eesnau EditortalsCredo of the Black PressThe Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racialand natural antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of race,color or creed, full human rights. Hating no person, fearing no person in thefirm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.WHERE ARE THE JOBS!?By: Hugh B. Price :President, National Urban League.AA newreport, circulating privately among state officials and still not publicly available, paints a frighteningpicture of the impact in New York State of the new welfare reform laws that have driven hundreds of thousandsfrom the welfare rolls.According to the New York Times, which obtained a copy of the document, close to 70 percent of 480,000people who've left the state's plunging welfare rolls since 1996 have yet to get legitimate jobs. In New York City,where 350,000 of former recipients live, only 29 percent of former recipients found full-time or part-time jobs inthe first three months after being cut off from public assistance.The survey--the first statistical effort in New York to track those who've disappeared from the welfare rolls--compared lists of people whose benefits ended during one quarter of the year against records of wages that werereported to the state by employers in later quarters. Employers are required to file wage reports to the state eachquarter.The study deliberately set a ludicrously low definition of a former welfare recipient's employment: anyonewho made $100 or more in three months after leaving the rolls.However, even at this threshold, the report found that the percentage of ex-recipients in New York Citywho've found jobs has declined sharply from 1996, when the new laws took effect, to 1997.Just 33 percent of families in New York City who dropped off the rolls from July 1996 through September1996 showed earnings in the next quarter. That's bad enough. But of those who left the rolls from January throughMarch 1997 only 22 percent did.The state study doesn't take into account people who are self-employed, work off the books, or have movedout of New York. Nor does it include former recipients whose employers fail to report wage data promptly or arenot required to report wages at all, like farm owners.That missing data has led state officials to label the survey too imprecise to yield significant conclusions.But critics of the new welfare law told the Times offered "a singular opportunity" to assess the new law'sinsistence that forcing recipients off the welfare rolls will lead to their finding jobs.Up to now, there have been claims and counter-claims about the success of welfare reform, but there has beenno data with which to evaluate those claims,? said Marcia Meyers, a Columbia Univerity professor and welfareexpert. "This really gives us the first glimpse of life after welfare and it is alarming. Meyers and others said thatthe report helps confirm that, instead of helping, the new law will drive thou-sands of former welfare recipientsdeeper into poverty by forcing them off the rolls even though they have no prospect of legitimate employment.Moreover, the situatignsis likely to get worse because new federal welfare rules compel states to be eventougher on welfare recipients still on the rolls.Ann Erickson, the legislative coordinator for a New York advocacy group for the poor, called the studyespecially worrisome because it showed former recipients weren't finding jobs even during the country's currentsustained economic surge.The true test will be when the economy takes an inevitable downturn and the people who remain on thecaseload are less-skilled and harder to serve,"she said. It's troubling.The New York State welfare study calls into question a basic premise--and promise--of the new welfare lawsthe Congress enacted and President Clinton signed two years ago: that tougher restrictions move people fromgovernment depend-ency into jobs.It underscores what I and.numerous other critics of the new law have been saying all along. Given thegenerally low education and skills of those who receive welfare, claiming that the law would work simply becauseour currently strong economy was generating a multitude of new jobs were nonsense.America must, for all our sakes, give able-bodied welfare recipients a fair chance to earn a decent wage andleave welfare and poverty behind. This can't be achieved by wishing. It requires a public and private sectorcommitment to programs that train them for the kind of work which enables individuals to earn their way inAmerican society.That's part of the value of this study of welfare reform in New York. It underscores the fundamental issuewhich has always been at the center of the debate over the welfare reform law: Where are the jobs?BLACKS MUST REGISTER TO VOTE FOR CRUCIAL ISSUESoPower concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will?Those powerful words, spoken many, many years ago by the great orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass,still ring right today. But, apparently they are not being heeded by many in the African-American community whenit comes to empowering themselves at the voting booth. Is it apathy, laziness, or have major numbers of peoplemoved out of the city? We speculate a little bit of all those things occurred, and maybe those numbers will improveafter the general election in November. Primaries traditionally draw little interest, but there are several keycandidates and key contests in next month's primary that should have drawn more interest in the African-Americancommunity. Maybe many African-American voters are holding back until the big contest eight months from now.We hope that's the case. There are far too many important items on the political and social agenda in America forAfrican Americans to take a pass on registering to vote and then voting. Too many people died for AfricanAmericans to have that right. .We must use it and use it often and wisely. Voting is one of the most profound ways to demand respect andchange.A Prayer For Spiritual Revival...By Brother Raymont SimmMay our Lord guide you to help me get this oend time" message to all our people. America's future and ;prosperity is dependent on whether our church repents and is successful in receiving God's help in bringing abouta true revival.Will our Christian Church reject our Lord's final message given to us in Revelation 3:14 or will we bring Hisjudgment of being vomited out of His mouth upon ourselves?Asa lay minister, I have just completed mailing 130,000 hand-addressed to all of the churches in the southernstates.| asked for no money or support except that they join me in fervent prayer for a nationwide revival. The ipathythat our Lord and Apostle Paul predicted for our age was painfully obvious for very little attention and action wasaroused by the letter and request. !This, of course, is of much concern to me for I have great compassion for the great number of people whoprofess Christ while their lifestyles are a living testimony that they have been deceived -- possibly by the "wid gate"doctrines and practices that is so prevalent in our churChes today.1, therefore, will continue to do all I can to warn individuals of their spiritual jeopardy because they continueto listen to the counsel of men instead of that of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.Many non-scriptural precepts and practices have been brought into our end-time church and these have beeninstrumental in bringing about our complete apostasy or falling away. The Scriptures warn us to always be watchfulfor some who are "blind leaders", "wolves in sheep's clothing", "false prophets", ofalse teachers", and "hireling "shepherds" who do not really love God's sheep. |I sincerely hope that you will study the Word daily, along with much prayer and meditation. PIfervently and frequently for our church and our country. Unless our Lord sends us a revival soon, neither ounor our country will be strong and successful much longer,prayhurchOMMEA Commentary by Keith W. CooperTornadoes, destructive whirling winds accompanied by funnel-shapedclouds, progress in a narrow path often for many miles over the land.Occurring in many parts of the world, tornadoes, the most violentatmospheric phenomena on the planet. occur most frequently in the CentralMississippi Valley, and are associated with the fall of barometric pressure soraid that wooden structures are often lifted and burst open by the aircontained within them. Recently. Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas weretornado-stricken in a seemingly, vengeance indelibly etched in manymemories. History. however. indicates that recent tornadoes were compared to the vicious, top-ten US. okiller?tornadoes predating the recent catastrophes. Yet. citizens of tornado-prone areas must be educated as to how toprepare for the inevitable. .A case in point was a tornado which occurred in Missouri. Illinois. and Indiana on March 18. 1925. Around1:01PM near Ellington, Missouri. trees snapped and for the next three and a half hours more people would die. moreschools would be annihilated. more students and farm owners would be killed. and more deaths would occur in asingle city than from any other tornado in U.S. History. In Missouri alone, about 13 people were killed.In Gorham. Illinois. 34 people died while the town was destroyed. Over half the townTs population was killedor injured. Murphysboro, however. was the largest death toll within a single city in U.S. history. Of the 234 deaths.at least 25 were in different schools. Surprisingly, all of the schools were brick and stone structures and built on littlereinforcement. Yet, many students were crushed under falling walls. The losses in property damage in Murphysboroalone totaled about $10,000,000.Additionally, in nearby Desoto. 69 people were killed. and the 33 deaths at the school were the worst in U.S.tornado history. In Indiana. at least 71 people died. About 150 homes were lost in the town of Griffin. and manychildren were killed on their way home from school. Cumulatively. over 695 people died and over 2.027 were injuredon the tornadoes that hit Missouri. Illinois and Indiana in 192.Other states had similar destruction and horror stories. Nonetheless. between Louisiana and Mississippi. 317and 109 people died and were injured. respectively. on May 7. 1840. Morever. since slave deaths were generally notrecorded, the death toll on Louisiana plantations was extremely high during the Pre-Civil War era.How would vou protect would you protect yourself from an approaching tornado? The National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued the following tips:@ In homes or small buildings-GO to the basement (if available) or to an interior room on the lowest floor,such as a closet or a bathroom. Wrap yourself in overcoats or blankets to protect yourself from flying debris@ In schools, hospitals, factories, or shopping centers " GO to interior rooms and halls on the lowest floors.Stay away from glass-enclosed areas with wide-span roof such as auditoriums and warehouses. Crouchdown and cover your head@ In high rise buildings " GO to small interior rooms or halls. Stay away from exterior walls or glassy areas.@ In cars or mobile home " ABANDON THEM IMMEDIATELY. After all, most deaths occur in cars ormobile homes.Indeed tornadoes are very destructive. Although the size of a tornado is not necessarily an indication of itsintensity. the U.S. gets about 1.000 recorded every year. About 200 U.S. tornadoes. , About 200 tornadg have killedabout 18 people each. However. improved communications. forecasting. detection. and public awareness substantiallyhave reduced the death figures. In any event. in the U.S. since May 7. 1840 (when over 317 people were killed by atornado in Natchez. Mississippi. tornadoes have killed more than 2.400 and injured more than 8,900.Debt restructuring can thwart bankruptey filingBy: Dolan R. BozemanWhile bankruptcy may be the last resort for some, many homeowners could drastically change their financialwell-being by simply restructuring their debt. As interest rates hover near four-year lows, homeowners across thenation have found refinancing useful for more than just cutting their monthly payments."If you still think mortgagerates have to drop 2 percentage points before refinancing our mortgage makes since, wake up! You could be losingmoney while you read this," according to USA TODAY. If you couldn't cut your interest rate 2 percentage points, theold rule of thumb said it may not be worthwhile to refinance, because it took too long to recoup the fees, and costsof refinancing your loans (usually several thousand dollars). However, in today's era of high consumer debt, that maynot be quite accurate. For example if you have a mortgage at 8 percent interest, but you are also paying 18 percentto 20 percent in nondeductible credit-card or installment debt, your combined interest on all of your debt may be 12percent to 14 percent. Even if you were to match the interest rate on your current mortgage at 8 percent, byconsolidating the high interest debt and paying off the credit cards and installment debt you would reduce yourmonthly payments. The tax deductibility of mortgage interest also means the real interest rate is lower; an 8 percentloan may really be 5 percent in after-tax dollars.Lowering your monthly payment isn't the only reason to refinance. Although most homeowners seek to lowertheir payments and interest rate, consolidating bills, paying off your mortgage sooner, or even cashing out to meetan immediate financial need, may be equally as important in considering refinancing. Believe it or not, there are caseswhere individuals with A credit and plenty of equity in their home have panicked in a financial emergency and filedbankruptcy, when a new home loan is all they needed. If you don't think you are adequately saving for retirement,future education expenses or other major expenditures, refinancing and restructuring your debt may be the first stepin a sound financial plan. The extra money you save every month could earn you more money in another investment.One thing to consider when purchasing or refinancing is how long you'll live in the home. In general,homeowners who know they'll be moving in three to four years should consider an ARM (adjustable-rate mortgage),or a hybrid loan that has a fixed rate for five or seven years, then converts to a traditional ARM. In the early yearsof these loans, the rates usually are much lower than a fixed-rate loan. This may also be a good strategy for those withless than perfect credit. You can qualify for a lower fixed or adjustable-rate mortgage.If the prospect of spending hours or even days calling lender after lender to find the best rates has you down,there's an alternative. A good mortgage broker will have enough knowledge of the marketplace to know instinctivelywhere the best deal lies. If you are less than qualified--say you've had financial difficulties in the past--chances arethat he'll get you the mortgage that you couldn't have secured by yourself.