COKE' SAY MAN
I· CAN. HI/N/)LE
IT.
FAJAOU5
("Ia: ....... r...
Business EdiIor
"WIam the but katkrs MOIl
is done, the peopk say, � did it
OUIUNes. .. LIIo- Tzu, 7th Cm-
I tJUy.
Thi OOUDtry'S ability to com­
pete in today' global
marketplace· handicapped by
inadequate investment in our
mo t important resource :
people.
There are too many wi11ing
or er ho lac sufficient
. d train� to perform
RnlWU· Yl number of tedmical
This i especially true of
Black American and
_ .... lIV'I.ty communities. It is in
f ct a failure of the entire
American society which m be
savaged by th next President
Policies and programs to
promote the education a d
training of Black Ameri
and r minority communities
ld be the first priority of the
next President's administration.
The current drop-out rate of
a Americans is devastating to
the development of the
country's COOIlOollC system. In
the all important formative
years of 18-21 the percent of
hi h school drcp-outs i out­
landish. W· white Americans
I have tri in reee wee
I �ite abou national issues
ich have n too quickly
I d over i the Presidential
I camapign. he American
people will already have .
decided on t eir choice for
President by the time this .
column is re d. It is a pity
howeYel', that matter who the
victor is, they . 't have more
facts.
The Rea an-Bush Ad-
ministration refers to its
averaging 29.3%. Hispanics needs to gro � an ever heal->: economic r cord as the
wboCODStituteQDly6.s%ofthe thier rate td help Black' "American . acle", although
nation's population have al- Americaas"makemajorgainsin the facts' sh w that their
ready risen to 8.1%. WllhBlack employment and relative in- achievemen . the areas of job
A ricansat 11.7%, almostooe come." growth are nything but
in five young wor king age "The Federal Government miraculous. S· ply ask the mil­
Americans are likcly to be a h� must return to vigoroUs enforce- of worke who have lost
school drop-ou in need of ment of affirmative action their jobs in manuf dUring
training for a technically skilled . policies," as wen as assist the industries at hi paying leve
job. transfer of di placed workers what they t ink of thi
Black Americans still lag be- into expan� industries. . "American M· cle."
hind white dolts 25 and over Immediate "restructuring Despite the dmini tration's
that have completed high (of) American's iodustries and claimsaboutth millionsofne
school Seventy seven perceatof retraining its workers" must jobs aeatedd . these years,
white American adults h d consume the next President's their record a Uy faDs t
comp ted hi school hile ecoaomic: actio . record ing the Ie
0DIy 63% of Black Ame . cans A hard decisioa dealiag with
had graduated from high Hispanics and Asians will be a
school topic tossed around deserv-
Sinee i is in the public inter- iDg an honest answer. That .
est and therefore the next developing a policy "to alleviate
President's responsibility to the negative econo . impact
raise the level of the quality of on native born low skilled
lite fo all citizens, an economic workers created by the iDfIux of
enda for the 1990s that ad- low skilled immigrants."
dresses this problem is in order. But on the technical skills
TbeJoint Center for Political deYelopment issue, there can I
Studies (JCPS), W hington, only·be one path. The "eating
D.C., had a T Force find out employment and training I
what recommendations for U.s.· programs must be strengthened
government policy changes are ! to meet the needs of the most .
needed to improve the I di dvantaged." Disregarding
Economic Status of Black : these policies and others .
Americans. l developed by the JCPS Task
The Lash Force found the Force will find all Americans far
U.s. economy has been hailed I worse oflby the end of the next I
as having been a success, it I Presidential admini tration. I
•
's Blae
agenda
51 dily for 30 years, -the uPward
tnrnd in both the; number and
percentage of Americans at
bas actuallY slowed since
19f30 years compred with tb
lace 1970's record
The quote you keep on hear­
from the White House is:
e've created 17 million new
in the past
Wbile· is fa that total
employment has increased by
m re than 17 .. on since the
end of the r in 1982, it is
also true that t three mil-
lion American orkers lost
their jobs during that recession.
Thus, e net r is that total
employment has increased by
only 15 million the nearly
eight years of tb present Ad­
ministration. Th should be
measured against e more than
10 million new ob created
during the four ar of the
Carter Administr tioa, which is
superior to the R record
It should also noted that
while the Carter r rd i supe-
rior to Reagan's; there were .
many who, at the time, w re
. . � 1 would be doing
er of job creation.
ot and train- How quickly the American
ere are some . public forgets? Why aren't
I DO talking about doing better?
of only 2.1 miI- I In short, no matter what type
lion new jobs ha been created ! of spin you put on the
annually betw en 198 and Administration's job creation
1988, compared ·th an average I record • it is certainly no
increase 0{2.6 ·11ion new jobs miracle. For BI cks and
peryearbelwee 1m and 1980 .. minorities, who suffer un-
- - Only 10 rceat of the : employment rates about double
private-sector jobs created those of their white counter­
under the pr Admioiw'a- parts, this rhetoric is even more
tion have been i industries with meaningleSs. It is tim to quite
above-average talking about menial, dead-end,
pared with 35 ce UDder the and below-poverty wage "jobs"
previous Admin tration. as real ones and get on with the
- Although the number of last of putting American to
persons emp and the per- wor and addressing the unmet
centage of th popul tion needs in education, ousiag,
employed hav been rising health and other vital fields.
This wei k in African
A eriean his�ory: .
1 Novembe drix, roc musician, born
1942.
· November 28 - D'..l ...... ,
ovember 19 - We I illps, aboliti ni born
1811. It 0 'NBA'saU-tim assist Ie der, m
1�. I
November 30 - Shirley , first Blae w man
U.S. repre entative, born 1924.
December 1 - Ric d Pryor, com di n, born 1
a P arrested for refusing to giv her t l a wh ire
man, 1955.
December 2 - C. .
r ntative from Midlp, born
December 3 - re DollI2IllS:
of T1u! Nonn Star, 184l
...
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