April Issue

In this issue:Victor Pichardo: A Man and His Vision

Up, Down and Around TownThe Facade: Blacks and Health Disparities

Is the Sky Falling?

A commentary on the journey to the Beloved Community2010 April - May - June

America; You better know what the Latin phrase “Ca-veat Emptor” means, because one of the greatest confi-dence games is being perpetuated on you the rank and file citizen in its history. It’s called “The Glen Beck/Rush Limbaugh we love America so much that we are whining all the way to the bank”. Do you really be-lieve that either Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh identify with the average American making less than 250,000 a year.- I don’t think so, both these guys are 1) admitted entertainers and they tell the public so all the time. 2) Multi-millionaires and have been so for years. 3) Serve up on a daily basis fodder for disgruntled white Ameri-can males and their female cohorts warmed over popu-lism reminiscent of the 1930’s in which we saw the rise of Adolf Hitler Mussolini ad Huey Long. In short it’s a public negative venting session blaming liberals, intel-lectuals and government for the ills of the world.

Now that a mulatto (or bi-racial person) is in the Presi-dential office it gives rise to all sorts of veiled and not so veiled comments to the integrity of the office i.e. America is moving in a Socialists direction. Using the TARP bail outs as one example. Matter of fact: CitiCorp recently paid the government back in full and the federal government holds over eight billion in stock which is profit. As you read this publication the gov-ernment is in the process of selling. That sounds like good old capitalism to me. Invest and make a profit. We are living during a time of an cultural upheaval not unlike the late 1960’s when the youth and Civil rights advocates challenged the then status quo. And

the stakes are no less grave. It was at such a similar juncture in American history that the post civil war Johnson compromise was reached and set back race relations for a hundred plus years. The war is described as thus; The declining dominance of the old white Anglo Saxon Protestant paradigm versus one that em-braces change, hope, youth and more importantly is less focus on the baggage of racism and sexism

Much of this is also about wealth and the redistribution of wealth held in the hands of less than .5 per-cent of Americans 300 million plus resident citizens. The vitriolic rhetoric and character assassination at-tacks on restructuring a Health care system that eats yup 16 plus percent of gross national product while all the time saying is necessary is nothing but a dog and pony show to retain an inordinate amount of this country’s wealth and “social control ”.

The facts speak for themselves and the onus falls on both sides of the isle in congress. In example of a Demo-cratic case in point; Welfare Reform that basically keeps a person chained to poverty because of the way it is structured. Once one goes above the archaic formula fir poverty, they lose all of the supports mechanisms that enable them to get a job. So in fact, what is create is not a bridge to the middle class, but just a hallway to becoming one of the working poor. Republican faux paus deregulation as f this were the 17 century and the idea of liaizesse Faire capitalism would regulate itself-NOT. It did not then and does not know. By dent of the human inclination toward greed alone we as adults should know and understand that our capital-ists markets demand to be regulated and those regulations fiercely enforced. Otherwise we will get what we got in the mortgage market. A whole lot of people betting on the come that they will see a better day by the time the bills came through (Also known as Adjustable Rate Mortgage or ARMS).

In closing the Preamble to our constitution embodies our core beliefs, which are: America can only work when we the people as a whole work toward that which is just, prosperous and tranquil. Allowing a few with well healed pockets to determine our destiny speaks neither to our communal identity or the accu-mulative history that has brought us to this place in time “Carpe Diem” America ,one and all that believe in the American Dream. Go and participate in its achieving its potential, which is to arrive at the Beloved Community.

Letter From the Publisher

2

DAN BELLPunblisher & Editor in ChiefAdvertising [email protected]

EDGAR GALLARDOGraphic and Layout [email protected]

JULIE MAE MADSENCopy [email protected]

Copyright 2010All rights reserved.Reproduction of the contents herein is prohibited without written permission from the publisher.

PO BOX 4988Portland, Oregon

Phone: (503) 810-4354

CONTENTS

Arts and Dining 4Up, Down and Around Town

Victor Pichardo 6A Man and His Vission

Healthcare 10The Façade: Blacks And Health Disparities

Housing 12Assistance for Hard Markets

Economy 14Is the Sky Falling?

BCjournal

3

Up, Down and Around Town Written By Calvin Walker

Our community recently lost one of its true treasures in Dick Bogle. My life was enriched by his presence and I will remember him always as one of the true renaissance men of his time. When one thinks of his many accomplish-ments you cannot help to wonder how he navigated through such turbulent waters while simultaneously carrying himself with the utmost dignity and grace.

My first recollection of Mr. Bogle was as a when I was out playing music in the nightclubs of the day as a kid at 12 years. Whether it was the Cotton Club, the Texas Playhouse, Fred’s Place, or Bess’s, Dick always seemed to be around during that time working as a police officer. For a young African-American male it was encouraging to see a black man in a position of authority-especially a po-lice officer-during those unstable times. Dick always car-ried himself with an impeccable grace. Not once did I ever see him speak in a degrading way to anyone. My classmates were probably at home tucked safely in their beds but I was out until 2 AM playing music. Seeing Dick and another one of my mentors Paul Knauls around during those

times made me feel safe and confident that I could ‘do my thing’ on the drums and no one was going to intimidate or mess with me.

During my college years I was witness to Dick’s as-cent in many different worlds. The Portland Oregon Afri-can-American community at the time had their collective chest’s swell upon seeing Mr. Bogle host a local news show. At a time when our image was not necessarily popular to put out front of a local television news show, seeing Dick there was more than inspirational. He exemplified the dig-nity that so many of us craved at the time. Seeing him on the tube on a daily basis definitely instilled in me the fact that I could be anything I wanted to be if I worked hard enough. After all I’d seen this strong man go from a police uniform to a three piece suit as easily as superman emerging from the phone booth in his red tights and royal blue leo-tard. It wasn’t just that he was on television, he was good at it. No pronunciation problems, no ‘Ebonics’ missteps, but a true understanding of the English language delivered flawlessly.

As if the above accomplishments were not enough, Dick wasn’t finished with his climb up. After his news days he made a major jump to City Hall, another unprecedent-ed leap forward for a man of color in Portland Oregon. He became the lead assistant for Commissioner Mildred Schwab, she being the most forward thinking of all the commissioners at the time. Imagine the looks on the faces of the other city workers at the time when this regal black man stepped into the building. Dick did the job with aplomb, navigating his way through what surely must have been a daunting reception from those did not have the fore-sight of a Commissioner Schwab. Fortunately he made it through and learned his lessons well. He learned those lessons so well in fact he became a city commissioner.

Now mind you when all of this was going on Dick had another allegiance, one that had been with him his entire life-his allegiance to jazz. He was an accomplished photographer and writer and he brought both of those skills to the national spotlight where he would become a contributor to not only locals newspapers the Skan-ner and the Portland Observer, but also to national jazz publication Downbeat Magazine. I had the pleasure of witnessing Dick’s enthusiasm for the idiom when I was De-velopment Director for the area’s premier jazz and blues station KMHD 89.1 FM. Dick’s shift was Monday’s from 10 AM-2 PM. I could always tell Dick was on the air because the music he played was JAZZ with a capital J. He knew the

4

music inside and out and he came prepared to every one of his shifts with new music. He used his vacations to attend numerous jazz events around the world. Now Dick was by no means afraid to express his opinion about the mu-sic. He had his own standards about what was ‘true’ jazz and what was not. He was not into folks who watered down their music for financial gain. He was all about the great improvisers, players, arrangers and producers who brought the virtuosity it takes to be a great jazz person. Although he was open to friendships with people from dif-ferent cultures and communities Dick was also proud of the fact that he was a black man with a capital B. If folks did not necessarily agree with his views he gave them their respect but he did not apologize for being who he was.

During the years I shared with him at KMHD I also realized what a great photographer he was. In the hallway of our offices there hung two of his poster sized photographs. One of those photographs was of famed blues/jazz singer Ruth Brown caught at a great moment dressed in her finery. I’ll never forget that photograph. It was another indicator of what a sensitive and caring per-son Dick was. He lived in the moment and he was able to capture great ones.

There will never be another Dick Bogle as there will never be another Gordon Parks, or Miles, or Mildred Schwab. Some folks are just put on this earth to make us have a certain enthusiasm and optimism about whom and what we are. They challenge us to make our lives more meaningful or to never give up. They touch us in ways that can only be explained by their pure exuberance to live life to the fullest and leave behind something that will inspire others for many generations to come. Dick Bogle inspired me to do all those things. To never take any-thing for granted. To always do what you do to the best of your ability and beyond. To be proud and consistently cognizant of the fact that I am a Black man in America and to never, ever be afraid or ashamed of that.

I will be proud of the fact that I know Dick Bogle for the rest of my life. He was one of a kind and there won’t soon be, if ever, anyone akin to him. RIP Dick.

Calvin Walker is an Academic Advisor at Mt. Hood Community College and loves jazz, blues, funk and fried chicken just like Charlie “Bird” Parker.

5

I have been a political activist for the bet-ter part 42-plus years,dating back to 1968 when I worked on the national presiden-tial campaign for Eugene McCarthy. As part of the national campaign staff, I went to California and canvassed in the barrios. Canvassing was my first exposure to the La-tino community. Over the years, I have had occasion to briefly work with various Lati-no; most successfully with academics such as Dr. Anthony Ruiz, an internationally recognized authority on community orga-nizing. Dr. Ruiz organized 30 community centers during the civil unrest in 1968. Dr. Ruiz is presently on contract with the World Vision as a trainer for Senior Pas-tors in the North and South American Hemisphere. For all my efforts, I felt that the type of dialog needed to bridge the gap between blacks and brown culture lacked a critical element of trust. Then I met an

Arizona transplant by the name of Victor Pichardo.

Victor and his wife own two barber shops in the Gresham area. Victor and I were introduced by a mu-tual friend in the faith-based commu-nity. Victor’s story is one of courage, redemption, and paying it forward. Having lived a gang affected life, he was given a chance to turn his life around after release from a correc-tions facility. In 2001, Mr Pichardo fresh out of the penintiary found himself wondering what make of his life whether to go commit an other crime and return to prison where he knew how to play the game and every thing was familiar and regimented comfortable or face life on life’s term and forge ahead into the unknown reality of the square world about which he knew little. Instrumetal in helping him make this decision was a

A MAN AND HIS VISION BY DAN BELL

6

gentleman who worked for a government funded re-entry program called “One Stop”. One Stop provided counseling and in the case of Mr. Pichardo financial assistance for vocational training. His counselors name was Al Griffth, a no nonsense mat-ter of fact individual who constasntly gueried Mr. Pichardo on what he wanted to do with his life. This variation on the Socratic method of teaching reached Mr. Pichardo and led him to pursue a vocation of barbering. The end result being he gradu-ated from Hollywood barbering school in Arizona. Now at age 38 Mr. Prichard owns two barber shops with his wife, Amy: one located on 90th and Glisan and one on 162 and Stark .

Since I met Mr. Pichardo last August, he has unveiled to me his vision and desires to work with members of the black commu-nity. To that effect he has rented barbering space to a young black man named Keith. Victor has done so even after being pres-sure by members of his ethnic group to de-sist with such a pursuit. In terms of building community bridges, Mr. Pichardo has been instrumental in working with me to pro-vide cultural immersion experiences with his family and friends by attending such events as A Christmas Carol, performed by the Portland Center Stage, and a perfor-mance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the Oregon Ballet Company.

These experiences, I hope, will be the seeds that will germinate friendship into an ongoing relationship which will grow into a broader relationship beyond just one individual, eventually becoming the mak-ings of a much needed inter-cultural and inter-generational alliance between blacks and browns in this region of the country. An alliance that will serve both communi-ties’ interests through political leveraging and increased economic upward mobility.

The road has not been easy for Mr. Pichardo. Having served his time in Ari-zona, Mr. Griffth and One Stop the previ-ously mention re- entry program gave him a chance to turn his life around. Now he is intent on returning the compassion shown him. However, over lunch last No-

7

vember, he conveyed to me the pressures put upon him from the rank and file within his social universe: daily criticism, appeals to gang allegiance from his former affili-ations, the strain of establishing a legiti-mate business. Myself, a person who him-self grew up in Portland when a there was a restrictive geographic ghetto fraught with organize and petty crime, I can empa-thize. The road to becoming a part of the mainstream is an arduous journey. It is also part of the American Dream, a dream we all share and seek for our children and community as a birthright and legacy. In spite of the social pressures Mr. Pichardo consciously sought out black tal-ent to help in his barber shop. Last year he met Keith Harrison, a young, 30ish black man originally hailing from Atlanta, Geor-gia. Keith as he is known at the shop came to Portland by way of the love train; mean-ing his companion decided to move back to Portland from Atlanta where he was a self-trained barber. After arriving here, Keith attended Phagans’ Beauty School and earned his barbering credentials and license. Upon graduating he was offered a

position as an instructor. It was while working in this capacity last June that he was introduced to Mr. Pichardo. Keith conveyed to me that the op-portunity presented by and the chemis-try between he and Mr. Pichardo were key to him taking Mr. Pichardo up on the chance to become his own boss. Admittedly, the risks are higher than having someone else or a compa-ny worry about the money for one’s pay check. Yet Keith said the ability to de-termine one’s own destiny and his enjoy-ment of people compels him to continue working as an independent contractor with Pichardo. Albeit sometimes there are language barriers and Keith has a significant number of black clientele due to the fact that blacks have relocated from the historic inner city because of the availability low-income housing in outer East Portland.

From my perspective as an outside observer, I see two young men embarking on a partnership. Both men have a vested interest in making a success of Pichardo’s Barber Shop. Mr. Pichardo is learning the ropes of managing Human Resources and marketing, but at the age of 38 he is equipped with a strong support system from his immediate family and is well on his way. Most importantly, his vision and willingness to extend an olive branch of cooperation between his world in the La-tino culture to us in the Black commu-nity is vital and inspiring. Historically we have been pitted against one another. We live in an economy that even in bad times generates multi-trillions of dollars annually [that’s trillions with a “T”].

8

Smart. Practical. Biblical.

portland, oregon 800.275.4672 www.multnomah.edu/degrees

TEACH ENGLISH IN THE U.S. AND INTERNATIONALLY

LEARN FROM EXPERIENCED ESOL TEACHERS

EXPLORE CURRENT ISSUES OF ENGLISH INSTRUCTION

WORK SKILLFULLY WITH DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS

Multnomah University

M.A. in TESOL

accredited by NWCCU & ABHE

portland, oregon 800.275.4672 www.multnomah.edu/degrees

In terms of dollars alone, Latinos generate near a trillion dollars. Blacks in this country, including immigrants, do so as well. What is missing between us is an alliance that can move both our re-spective cultures forward in terms of po-litical influence and inclusion. Influence and inclusion translates into more of us getting collegiate educations rather than filling up the prison system. It also trans-lates into more of us holding public of-fice so that we can protect our respective sense of community and employment. At the end of the day, we represent two great ancient cultures which need to be accepted as inclusive instead of assimilated and co-opted. Both cultures have contributed to giving America its unique character and identity. Mr. Pichardo is a man who gets it and wants his piece of the rock. He un-derstands we have more to gain together than we do while in heated competition over kibbles and bits.

EDGARGALLARDOPRODUCTIONS.COMEDGAR GALLARDO

[email protected](702) 588-2780

EDGAR GALLARDO

PRODUCTIONSWEB DESIGNGRAPHIC DESIGN

VIDEO PRODUCTIONPHOTOGRAPHYLOGOSCLOTHINGANYTHING

YOU NEED

9

Robbie is a 10-year-old and, like most kids his age, he wishes he could spend more time with his dad. But when he acted up in school last month and was sent to a White counselor (who reminded him that not all of his peers had a dad at home), he only admitted ithe fact that he has to take this detour before going home bothers him a little bit. Rob Sr. is a 45-year-old Black accountant who wishes he had more time not only to spend with Robbie, but to have a beer with his coworkers since he realizes it may help his chances at a promotion. But he rushes home to help care for his moth-er-in-law who has had a stroke to help his wife who also works, noticing the engine light in the car. He worries about his wife who also drives the car, but as money and time for repairs is tight, he convinces him-self that it only bothers him a little bit. He may not know he is like most Black men his age and has hypertension. Maybe, years ago, a, possibly, White clinician told him that his cholesterol and blood sugar were – like his mother in law’s - only elevated a little bit. He does not know about emerging evidence that racism can account for the disproportionate mortality and morbidity in the Black community. Heart and other chronic diseases are increasing and the evi-dence for this fact is compelling. If Rob Sr. knew, he would only let it bother him a lit-tle bit. Like legislators who argue against preventative and public health care because those options would only change outcomes a little bit, they can afford to be concerned only a little bit.

Vivian is Rob’s wife. She also is 45 years old and she too has blood pressure problems like her mother, who worked in family-home service for 48 years without medical coverage until her undiagnosed hypertension caused the stroke for which she now depends on care from the finan-

cially stressed family. Vivian would rather put money towards after-school care for Robbie and perhaps a few others in Robbie’s class so as to have fewer behavior incidents in the school or helping the household in other ways, as extended families used to do in her day. Instead, she can only use one side of her body and although her primary care doctor offered her costly antidepres-sant medication, she doesn’t take it regu-larly, feeling shame that contributes to the very depression it would treat. After years of living in a culture in which she is invisible, she “makes do” as much for her family as her-self, convincing herself that it only troubles her a little bit. Vivian might admit that she would like to see a clinician of color to dis-cuss her premenopausal symptoms because she read something once about how that can af-fect her cholesterol issues and have an effect on risk of stroke, but figures she should be glad to have health insurance and so it only bothers her a little bit.

The medical community is well aware that any elevations in blood pressure, cho-lesterol and blood sugar can create long-term and devastating damage to heart, kid-ney, lung and brain function. In fact, whole institutions have been dedicated to studying those effects. Like social injustice, those ef-fects are insidious, pervasive and by their very nature imperceptible and therefore deniable as a coping mechanism in the organism. If

The Façade: Blacks And Health Disparities By Leslie Gregory

10

one worries about the slightest incremental health issues every day, would not that wor-ry itself increase stress and anxiety? In order to function and just “fake it to make it” one has to “focus on the positive” and keep pushing through to be effective and manage day by day.

Rob and Vivian’s stories are replicated thousands of times across our country as families of color struggle for quality of life and the constitutionally-guaranteed pursuits whichlargely elude them. Hundreds of studies by well-respected institutions document the dis-proportionate mortality and morbidity of car-diometabolic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, obesity and stroke. Data continues to accumu-late about their roots in the history of racism, discrimination and hate. Could it be that the answers are too simple for our complex, over-analyzing institutions to understand? If “hy-per” means excessive and “tension” means stress, could it simply be that the legacy of racism and discrimination have literally strained the Black heart in America? Stress may be a complex issue, but could the debate over how to truly address that legacy possibly start here while a grid-locked legislature guaranteed immunity from these daily and deadly concerns argues about budget, sending a message across the na-tion? We don’t so much care about your family as who will pay for your care.

America professes to be the greatest soci-ety even though America is the only developed nation WITHOUT any public method or virtual assurance of healthcare. We are becoming a laughing stock. Biblical prophets are credited with the saying, “A society’s integrity is judged not by its wealth and power, but by how it treats its most vulnerable members.” That those so vulnerable have been largely made so by a legacy from which so many others have advan-tage makes our lack of healthcare all the more unjust.

I submit that those of us who have the luxury of a delusional divide between social justice issues and healthcare reform are suf-fering under the same pervasive denial that creates chronic illness. Slowly over time we have become insulated and insensitive to our own suffering and marginalization. A mere year after congress issued an official apology for slavery, is it too soon to address and rem-edy health disparities so clearly attributable to it?

America needs to take responsibility for its actions if it demands the same of other countries. I submit that starting with con-gressional ACTION (as opposed to statement) doing so would be a substantial beginning. If this article causes the reader discomfort in any way, I am sorry; but only a little bit.

11

Today, building on the first Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (the “HFA Hardest Hit Fund”), the Administration announced an expansion of the initiative to target five additional states with high shares of their populations living in local areas of concentrated economic distress. This second HFA Hardest Hit Fund will include up to $600 million in funding for innovative measures to help families stay in their homes or otherwise avoid foreclosure in states that have been hit hard by concentrated economic dis-tress.

Responsible families across the country have found themselves unable to pay their mort-gages due to unemployment or underemploy-ment. While the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund tar-geted five states with home price declines greater than 20 percent, the second HFA Hardest Hit Fund will target five states with high concen-trations of people living in economically dis-tressed areas, defined as counties in which the unemployment rate exceeded 12 percent in 2009. Less than 15 percent of the U.S. population lives in such high unemployment rate counties. The five states that will receive allocations based on this criterion are: North Carolina, Ohio, Ore-gon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

President Obama announced the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund on February 19, 2010, with up to $1.5 billion in funding for innova-tive measures to help families. States that were allocated funds under the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund are not eligible for the second HFA Hard-est Hit Fund. HFAs in states qualifying for the second Hardest Hit Fund will be required to

ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES SECOND ROUND OF ASSISTANCE FOR HARDEST HIT HOUSINg MARKETS

submit plans to Treasury for review before becom-ing eligible for funding. Once HFAs have submit-ted plans to Treasury for review, and Treasury de-termines that the plans satisfy the requirements under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”), the plans will become eligible for funding up to a predetermined allocation cap.

Illustrations of the Types of Programs that May be Funded in the States

The HFA Hardest Hit Fund is designed to allow the maximum possible flexibility to HFAs in designing programs that are tailored to the needs of each participating state. To be eligible for Trou-bled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) funds, all pro-grams must promote the purposes of EESA and be consistent with its requirements. Section 2 of EESA provides that the purposes of EESA are to restore liquidity and stability to the financial system and to use TARP funds in a manner that, among other things:

* Protects home values; * Preserves homeownership and promotes jobs

and economic growth; and

Second HFA Hardest Hit Fund to Help Address Urgent Problems Facing Families in States with Concentrated

Areas of Economic Distress

13

* Provides public accountability. The objective of the HFA Hardest Hit Fund is to allow HFAs to develop creative, effective ap-proaches that consider local conditions. To pro-vide guidance to HFAs in designing programs, Trea-sury has outlined below some of the possible types of transactions that would meet the requirements of EESA. States are encouraged to submit proposals that provide targeted relief to areas or localities with high concentrations of economic distress, but each state should respond to local conditions:

* Unemployment Programs – Programs may pro-vide for assistance to unemployed borrowers to help

them avoid preventable foreclosures. * Mortgage Modifications – Programs may provide for modification of mortgage loans held by HFAs or other financial institutions or provide incentives

for servicers/investors to modify loans. * Mortgage Modifications with Principal Forbear-ance – Programs may provide for paying down all or a portion of an overleveraged loan and taking back a note from the borrower for that amount in order

to facilitate additional modifications. * Short Sales / Deeds-In-Lieu of Foreclosure – Pro-grams may provide for assistance with short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure in order to prevent

avoidable foreclosures. * Principal Reduction Programs for Borrowers with Severe Negative Equity – Programs may provide incentives for financial institutions to write-down a portion of unpaid principal balance for homeown-

ers with severe negative equity. * Second Lien Reductions – Programs may provide

incentives to reduce or modify second liens.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of acceptable transactions. Other innovative ideas and transaction types (including innovations related to the Making Home Affordable Program) will be evalu-ated on a case-by-case basis for compliance with EESA. Treasury may publicly announce additional types of transactions that would meet the requirements of EESA. For programs designed to help individual ho-meowners, the target population should be limited to residences with unpaid principal balances equal to or less than the current government sponsored enterprise (GSE) conforming limit of up to $729,750. HFAs may target low and moderate income borrow-ers at their discretion consistent with that HFA’s state enabling legislation.

Timeline for HFA ProposalsTreasury will announce rules governing the sub-mission of program designs by HFAs within two weeks and will provide a period thereafter for HFAs to submit their program designs in order to receive funding. These rules will be substantially similar to the rules previously released by Trea-sury for the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund, and will include a proposal submission timeline for this second HFA Hardest Hit Fund.

ReportingHFAs will be required to develop and maintain operational and performance metrics, have a de-tailed financial reporting system and track hom-eowners helped through its programs. HFAs will report data to Treasury on a periodic basis, includ-ing metrics used to measure program effectiveness against stated objectives. Treasury may request that the HFA modify the proposed performance measures or seek additional metrics as necessary. All program designs will be posted online, along with metrics measuring the performance of each HFA’s programs.

Allocation Methodology The allocation method for the second HFA Hard-est Hit Fund identifies states that have high shares of their population living in areas of concen-trated economic distress. Specifically, states were ranked by the share of their state population liv-ing in counties in which the unemployment rate exceeded 12 percent, on average, over the months of 2009. The five states that have been selected are at the top of this ranking, after excluding states that have already been selected for the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund.

A total of $600 million in funds is being allocated to these five selected states. This is equivalent on a per person basis to the $1.5 billion awarded in the first HFA Hardest Hit Fund.

The goal of the allocation methodology is to fo-cus on areas that have exceptionally high concen-trations of economic distress. Less than 15 percent of people in the U.S. live in a county in which the average unemployment rate exceeded 12 percent in 2009.

Loren LarryBarbershop

503.407.44636800 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Portland, Oregon 97211

12

The conservative right and the Tea party ac-tivist are crying “the sky is falling”. America is no longer the country of the proud and free. Furthermore “big government “is creating in-ordinate debt for future generations. Upon analysis an objective observer who has some grasp of economics would have to admit that 1) we dodge a bullet in avoiding a major de-pression the like of which is unseen since the 1920’s. May I add --the vast majority of Ameri-cans do not have clue what a real Depression as in what happened during the 1920’s looked like. 2) Criticism of the TARP bail out is counter productive because it was that funding mecha-nism to provide liquidity for the banks that helped avert an economic meltdown. Further-more the funds given were loans that after re-payment of the principle with interest will ac-tually make a profit for the American public. Case in point: Citi Corp as of March 30, 2010 has paid the federal government the principle on the loan it received and in addition to pay-ing it off in less than two years; the Govern-ment now holds an additional 8 billion dol-lars in stock. Thus, the principle on the loan has already been paid and the interest held as stock will realize a tidy profit, all, in less than a three year cycle. Consequently, charges of a government give away are hardly accurate. More apt is a government investment in the interest of the people.

But that being said now let’s look at some basic fundamentals. The stock market for the last 3 months has been holding steady at above 10,000. The stock market although not reflective of Main Street economics is one of the first indicators to watch for the health of the economy when gauging an eco-nomic turn around from a recession or eco-nomic downturn. National unemployment has fallen below its near 11 percent high and more recently has hovered at 9.7 percent. This indicates a stabilizing of the economy. Manu-facturing is beginning to come to life again with orders of U.S. A. made products, and the sustainable green campaign has saved or cre-ated jobs in such states as Iowa. Housing sales for the month of January took an uptick. And temporary labor is now in growing demand. Calls for temporary labor routinely serve as a precursor to an upswing in hiring permanent employees as the economy recovers.

All the aforementioned items speak to an economy on the rebound. However, the reality is that the several million jobs lost during the deep recession of 2008 will not be generated any time soon.

Now is the time for that the vaunted Ameri-can ingenuity to come to the fore. Small business accounts for approximately 60 to 70 percent of jobs in America. With the Health Care act, small business persons are better positioned to provide health care for their employees at a reasonable rate. Since the em-ployee is any business’ most valuable asset, this should in turn increase production, lower the risk of missed days at work and increase morale in the work place. All win-win-win propositions. The declaration of government shifting em-phasis from fossil fuels as a mainstay for power pro-duction to renewable energy and sustainable energy sources will not only liberates us from foreign inter-est but shifts those same jobs back to the American landscape at the same time. I suggest rather than see-ing the glass half empty we should see it as half full. The old guard techniques of back room deals and blaming big government should be seen for what it is, the last and desperate attempt to hold on to the old way of doing things. --Slash and burn criticism of effective government as opposed to incompetent gov-ernment (i.e. the way the aftermath of Katrina was administrated and how we Americans responded to the winter snow storms of 2010on the East Coast). Governing should not be a matter of size but how it serves the people. With over 300 million residents in

Is the Sky Falling?By Dante Che

14

the U S of A, small government is really idiom use to recapture our outlook as a nation in 1776: a horse and buggy era which premise of slavery, Liasezze Faire market trade is ineffectual in and immoral in today’s new paradigm of international globally inter-relat-ed markets, currencies conglomerates. America is no longer the consumer of 60 percent of the world’s re-tail products. New markets in China, Brazil and In-dia dwarf our buying power just In terms of just sheer numbers of people entering the middle class. Undoubt-edly Asia is the next mercantile growth market on the planet.

In summation, I would like to draw your at-tention to the content of a book written in the 1970’s called Mega Trends by John Naisbitt. Its vision of the new economic order has been pretty accurate. America is now a country who’s major and most valu-able export is information related. One of the largest employment sectors in America nowadays is in the ser-vice industry.

In order to compete on a global basis, we will need to inspire our young to learn more sophisticated skills. The day of the common laborer as the primary bread winner is of a bygone era. As we lose low tech jobs to our sourcing in foreign countries such as Mex-ico, India and elsewhere. Now, we need to work and think smart. Because the labor intensive jobs, while still around are becoming far and few between.

Things have changed, --yes--. But the present economic fundamentals indicate we will get through the recent severe down turn in the economy a little leaner, and hopefully much wiser. Ultimately –no, the sky is not falling. And government being large or small is not the real question, but how well it pro-vides for the interest of its citizens.

15