Newspaper Page Text
Page 6 - SPELMAN SPOTUGHT - November, 1975
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Female Factory
Debbl Newton
Editor Note: Toni Cade Bambara
is the author of the “Black
Woman,” “Gorilla My Love,”
“Short Tales For Short Black
Folks” and numerous articles and
short stories in “Black World,”
“Red Book,” “Freedomways,”
and “New York Times.” She is
the writer in residence at the
Atlanta Neighborhoor Art Center
and is the guest editor of the
current issue of “Southern
Exposure” which features black
southern writings.
During the summer of 1975,
Toni Cade Bambara,along with a
group consisting of four other
American women traveled to
southeast Asia. The trip was to
prompt more than an exchange of
cultural ideas between the
Vietnamese people and the
women who well represented the
oral versatility of the American. In
addition to that, the trip was to
include a fact finding tour of what
actually was occuring in Vietnam
following the collapse which
constituted the defeat of
American military forces by the
Khmer Rouge-the communist
forces which eventually took
control of Saigon City, the capital
of South Vietnam, and renamed it
Ho chi Minh City in honor of the
first president of Vietnam.
Their travels took them through
New Delhi where they ex
perienced first hand the populous
regjons of that expansive Asian
territory.
When the group arrived in
Lagos, it was during the
celebration of the 85th birthday of
Ho chi Minh.
Ms. Bambara said of Viet
namese women that they are
“strong, warm, gracious, and
competent.” She told how they
are encouraged to finally become
the masters of their own
destinies. Women who have
expeienced 2,000 years of
feudalism under the Chinese and
Mongols; and imperialism under
the French and the Americans.
One of the biggest health
problems in Vietnam today is
malformed babies as a result of
the chemical warfare that was
performed, said Ms. Bambara.
According to her, 100% of all the
females in Vietnamese prisons
suffer massive gynocological
disturbances as a result of ants,
broken bottles, electrical in
struments, and cans being forced
inside their bodies. Among other
things Ms. Bambara notes, is that
the Vietnamese people know how
to assume responsibility.
The feeling generated from the
exchange is that the notion of
self-determination for the
southeast Asian country is not far
away, said Ms. Bambara. The
Vietnamese recognize the
American government as the real
enemy and not the American
people, she went on to say. “They
believe that American blacks
have the same enemy as they do -
- “imperalism,” assessed Ms.
Bambara. She added that beyond
these convictions, the Vietnamese
stress the realization and
protection of human dignity.
Ms. Bambara recalled many
interesting anecdotes related to
her throughout her travels in the
southeast Asian country. One
tells of an elderly Viet couple
called the Revolutionary Parents.
So called because they lost three
sons to the French and two
daughters to the Americans
during the long drawn out Viet
war. The mother, when asked
how things had changed for her
since the end of the war replied,
“before the revolution my
husband beat me.”
Ms. Bambara noted that U.S.
Government news agencies have
recently documented the notion
that U.S. military personnel
carried out massive kidnapping
efforts correlating with the in
vasion of the Khmer Rouge. She
added that it was a final attempt
on the part of the American
government to convince the South
Vietnamese of the oncoming
brutality of 8*e invading com
munist forces.
She also noted that a Cuban
film is soon to be released in New
York City demonstrating the day
of the collapse of the American
forces in South Vietnam and the
welcoming in of the Khmer Rouge
by the South Vietnamese
population.
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The Jackson Administration
The Economics Of Joint Venturing
[Dr. Jack Stone is a new faculty member in the Department of
Economics. He holds the terminal degree from the University of
Cincinnati]
A major policy of the Jackson
administration is to promote
Black business enterprise by
insisting that business firms
receiving contracts from the city
enter into partnership with Blacks
(called joint venture firms) in
order to carry out the provisions
of such contracts. Such a policy is
intended to increase the Black
share of income generated by the
award of city contracts. The
extent to which such a policy
produces the intended result can
be examined by determining both
the size of the costs an benefits
associated with this policy and the
identity of the groups receiving
these benefits or paying these
costs.
A busines firm combines
economic resources (for example,
land, natural resources, labor) to
produce goods and services.
Some business firms combine
resources more efficiently (that
is, generate a greater output-with
a given input of these resources)
than others due to such factors as
superior management. If a firm is
more efficient, then it can provide
a certain level of output at lower
cost. If such output is produced
under a city contract, this cost is
financed by taxes imposed on city
residents. If joint venture firms
are as efficient as firms that
would receive city contracts in the
absence of joint venturing (called
traditional firms) the tax financed
cost for a given level of output
would be the same for each type
of business enterprise; however,
a greater portion of income
generated by such contracts
would go to Blacks who are in
volved in joint venture firms.
Thus in the case where joint
■ venture firms are as efficient as
traditional firms, the tax financed
costs to city residents would be
the same and Blacks would
receive more income.
If joint venture firms are more
efficient than traditional firms,
the tax financed costs of
providing a given level of output
would fall thereby increasing the
after tax incomes of taxpaying
residents (many of whom are
Black). These increased tax
incomes can be used to purchase
a greater amount of goods and
services. Thus in this case a
greater amount of goods and
services can be purchased by
residents (including Blacks) while
the output of joint venture firms
would remain at the same level.
In addition more income
generated through city contracts
would be received by Blacks.
This represents a clear gain not
only to Blacks but to the entire
community.
The third possibility is less
pleasant to contemplate. This is
the case in which joint venture
firms are less efficient than
traditional firms. This inef
ficiency would certainly exist
when the city does not award
contracts to the lowest bidding
firm in order to implement the
joint venturing concept. In this
case the tax financed cost of a
given output by joint venture
firms would increase, thereby
reducing the after tax incomes of
city residents (including Blacks).
Thus, smaller amounts of other
goods and services could be
purchased by Atlanta residents
with their after tax incomes. This
increased cost to taxpayers would
probably bear heavily on lower
income taxpayers (including
Blacks) since they pay a larger
fraction of income in the form of
taxes than do higher income
residents. Since the Blacks
gaining through participation in
joint ventures are likely to be
higher income residents, lower
income residents (including
Blacks) would in effect be
transferring income to higher
income residents (including
Blacks) participating in joing
venture projects while total in
come for the community would
fall. More income could be
allocated to Blacks without
reducing community income by
awarding city contracts to the
most efficient firms and then
taxing the larger taxpayer in
comes that would result in order
to pay those residents who would
otherwise participate in joint
venture projects. These
payments, however, would not be
payments to persons for
providing resources but would be
“transfers” as in payments to
retired individuals. Such
payments are not likely to be
politically feasible to implement
(especially if the recipients are
higher income residents) so that
in order for Blacks to benefit from
city contracts it may be necessary
to reduce total community in
come.
The argument in the previous
paragraph can be criticized on the
basis of the following analogy.
Many developing countries argue
that their emerging industries
need protection (through, for
example, tariffs) from the
established industries of the
developed world in order to give
them time to develop the ef
ficiency to enable them to
compete in the world markets.
This is the “infant industry”
argument. Such an argument
could be applied to joint ven
turing. If joint venturing firms
are not as efficient as traditional
firms now, they could become
equally or even more efficient
later, by permitting them to
receive contracts now, even
though there may be the sacrifice
of some efficiency now. In other
words, inefficiency through
“learning by doing”.
The whole issue of joint ven
turing is exceedingly complex
when benefits and costs flowing
from it are examined and more
empirical research is needed to
measure these magnitudes as
well as to identify the gainers and
losers.
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