r
Affiuent Amenc n eds and
benefit fromthe exi ence of ur­
ban racial ghetto , I Univer ity of
. chigan economist contend .
"Tbe ghetto provides a source
of 10 - ger I bor that is directly
exploited by the White majority.
cial attitudes help rationalize
the White advant ge and current
policie I'Ve more to perpetuate
the sy tem than resolve it, treating
the ymptoms but not the
urce " ccording to economi
Prof. Daniel R. Fusfeld.
In a ne boo, "The Political
Economy of the Urban Ghetto"
uthern Illinoi University
), Fu feld and co- uthor
Timothy Bate recommend chang­
ing th economic tructure of the
ghetto by creating full employ­
ment and raising the minimum
age to $5 per hour, reform the
author say are not revolutionary.
"Poverty is not imply the re­
ult of poor education, skills and
ork habits but an outcome of
the economic tructure, the
uthors maintain. 61Th lution
to urban problems re t on chang­
ing that economic tructure
through policie that en ure full
employment t a living wage."
Tod y's urban racial ghettos
gre out of the same fore that'
created m dern America, write
th uthors, whose book explore
the econmic impact of th De­
pre ion and orld War II, and
p tt rn of industrial, agricultural
nd technological change.
ra i m is
the cau of econ mic e p lita­
tion the re ult of it, or b th, i
immaterial y Fusfeld and Bates,
profe r of economic at the
Univer ity of Vermont. "The two
re intertwined and interrelated.
bite attitudes of uperiority help
generate an ideology that ju tifles
their dvantage and ustanins the
undercl po ition of ghettoized
minorities. "
ational trategy for dealing
urban racial problems con­
of the qual opportunity pro-
gram, which k to expand job
nd bu iness opportunitie for
Black and other minoritie and
the incom upport program, in­
cluding welfare and other forms
of ist nc .
'The equ 1 opportunity pro­
helped m ny individu I
peci I education. tr in­
loan, and h
move up
n t elmin
•
c
crowding in the 10 - age sector,"
Fusfeld and Bates y. "And in
btle ways, it ha widened the
gap between the more and the Ie
fortunate. This division may deter
minority groups from uniting in
future political ction to de man
economic change ."
Income support in ch forms
AFDc (Aid to Familie with
Dependent Children) and food
amp, together with ubsidie
for housing, medical care and
transportation, make life in the
inner city a little more bearable.
But they abilize the ituation
and preserve the problem rather
than solve it, Fusfeld and Bate
say.
reover, they say, the steady
drain of income out of the ghetto
continue - to absentee land­
lords, welfare bureaucracie and
other beneficiaries of the current
cial order. If the ghetto' to
be eliminated, the poor mu t
earn a living age, the economi ts
in 'st.
"The olutions will entail
ub tantial redistribution of in­
come from the relatively affluent
to the poor - not through trans­
fer payments, but through the
normal functioning of the eco­
nomy," they assert.
"The first requi tite i full
employment. Jobs must be
available for anyone desiring to
ork, through a variety of public
service jobs and incentives to
private enterpri. The only
revolutionary aspect of the pro­
po for job creation is their
magnitude," th y note. "It may
be necessary to provide jobs for
as many a five million people."
AC OWLEDGING THAT a
program of that scope would
be expensive, the authors., main­
tain that reductions in welfare
and other social service would
defray the costs.
Fusfeld and Bates a 0 recom­
mend an increa in the min­
imum wage. Since tlu poverty
lin for a family of our in 1982
was 9,900, they mint out that
raising th minimum wage to
5 p r hour enable a full-time
wage earner to earn 10,000
nnually. While barely adequate,
the income would at least re­
pre nt a living age, they wri e.
"This is perhaps the mo
controversial point of the pro­
posal and one that ha trem n-
o
•
•
'y'r
AUGUST 15 - 21, 19 4 THE CITIZEN PAGE THREE
With increased incomes from­
more job and higher w ge ,
veral prob ms would be re­
duced or di ppear entirely, Fus­
feld and Bat believe. Many of
the poor would be able to own
diplomat were expected to ad­
dress the crowd,
The- pr lamation, which
named the month of August a
arcu Garvey onth, cited the
Jarnaican-b rn nationali t's "ar­
ticulate teachings and trong and
un werving faith and brilliant ad­
vo acy."
"The phil phy Bla kif-
help, lf-re pect and e n mi
and ial lf-deterrninati m. ad-
v ated long a 0 by arcu
Carv y,' it read. 'i toduv
a c pled. embra ed and arti .ulat­
ed" by leader b th Blue 411ld
white .race ,
The ghetto provides a souree
'of low-wage labor that is
directly exploited by the
White majority. Racial atti­
tudes help rationalize the
White advantage and current
policies serve more to per­
petuate the system than
resolve it ...
CHES 90 D Y VO
C
cars or afford better housing.
Their increased purchasing power
would stimulate growth of inner­
city busine
WITH TRAINING, worker
would qualify for private sector
jobs. Training costs would be
small compared to the co t of
public employment. Public assis-
OJ
dou implication for the entire
economy," the authors concede.
ile long-run effect of uch a
, move are uncertain, a higher
minimum wage is the f e t
and best ay to end the poverty
and depressed condition in the
ghetto, they contend, if it is
accompained by a full employ­
ment program that would provide
both jobs and training. Under
ideal circumstances, the minimum
wage increase should be instituted
over three to five years during a
period of recovery or economic.
expansion, they add.
u
COU
LAU
TDO
p
icidal thing ny Black
do in 1984' not to
-
The Annual Conference at-
tr cted m 12,000 people to
Cle land. any of the con-
ference ttended vera}
forum and heard speakers who
addre d i ue ba ed on the
conference theme: Equity, Ex­
cellence, Empowennent.
A major study released during
the conference was "Running
the Gauntlet: Black en in
America," by James cGhee.
The report provid alarming
details of the comulative impact
of the trails and tribulations of
Black men in the U.S. and their
ultimate impact on the Black
family.
The report examines marital
tatus., mortality education,
crime and employment all of
which contribute to a life-lone
untlet for Black men resulting
in early death incarceration, poor
educational attainment and de-
arcus Garvey remembered in ceremonies
YORK CITY,
y -
Harlem held its annual emorial
Tribute to arcus Garvey Wed­
nesd y in Africa Square, 125th
Street and Adam Clayton Powell,
Jr., Blvd. and rou h Pre i­
dent Andrew Stein issued a
procJamation hon ring Garvey a
"the premier vision ry. '
Am n the activiti slated
for the tribute hi h t und r-
w y t 7 p.m. the .ro nin
ofa i Africa 19
c rding t J m R. Law-
n. pre ident f the Harlem
C un it for c nomi 0 vel p­
rnent, v r I pr minent fri an
CLEVELAND - Wedne y,
August 1, the ational Urb n
eague climaxed its 74th Annual
Conference in Cleveland, Ohio b
announcing a inety Day C
down Voter Education
League President John E. J
said, "There is no exc for not
voting in 1984."
The League plan calls for com­
munity mobilization to increa
the percentage of Black voters
from 50% of 1980 to a project­
ed 60% in 1984.
Such an increase' would result I
in 1.2 million more Black voters
at the polls. The League' 113
affiliates in 34 states and the
Dsitrict of Columbia will assist
in this push for more Blac
voter.
The League's initial step to­
ward community mobilization
wa . it relea of the Voter Edu­
cation Handbook Children of the
60' . The handbook outline
demon trated succe ful techni­
ques for regi tering young (18-
24 year-old) voter .
Sunday, July 29th. Jacob
opened the conference with hi
Keynote Addre and et the
Au ust J w s the 66th anni-'
t ether of
Con­
f the
ver ry of the calli
The First Inte
ference of Af ric n
World b Gar ey.
Augu t 17 i the anniversary
fhis birth.
all t
attend this
and em r d a an
intern at ional I ad r , journali t 'and
tirel.1 to im] rove the I Ii alu
(f de titut Bla'k I -oplc :lll
l cr the uri I, ..
t nee to the d,' d
single parent families not
be holly eliminated, but money
spent on elfare ouJd be . gni­
flcantly reduced more peep e
enter the work force, they d.
, one of the or
pohcie e're gestin& are ne
and, taken independently, none
re rev 'utionary in concept,"
Fusfe d .and Bat continue. "But
their 'combined im could
shortly eliminate the· r-city
ghettos.
"I t took a tranrnatic social
upheaval - the Civil ar - to
end slavery. The combined
forces of the Depr on, orld
War II and the techn ogical
transformatiom of Southern gri­
culture broke the next p ttern
of coerced labor - sharecropping
d debt tenure.
"What will it take to eliminate
the current pattern of coerced
labor in the ghetto? Urban
ghettos repre nt a revoluntion ry
core within American . ty,"
the authors state.
sence will create
turmoil."
elining labor force partici n.
The mayor agreed many
things but on 0 idea' p-
ticular: A stab e
base in nece sary for
ecc_mJ'c
city to
survive.
The mayors said they found
that they could not depe on
federal dollar to them
and that the pri ate and cor­
porate sectors m be approach­
ed. They also said that od
relationship bet een th mayor
the community t large and th
captain of industry must b
maintained in order that this
approach may be cce ul,
In hi closing remar , League
President John Jacob agreed ith
Stoke saying Jackson "blaz d a
trail for Black candidates to
follow" in the years to come.
He added that concrete result
of Jack n's campaign to put
a woman in the vice p idential
slot.
"That's a ignificant bre -
through we c n relate to. But in
p litics, a in corporate hiring nd
in much el th day ould n
pas when Black men ju open
door for white worn n," J cob .
said, "The time has com f r
Black men and w men to al
through tho d ors ur I
�
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