20 - MANCHESTER HERALD. Fri., Jan. 7, 1983 BUSINESS Conard stops Dudley Moore's Firing a gun: Manchester five getting serious overwhelm ingj Awareness of class divisions grow ... page 15 . page 11 . page 4 Black poverty: racism not only cause ton of Clark. “Most blacks r^ lly — 61 percent of the white figure. A many of the Reagan ad­ like affirmative action have indeed By Gail Collins ministration’s theories about the worked, but only for those blacks One Of the most serious problems want to get race behind them.” Partly sunny, Manchester, Conn. decade later blacks’ median income working against the black poor, The Southern Center for Studies in DPI Business Writer was 58 percent of white families’, causes and solutions to poverty in who were prepared by education and Am.erica. But Williams says he was upbringing to take advantage of Anderson says, is what social scien­ Pubic Policy has been examining cold Sunday Saturday, Jan. 8, 1983 NEW YORK (DPI) - A decade and had in fact fallen behind the rate tists now call “the feminization of the statistical and research data on ago, black intellectuals and liberal of inflation to below $14,000. making the same arguments a them. Single copy 25(p He points to statistics that show a poverty.” Families headed by single black economic experience. Swinton — See page 2 whites agreed that racism was Black joblessness has remained at decade ago, when they were less fashionable. rapid rise in the number of blacks in women cluster at the bottom of the says, “Frankly, I don’t think we responsible for the economic woes about twice the white unemploy­ have the scientific basis to lay to Mrralb professional and managerial economic heap, and most of those of black Americans, They formed a ment rate for so long that the rest any of the competing claims.’’ Bureau of Labor Statistics has “There’s been hostile response, positions. According to the Bureau families are black. virtually united front in pressing for Bureau of Labor Statistics figures But studies on black teenage un­ begun to refer to it as a historic but some of the hostility is beginning of Labor Statistics, a decade ago 25 government action. show that the gap between black and employment, he says, call Into ques­ relationship. to wear down,” he says. percent of working white men and Today the problems are worse white incomes narrows dramatical­ tion the argument that minority , . - e. than ever but the consensus Is gone. Black conservatives claim that The hostility is not wearing down women held professional or managerial jobs, while only 13 per­ ly when the comparison is limited to youth unemployment is the result of Now some blacks are blaming such figures demonstrate the futili­ everywhere. May not back proposal cent of blacks reached that status. households with two wage earners— the poor education or low motiva­ class divisions within the black com­ ty of trying to solve the problems of Algx Willingham of Dillard University in New Orleans says, By 1981, the gap had narrowed — 29 increasingly the most common' tion of an underclass culture. munity and government regulations race and poverty through govern­ While the employment gap ment intervention. “Walter Williams and Thomas percent for white workers and 20 pattern in American society. Black MX, like tlie minimum wage which they families with two working members between white and black teenagers 5 claim discourage potential Williams argues in a new new Sowell (of Stanford University’s percent for black. Hoover Institute) are part of a sort Income data, he says, shows the had a median income of $20,200 in has been growing, he says, “the employers. book, “The State Against Blacks," education and skills gap has been CLOiEO that the answer lies in reducing of new cadre of black conservatives top two-fifths of black Americans 1980 — 80 percent of the $25,000 . O'Neill mum ■All are agreed that there’s little ' getting narrower.” A national at: government regulation and un­ who parrot the line of supply are “pulling ahead of the lowest figure for whites. chance for a solution while un­ “Over half of all black families titudes survey in 1979, he saidj employment is over 10 percent, or leashing the forces of free-market siders,” two-fifths,” creating “a growing 2 are headed by women and two thirds showed that in most instances black until there’s a bigger pie to be sliced capitalism. “They take arguments against gap between the haves and the have- talks youths were willing to take menial "Racial discrimination per se government regulation and apply nots in the black community.” are poor,” Anderson said. “If you’re up. Bernard Anderson, head of the interest^ in doing something about jobs at lower wages than were while The fallout from the stumbling does not explain nearly as much as them to all forms of regulation that on tax report protect the rights of black pwple, Rockefeller Foundation, says he the black poor today, you simply teenagers. economy has hit hardest in the black it is porported to explain,” he says. The unemployment situation for "Numerous government economic working people,”he said. “This is a agrees there is no reason to “lose must address this problem.” community, where unemployment black teenagers began deteriorating IN ADDITION to supporting the regulations at the federal, state and new phenomenon, frankly.” sleep” over the problems of the Wilson, who defines himself as a HARTFORD (UPI) - Gov. *^r Is above 20 percent and nearly half “ social democrat” is at work on a in the 1950s, he says, when employ­ removal of tax exemptions, the black teenagers are unable to find local level have virtually cut off peo­ The black conservatives’ view of black middle class. William O'Neill accepted a report how the American economy works “The evidence is very clear new book, ‘"rhe Hidden Agenda,” ment among white teenagers began commission voted to recommend tied jobs. ple at the tenth rung of the ladder.” Friday from a special commission Williams’ arguments against “is just outdated and irrelevant,” blacks with reasonably good educa­ which picks up, he says, where the to rise. that studied the state’s fiscal adoption of a so-called commuter The old sense of solidarity among last one left off. In it, he advocates “I don’t think the fact that white tax on people who live in other black intellectuals who teach and government regulations run from Swinton claims. Eliminating the tion, satisfactory competence in problems, but said it was too early the high cost of taxi cab medallions minimum wage might create more basic skills, for the most part can public policy aimed at full employ­ youths decided to work in record to say If be would support the pan­ states but work in Connecticut. write about racial problems has O’Neill vetoed a commuter ta x ' Congress to the minimum wage — all of them, low-paying jobs, he says, “but at a find a job when there are jobs ment, reforms in the welfare levels has had no effect,” he said. el’s recommendations. begun to splinter. Conservative system and other programs that ad­ Advocates of both the race and bill passed by the Legislature last black academics dismiss racism as he says, designed by those inside the very difficult cost” to unskilled available in the local community,” O’Neill, who will recommend system to exclude newcomers from workers who are not protected by he says. “I’m not worried about dress the problem of poverty in a class approaches, however, tend to ways next month for the state to year because of concerns centering a central economic Issue, and argue come down on the same side when it on the fact the tax would have is warned the action. unions. black middle class, quite frankly. nonracial context. close a $300 million budget gap in for less, not more, government In­ There are, Wilson says, now three comes to the economy. Few black applied only to New Yorkers who tervention. "Why does it fall so hard on “We could all go back to working They’ll do all right. I’m very con­ the next fiscal year, said it was too blacks? Because blacks are the last as slaves and get full un­ cerned about the black poor, the un­ camps among black social scien­ social scientists believe much early to say if he would support the work in Connecticut. " I’m not saying racial discrimina­ A commuter tax that would apply WASHINGTON (UPI) - Presi­ major ethic group to become ur­ employment,” he added. derclass. tists: “the black conservative progress is possible for the black commission’s proposal for resolving tion doesn’t exist. It just doesn’t poor in an era of 10 percent un­ to people from all neighboring dent Reagan has warned Congress explain much,'I says Walter banized and get their constitutional Williams claims that that sort of “That’s where Bill Wilson’s argu­ academics like ’Theodore Sowell and the fiscal problem. there will have to be a Walter Williams, who present the employment. states is expected to be introduced Williams, a professor at George rights," he said. argument is “utter economic non­ ment has special force. If one is con-, “I know no more about the report “reassessment” of U.S. strategic free market approach; you have “As long as we have a situation this year. O’Neill said he would con­ Mason University, Fairfax. Va. In Philadelphia, where it can cost sense,” because it presumes a finite cerned with social and economic than I’ve had the opportunity to read arms reduction proposals to the $20,000 to $40,000 to buy a taxi number of jobs.