[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA NEEDS TO REVITALIZE WORK PHILOSOPHY

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, one of the most impressive 
executives in America today is Hugh Price, executive director of the 
National Urban League.
  His commonsense approach to our needs is appreciated. One of the 
things he has been stressing over and over is the need to have jobs for 
people.
  As I have said so frequently on the floor of the Senate, welfare 
reform without jobs is public relations and not welfare reform.
  Recently he had a commentary in the Chicago Defender on this question 
of jobs which I ask to be printed in full in the Record.
  The article follows:

               [From the Chicago Defender, Feb. 26, 1996]

              America Needs To Revitalize Work Philosophy

                           (By Hugh B. Price)

       The widening gap between rich and poor in America is 
     threatening our democracy. Workers are being laid off by the 
     thousands, companies are downsizing, families are falling 
     apart and the ranks of the poor and homeless seem to be 
     growing.
       Yet experts tell us the economy is on the upswing.
       Certainly, good things are happening. Many cities are 
     upgrading their ``quality of life industries'' by 
     revitalizing their business districts and neighborhoods, 
     building new sports stadiums, museums and sparkling 
     restaurant districts. But in those and in so many urban 
     centers, the poor, the unemployed and the homeless can't 
     afford to use those facilities.
       When you see them there, they're often begging or sleeping 
     in doorways. That's not supposed to happen in America.
       From what I've seen in traveling through dozens of cities, 
     the plight of the poor is in stark contrast to economists' 
     claims that inflation is leveling, that interest rates have 
     fallen and that unemployment is declining. Americans are 
     justifiably worried and skeptical about their future. Cities 
     define civilizations. Vibrant cities boost our morale; 
     decaying and dangerous cities depress us and scare off 
     tourists.
       If the poor, the homeless and the have-nots have no role in 
     the rebirth of our cities, their welcome revival efforts 
     won't reach their fullest potential. Government policymakers, 
     business leaders and economists must devise a work-based 
     system of self-reliance that lifts the urban poor out of 
     poverty and allows them to support their families with 
     dignity. Of course, such planning must include education and 
     training in current and new skills.
       Job creation programs must be established for employable 
     but unemployed people in communities where there simply are 
     not enough jobs to go around.
       The approach must be holistic, because while it's one thing 
     to instill potential workers with proper work skills, it's 
     another thing to inculcate workers with the job know-how that 
     employers require, such as punctuality, politeness and 
     reliability.
       Here are a few examples of new initiatives some of our 
     urban league affiliates have undertaken:
       In Detroit, plans are underway to establish an Employment 
     Training and Education Center that will provide GED 
     certification and computer training courses. Instruction in 
     occupational, employability, entrepreneurship and customer 
     service skills will be offered, along with an automated job 
     search system and a day-care facility.
       In Los Angeles, the Urban League and Toyota are partners in 
     operating a modern training facility that will enable 
     residents from the South Central community to learn all 
     facets of automobile servicing and repair.
       If our cities and our society are to prosper, if we are to 
     continue to be the leader of the industrialized world, we 
     must reverse socially corrosive economic trends that 
     undermine public confidence.
       America urgently needs to reorganize its employment and 
     income policies so that the 21st century will be the century 
     when, once and for all, we make America work for all 
     Americans. 

     

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