employers as well as employees. -the elimination of tax straddles for speculators who use these devices for insulating their income from taxation at higher “speculative rates.” -a first year capital cost recovery system that is a better Approach than the 10-5-3 depreciation sched ule. This proposal has been • endorsed by FORTUNE magazine, “The New York Times,” and the Public Interest Tax Research Group. -increases in the stand ard deduction for singles and married couples from $2300 to $2800 and from $3400 to $4300, respecitvely. By Gerald C. Horne, ESQ.^^S Affirmative Action Neo-Conservative The so-called Black “neo-conservatives” are riding high nowadays. WaUer Williams appears regularly on national television and writes a column for the “Moral Majority Report.” Thomas SoweH-is-feteri regularly in the highest circles and is also seen periodically on the boob tube. It is clear that these Black backers of Reagan-omics do not have much influence in the Black commun ity at large yet it remains important to take them on anyway. une reason is that certain “comfortable’% Blacks might decide to hop on what appears1 to be a bandwagon and throw their weight to Reagan. Take a current look at the once militant Black poet Nikki Giovanni. Now laid back in her hometown of Cincinnati, this daughter of Middle class parents was a blazing firebrand during the 1960s, writing fiery poems about Angela Davis and the like. Presently she is cheering for the murderous program of Reagan-omics. “The ‘Prez’ is the only guy we’ve got,” she says. “I like what I see in the Reagan Administration. He’s not nearly as mean as Nixon was. And I perceive him to be the type of person who wouldn’t ignore the agony of the poor. He’s a man you can talk to.” Nikki Giovanni is not the only person playing footsies with Reagan. A certain Black journalist who is sponsored by Pepsi-Cola has provided an easy outlet for the neo-conservatives, broadcasting their inane views nationally. Another Black scribe, who is sponsored by Greyhound, can be found in the pages of the Black press, “blaming the victim” and lashing Blacks repeatedly for happening to be poor and discriminated aeainst The time has come to take off the gloves and go at it with bare knuckles with these characters; because like a virus that will spread if it is not treated, the fact that powerful forces support these characters’ views means that their word will get a wide hearing. Black unity must be valued but the question is: at what price: Does unity mean that if your Black neighbor is setting fire to your house, you don’t try to stop him? Taking on the Black neo-conservatives is critical at this stage also because they have made a fetish out of assailing Black leadership - the NAACP, Urban League, the Black mayors, and others. Their machine-gun like attacks have caused a certain backsliding on the part of somA leaders, which not only calls for making certain pointed criticisms about certain Black leaders, - criticism that should come not from the right but from the other side of the barricades. This by necessity idelicate process. In the face of a cruel offensive by the Reaganauts, it is all important to construct the broadest front possible in opposition. Sniping at potential allies is not necessarily the wisest path. But the question is: are we talking about allies? Reagan campaigns in 1960 in the Black community, not so much because he was interested in getting our ballots but because he knew that it would soften his image amongst the all-important white liberal voters. The Black masses of South Africa have spoken and they demand disinvestment tof U S. corporate wealth. Yet, it wps inevit able that there would be a number of Blick on the Rockefeller Foundation Commission who back their dastardly proposals down the line. From Capitol Hill J8 Staunch Enemy Of Affirmative Action? Special To The Post President Reagan has spoken of his color-blind policy. Blacks have never been the recipients of a just and fair color-blind policy. This was evident in the recent Education and La bor Subcommittee on Em ployment Opportunities hearings. Chaired by Re presentative Augustus Hawkins on affirmative action The sharp differ ence in this hearing and that of jts Senate counter part is that Senate Chair man Orrin Hatch is a staunch enemy of affirm alive action, while Mr. Hawkins is very pro affirmative action. In the off set, Mr Hawk ins stated concern over the “regressive character of recent Administration ini tiative relating to equal employment opportunity laws.” The Reagan Admin istration has stated its in tention to abandon goals and timetables for remedy ing employment discrim ination and revision of re gulations of the Office of Federal Contract Com pliance Programs (OFCCP). Alfreds L. Madison mere was unanimous consent among the witness es that the present pro posed budget cuts are de trimental to affirmative action These cuts are in Federal Civil Rights en forcement efforts and will reduce or eliminate 10 social and economic pro grams The proposals will cause the loss of 697 or 10 percent jobs in the five major civil rights enforce ment agencies The Civil Rights Com mission released a report entitled "Affirmative Action in the 1906’s; Dis mantling the Process of —-— JL Discrimination.” It listed thte following points: 1. Affirmative action exists because of the nature and extent of the problem of race, sex and ndtional origin discrimina tion, and can only be dis cussed productively if the problem of discrimination is recognized. 2. Discrimination is a self-sustaining process that will persist even in the ab sence of intentionally dis criminatory conduct, unless systematically attacked. I. Numerical under re presentation of minorities do nbt constitute discrim inatipn, but they are sig nals that suggest discrim ination and compel inquiry. 4 Numerical evidence is the best signal (her dis crimination exists and that numerical measures, time tables and goals are the best methods for determin ing whether an action pro gram has proved effective. Vernon Jordan stated that affirmative action is a legitimized constitutional remedy for past discrimin ation. It is a remedy for constitutional violations. t "Affirmative action seeks to reduce over 300 years of discrimination - discrim ination rooted in over 200 years of legal bondage and perpetuated by another century of legally sanction ed racial prejudice.” Jordan says race conscious inequities demand race —‘•‘imimiii rsmadin He said that opponents say the use of affirmative action is reverse discrimination. For Blacks, there is and never has been any color blind equality Concerning reverse discrimination the premise is that race-con scious measures infringe upon the rights of non whites and are violations of the 14th amendment. The proponents of this theory use the equal protection clause to deny legal cogni zance of race. Eleanor Smeal repre senting National Organiz ation of Women, stated that 51 percent of American v'omen are in the labor force and tha| they are discriminated against in hiring practices. wages, promotions, wbrk condi tions benefits, tenure and treatment are all affected. Ms. Martinez who testi fied on behalf of Hispanics stated that, "legislative, regulatory and constitu tional proposals opposing affirmative action have emerged to threaten the future access of minorities and women into our insti tutions, even today, 17 yeirn after civil flights Act of 1964, remain the bastion of white America." In re calling Senator Hatch's statement that some consi der Hispanics white and therefore they are not covered by the Civil Rights Act as Blacks, Ms. Mar tinez said she recognized that, as a Hatch tactic to divide the Black-Hispanic coalition. She also took the Senator to task about his statement, "if we had in jected a shot of heroin into our nation, we could not have done our children and our children’s children any more harm than imposing affirmative action." She told him that comparing affirmative action with heroin was highly unfair and could only arouse irrational, emotional reaction. « When Mr. Jeffords sug gested to Vernon Jordan that we should take the Administration at its word of looking for ways not dominated by regulations but by changing attitudes: and intentions, Jordan re sponded that he Is not prepared to take the Ad ministration’s word of good Intentions and honor; that will leave minorities at the starting gate. It was strongly Apha si2ed at these hearings that the Administration is real ly saying that the poor will be better off without go vernment which is like leaving a person adrift and saying. "I wish you well." Arthur Fleming said that social and economic pro grams for looking after the welfare of the people is a Federal Government responsibility. READ THE POST - ■
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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