1
fouod tha lage numbers of the 500�000
. terminated from public tance
are Ii· in poftrty d ve 10 health
, run out of food, or h a
y ut off after the cuts.
A Co onal Budget Office (CB)
dy fo d that ho ho ds with in­
under $10,000 will ffer a net
of $19 billion from the budget and
tax cuts the 1983-1985 period
( of SI,I00 per h
IKMJlICIlolcis 0 S80 ,000
a year will pin 35 bOlion (an a�
of 24,000 per hou hold). CBO·
ta that programs for the
ce much (in
e terms) othe social p 0-
In addition, Labor Department
that only 29% of the unem­
p oyed are no receiving unemploy­
ment i ranee (the lowest percentage
ever recorded) and that the number of
jobl workers without unemployment
benefits ctually larger last month
than t the bottom of the recession.
-The President stated that programs
for the poor have been expanded, not
reduced - with more money being pent
and more people being rved than ever
before.
In reality, Congre ional Budget Offiee
data sho that pending for low income
program i (after adju trnent for in­
flation and unemployment) down by
S 16 billion in FY 1984 a re ult of
budget reductions made . nee the Ad­
ministr tion too office. Programs
targeted at low income families and in-
dividu e been reduced one-si tho
In ddition, in mo of th progr
fe r, ot ore, persons re being
rved even though the number of per-
in poverty h incre d inee
J uary 1981 (ne rly 3 million fewer
children eat hool lunches, 500,000
(i e receive school breakf ts, fewer
mothe and children receive public
aailtllJ1ce, fe er poor Camille re d
at community health centers, fewer
10 income children re screened for
d-ba d paint poi Ding, etc.) There
re a I number. of programs where
rollment t up - in all of the c s,
•
I
Con from p 1
- Unily members ill no vote Republi-
-=--- They don't like this attempt to
d cimate their famille ith denied con-
tact visits bet een hu bands and wives
nor do they like their children being
deni d contact visit with their father
d mothers. Why ould they like it?
ould you?"
"Our immediate voting rights cam­
paign concern," id ood, "" to mo­
bolize enough resou s to provide
adequate public education, to lobby
Congres for the p e of this Resolu­
tion and, to implement voter regi tra­
tion in loe 1 j il and tate/federal
p . on. . Thou nd of letter, tele­
grams call and vi it need to be m de
to Congre p pie; nd thou nds of
eUgibl incarcer ted citizen , their f roily
mbers and ex-pri n rs need to take
the initiative t both r . ter and vote. '
Con rejected deeper cut lh Ad-
ministration h d proposed.
-The Pre· ent stated that B c
unern oyment been declining at
a mo e rapid rate than bite unemploy­
ment. In fact, ju the opposite is ture.
Labor Department data 0 that the
rate of teCOftI)' has been 0 er for
Blacks than for hit d that the
gap be Blae and' white unem-
ployment no Jar&er than en the
Administation too office.
-The President claimed that Admin­
. ration tax policies had benefited 10
income orking famili the rno .
Ho e r, the non-partisan Joint Corn-
mitt on Taxation reported tha
federal tax burdens on famille at or
below the po tty line have in . d
,
dramatically since 1980.
A family of four at the poverty line
paid $462 in federal income and payroll
taxes in 1980 - but must pay $1,079
this year. Real tax burdens for th
families have risen from 5.5% of income
in 1980 to 10.1% today, while real tax
burdens for affluent families have been
reduced. In addition, many famille
below the poverty line - ho in the
yean prior to 1980 did not pay income
taxe - m no pay them (families
of four who are $1,800 belo the pover­
ty line - and familie of six who are
$4,000 belo the poverty line - are
now subject to income tax ).
The rather severe increases in the
tax burdens of working poor families
em largely from th fact that the
1981 tax bill - bile bstantially re­
ducing tax rd ns for th in upper
income brae ets - failed to take effecti
action to offset the impact of inflation
on the taxe of poorer families (the
1981 tax ct failed to djust the pro-
AUGUST 1 - 14, 1914 THE CITIZE
PAGE ELEVE
c
o
o must key to 10 income famille
- the earned income tax credit, the
andard deduction, or the personal
exemption).
I
-The Pr . dent said that tb reduction
in inflation particularly helpful to
families at the 10 end of the earnings
1Cale, omittin the fact that much of the
reduction in inflation I achieved
by reducing for 10 d moderate
income or en.
Census data show that despite re­
ductions in th inflation r teo he real
income
fallen, not risen, since 1980.
In ddition, studie at the Urban
Institute have found that even after
taking into ccount the reductio
inflation, the effect of the economic
reco ,and the tax cuts, the bottom
40% of the U.s. population till co
out behind from 1980 to 1984 - lth
the reil purc po r of the ave e
family in both the bottom fifth and the
ne -to-the-bottom fifth 10 er today
than it u before the Administration
too office.
BeA aids Sen ior Citizens
Berrien County Action, Inc.' com-
munity action gency serving 0 income
re ldents throughout Berrien and South
County including iles and ew Buffalo
area.
DCA Information and Referral pro­
gram i almo t one yean old. This ne
service is offered to nior persons aged
sixty (60) or older.
The program objective . to . t
seniors in locating appropiate human ser-
vice provider encies to meet their
need. This service includ glvmg
thorough information about the referral
source, 0 that the peno can make his
or her own contact directly.
Information and Referral program r­
vices the city of Benton Harbor and
To dents. The program I lo­
cated at DCA headquarters in Benton
Harbor.
eed foster parents for spec ial id
ST. JOSEPH - Child and Family
Services ill hold an orientation meeting
on Tuesday, July 10, 1984, at 7 p.m. for
persons intere ted in foster parenting
profoundly developmentally disabled and
emotionally impaired children.
The meeting will be held at Child
and Family Services of Southwestern
Michigan, 2000 South State Street, St.
Jo ph.
Child and Family. Services has con­
tacted with the Berrien County Com­
munity ental Health Board, in addition
to other mental health gencie, to
f cilit te the return of mentally impaired
and developmentally di abled individuals,
under 18 years of e and currently
institutionalized within the State of
ichigan to community b ed living
arrangements, cording to Charle Ru­
bel, Executive Director at Child and
Family Services.
eeded are fo ter family homes to
provide 10 and care for th e children
ranging from 10 to 17 year of age.
Published ch Wednesday t
219 East Main Str t
Benton H rbor, Michigan 49022
Phone: 616/927-1527
by
ew Day Enterprises •
Charles Kelly. Publisher