Jan. 5, 2014

Good Advice Starting in 2014
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – I am fortunate to have good friends who make it their goal to communicate information to me that they feel useful or vital to my readers.  This week I received an email that was titled "GOOD ADVICE FOR EVERYONE" and I agreed.  I don't know the author, but I credit that person with the quality of insightfulness.  Since I obtained it from the public domain without the attribution of a copyright, I want to share it with you.

1) Quit arguing with people about the same old foolishness! Respect their position and keep it moving!

2) Quit telling people your secrets when you know they're not going to keep them! And if you keep telling them, then quit getting mad when they tell your secrets!

3) Quit trying to pull people on your journey who don't want to travel with you! Either they believe in and value you ...or they don't!

4) Quit complaining about things you can't and won't change! I'm not working on being a size 6 or a model...so instead of complaining about the weight, forget the charts! I created my own "healthy weight!"

5) Quit gossiping about other people! Minding our own business should be a full time job!

6) Quit blaming others for things that in the big picture aren't going to matter 3 weeks from now! Talk solutions...and then implement them!

7) Quit eating things you know are not good for you! If you can't quit...eat smaller portions! (I know...this is hard for me too!)

8) Quit buying things that we know we can't afford! If you don't have self-control, then quit going to the stores and quit charging things, especially when you don't need them!

9) Quit staying in unhealthy relationships! It is not okay for people to verbally or physically abuse you! So quit lying to yourself! It is not okay to stay in the marriage for the children! Ask them and they will tell you that they really would prefer to see you happy and that the misery you and your spouse/partner are living with is affecting them!

10) Quit letting family members rope you into the drama! Start telling them you don't want to hear it! Quit spreading the drama! Quit calling other relatives and telling them about your cousin or aunt! Go back to #5 - Minding your own business should be enough to keep you busy!

11) Quit trying to change people! IT DOESN'T WORK! I am still working on this because I really see a world of possibilities for others and try to convince them to see and want differently for themselves! Quit cussing people out when you know that they are just being the miserable and jealous people that they are!

12) Quit the job you hate! That’s what I did—and never looked back! Start pursuing your passion, but find the job that fuels your passion before you quit!

13) Quit volunteering for things from which you get no personal fulfillment. Quit volunteering for things and failing to follow through with your commitment!

14) Quit listening to the naysayers! Quit watching the depressing news if you’re going to live in the doom and gloom of it all!

15) Quit making excuses about why you’re where you are or why you can't do what you want to do! Nothing else needs to be said, just quit.

16) Quit waiting on others to give you the answers...and start finding the answers for yourself! If what you’re doing isn't working for you...quit it!

While everything written here may not be realistic for you (like quitting your job), I’ll endorse the principle of finding answers that make life meaningful for you.  Invest in your life and in those you love!

Jan. 5, 2014

A Real Movement of the 99%—Don’t Look Down
By William Spriggs 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - From 1946 through the 1970s, the incomes of Americans grew together. This, of course, does not mean everyone earned the same amount, but it did mean that if the economy grew, everyone’s income grew. That pattern allowed President John F. Kennedy to note in a 1963 speech that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Since the 1970s, that has not been the case. A rising tide has lifted those at the top 1 percent, sunk those at the bottom and left the rest adrift in rough seas. President Kennedy used the speech to defend a project some felt was pork barrel politics.

Today, the claim that a growing economy benefits everyone is used to defend tax cuts to corporations—that send America's jobs overseas and shift their profits to tax haven countries—and the top 1 percent, like corporate CEOs who direct their corporations to borrow money to buy back the company stock to boost the CEO’s bonus for rising stock prices and their personal wealth in stock holdings.

Recent headlines have been dominated by congressional Republican-led cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and unemployment insurance to longtime unemployed workers. Republicans believe this is a winning strategy because the path to the weird politics of their rise has been to convince those in the middle that it is the 20 percent at the bottom versus the 80 percent at the top. They have been reinforced by a prevailing notion that the growth in income inequality is the result of skills differences, with those industrious enough to study hard and get good education being rewarded and those too lazy to study being outpaced by advancing technology. But the Great Recession affected highly educated and less educated workers. And the failure of young people to gain a foothold in the current job market makes clear that explanation of the world is not true. It certainly does not explain why the real growth in inequality is between the 99 percent and the 1 percent.

But some warn that embracing a populist message over things like SNAP, extended unemployment benefits and the minimum wage is a turnoff to the middle class. There is lingering fear that the Republicans are right—the middle class doesn't want to join a movement of the 99 percent and would rather cast its lot against the bottom 20 percent.

But if policies are going to truly benefit the 99 percent, it is precisely the bottom 20 percent who matter. A major reason the 1946 to 1970s era was marked by more equal growth is because we lifted the bottom—boosting and expanding coverage of Social Security benefits, expanding the share of workers covered by unemployment insurance and the minimum wage and having the minimum wage keep pace with overall wage and productivity growth. The rising tide was not that we aimed at tax cuts for the wealthy, but pushed up the level of the economy at the bottom.

A recent article in the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Monthly Labor Review highlights the 24 percent of America's families with children who receive some form of means-tested public assistance like SNAP, Medicaid and public housing. Eighty percent of those households include at least one worker. The expenditures of these families exceed their incomes, meaning every dime of assistance gets pumped back into the economy. Nearly 80 percent of their spending goes just to food, housing and transportation (though they are much less likely to own a car or house). Because family sizes are about equal between those getting assistance and those who don’t, the fact that families on assistance spend half what families not on assistance spend means there are huge differences between the experiences of America’s children in those families. Most notably, their families buy a third less food and have less than half to spend on education and books.

The middle has to care about the bottom because it represents how far our society will let someone fall. The current high level of unemployment hurts those with jobs, because the cost of losing a job is set so high it dampens demands for better wages and benefits.

A higher floor means a better bargaining position.  Republicans want the middle to believe they are better off if they are farther from the bottom. A true movement of the 99 percent needs the middle to understand that you aren’t rising because those around you are falling, but you are falling if the ceiling is rising.

Follow Spriggs on Twitter: @WSpriggs.

Jan. 5, 2014

Wishes for the New Year
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Happy New Year!  January first and second are the days when most think of the “new” year, yet with the first Monday in January falling on January 6, that’s probably when most people will return to their desks with focused energy and ready to go.  Post-its and scrawled notebook paper will trumpet “new” resolutions.  Eat less, relax more, volunteer, tithe, save, all that good stuff.  Some will even compose a bucket list of things they’d like to do before the end of their lives.  Others will have a list of wants and wishes, both realistic and unrealistic. My wish list focuses on public policy since better public policy means a better 2014.

I WANT JOBS, JOBS, JOBS FOR BLACK PEOPLE.  With the last reported official unemployment rate for African-Americans at 12.5 percent and the unofficial rate exceeding 25 percent, I’d really like to see some more jobs in the African-American community.  Joblessness leads to poverty, which leads to all kinds of maladies.  While the stock market is soaring, is it too much to ask for a little job creation?  Don’t Republicans, also, represent unemployed people?  Help me, somebody!  By the way, I’d like more jobs for everyone, but first things first!

And while we’re at it, why not fairer (and more equal) wages. There is talk of raising the minimum wage to $10 or more by 2015, and some states are already moving to wage levels even higher than that. More than half of those now earning the minimum wage are raising children.  If their employers don’t pay enough for them to live on, the government will end up subsidizing their employers (and them) with programs like SNAP (food stamps) and Section 8.  Ooops!  Those programs are being cut as well.  What is a poor person to do in a nation that is both hostile to poor people and also absolutely needs them?

I want President Obama to say “Black” or “African-American” sometime other than Black History month, and I’d like him to say it enthusiastically, not reluctantly.  His December 4, 2013 speech on poverty issues in Washington DC went a long way toward addressing the concerns (education, housing, poverty) of the least and the left out, but his lips won’t be permanently puckered in a putrid position if he managed to give his most loyal constituency a shout out!  I guess I’ve been wishing for this for the past five years; I guess I’ll be wishing for the next few.  (And don’t tell me that President Obama is president of everyone.  He doesn’t cringe when saying Latino, women, or LGBT).

I want our Congress to think long run and provide more dollars for education, and for HBCUs, especially, need more resources, and most colleges that enroll fewer than 1,500 students with small endowments can use help.  Many of these institutions are tuition-driven which means that cuts in financial aid, in Pell grants or Parent-Plus loans cut these colleges hard.  Cutting education while suggesting the labor force should be more skills based is like eating your seed corn while hearing that food must be saved for less plentiful times.

I want Congress to think outside the box. As soon as another program is mentioned, recalcitrant Republicans and blue dog Democrats start worrying about cost.  Here’s a thought – cut everything about military spending except pensions.  Or, how about getting rid of some of the hundreds of millions dollars spent on pork.  What would happen if colleges like Harvard and Yale (really, I’m not hating) got smaller grants or were required to partner with smaller schools when they get research grants, channeling a few dollars to those schools who really need them, and to the students who need ore research opportunities.

I want Obamacare to work well. If affordable health care is part of the Obama legacy, then I want it to work, really work.  It will take time for the President to live down the computer debacle, and heads should have rolled in response to the extremely faulty rollout of the program.  By the end of the first quarter of 2014, Obamacare should be working seamlessly, and people should really be able to see a difference because Obamacare exists.

Bottom line - I’d like joy, peace, and economic justice by whatever means necessary.  Happy New Year!

December 30, 2013

To Be Equal 
Black News Events of 2013: Triumphs and Tragedies

By Marc H. Morial

The shocking aquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The death of Nelson Mandela.

The U. S. Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act.

50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Aug. 28, 2013.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.” James Weldon Johnson 

As the sun sets over a tumultuous 2013 and rises over the promise of a brighter new year, we have put together a list of the top 10 events that have particularly affected African-Americans and communities of color over the past 12 months.  Presented in no particular order, this list is a mix of triumphs and tragedies that mark the progress we’ve made, highlight the problems that still plague us, and point the way forward in 2014.  There is no doubt that all of our lives were touched in some way by these headline events of the past year.

1.   Voting Rights/Voter Suppression:  Despite an unprecedented outbreak of voter suppression efforts across the nation and the Supreme Court’s appalling ruling in June that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional, African Americans are going to the polls in record numbers.  In fact, Black voters were decisive in ensuring the second inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th.  African American voter turnout in the presidential election surpassed white voter turnout for the first time in history.  As voter suppression efforts grow more intense, African Americans must continue the fight where it matters most - at the polls.

2.   George Zimmerman Acquittal:  African Americans and people of goodwill throughout the nation were stunned by the July 13 not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old high school student on February 26, 2012.  The killing of Trayvon Martin reminded us of the persistent gap in racial attitudes in America and generated new calls for an end to racial profiling.

3.   March on Washington Anniversary:  2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech.  On August 24th, the National Urban League joined thousands of citizens in a return pilgrimage to the Lincoln Memorial and the new King Memorial to commemorate that historic moment in a march for Economic Power and Justice - and to call for a continuation of the work that remains undone.

4.   Affordable Care Act:  While start-up problems have plagued the roll-out, the new law expands access to affordable health care to more than 30 million people, including 6.8 million African Americans who make up the largest share of the uninsured. This isn't about politics. It's about people.

5.   Stop-and-Frisk/Shop-and-Frisk:  On August 12th, a New York District Court Judge ruled that the New York City police department’s stop-and-frisk program, which disproportionately targets African Americans and Latinos, was unconstitutional. An appeals court subsequently overturned that ruling.  Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has pledged to make changes in the policy - which is practiced in communities across the country - and has appointed a new police commissioner.  African American shoppers in stores across the country have also been unfairly profiled.  The New York State Attorney General has launched an investigation into security practices at a few retailers after at least four customers claimed they were unfairly targeted for police action while shopping in the stores. The National Urban League, National Action Network and other civil rights organizations were instrumental in working with several national retailers on the release of a "Customers' Bill of Rights" aimed at protecting customers from profiling practices.  We will continue to work with the retailers on recommendations towards high standard, best-in-industry store security protocols and cultural sensitivity efforts that can be adopted by retailers across the country.

6.   Government Shutdown/Effects of Sequestration:  The across-the-board “sequestration” budget cuts that went into effect this year slashed funding for Head Start, youth job training, long-term unemployment benefits and other critical human service and safety net programs. With the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 12.5 percent, these cuts fell especially hard on African Americans, who still have double-digit unemployment.  The 17-day Government Shutdown in October also had an out-sized impact on African Americans who make up a large share of the Federal workforce. Thankfully, Congress has taken necessary steps to avoid a repeat in January 2014. However, while "governing by crisis" has ended for now and there is partial relief from sequestration cuts, a major flaw of the budget deal is its failure to include a crucial extension of federal jobless aid where more than 1.3 million workers will immediately lose unemployment benefits - a vital source of income that covers basic family needs.

7.   African American Leaders Convening (AALC)/Release of the 21st Century Agenda for Jobs and Freedom:  On August 23, 2013 at the National Urban League's "Redeem the Dream" Summit during the 50th Anniversary March on Washington celebration, national civil rights leaders joined together - for the first time - for an historic release of a policy agenda addressing five urgent domestic goals for the nation - the 21st Century Agenda for Jobs and Freedom.   It covers critical areas including jobs and the economy, healthcare, education, voting rights and criminal justice system reform.  The document was the result of months of joint meetings convened by me, along with Rev. Al Sharpton/National Action Network; Benjamin Jealous/NAACP; and Melanie Campbell/National Coalition on Black Civic Participation with nearly 60 of America’s leading civil rights, social justice, business and community leaders.

8.   Rise of Economic Inequality:  While the richest one-percent have seen their incomes rise astronomically over the past 20 years, millions of middle class and low-wage workers are falling into poverty and struggling to make ends meet.  This phenomenon worsened in the wake of the recession - and has only widened through the recovery. This growing inequality is not only unjust; it is unstainable for our economy.  This year, Pope Francis, President Obama and a growing number of economists sounded the alarm.

9.   The Death of Nelson Mandela: On December 5th, the world lost one of the greatest champions for freedom, justice and peace ever to walk this Earth.  After 27 years of political imprisonment as a leader in the fight against apartheid, Mandela was released from prison in 1990.  In 1994, he became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.  His leadership was marked by his constant reliance on forgiveness, reconciliation and unity in the building of a new South Africa. His life and legacy will forever inspire the world.

10.   Banner Year for Black Films:  This year was a notable one for Black films ranging from the true event-inspired stories of the  "The Butler," “12 Years a Slave,” “Mandela:  Long Walk to Freedom,”  and “Fruitvale Station” to the highly anticipated “Best Man Holiday” and holiday classic “Black Nativity.”

From the National Urban League family to yours - we wish you a blessed holiday and a Happy New Year.  In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right."