| We have finally come to this “fork in the road.” I, a son of lifetime Democrats, will vote a Republican for President for the first time in my life. And for the first time in my life I am making a well thought out decision as opposed to making an assumption. I am analyzing two candidates for what they propose and, more importantly, for what they have done. I will not vote blindly for one party versus another but will assess each candidate individually.
My obsession is Black business development. It is the key for my people’s participation in this great economy. Who will eliminate some of the hurdles that stand before us as we exit poverty (28 percent of us are in it) and fully enter into the great American economy — not as consumers but as full participants? Who will help create an atmosphere that allows us to accumulate assets and build wealth? Who is the better capitalist?
Al Gore has not been too friendly to small business. His reinventing government has decimated small business procurement activity with federal agencies. Bundling has made the procurement system less competitive and hostile to small business owners, particularly Black business owners. We would have to go back to the Eisenhower era to see the process as discriminatory. If it weren’t for President Clinton, Al Gore would have eliminated affirmative action all together. The promotion of big unions versus small business is his motivation. This guy is extremely dangerous.
Not only is the procurement process lacking in diversity, how about diversity in the workplace of federal agencies. Just about every federal agency is mired with a class action discrimination lawsuit from Black managers. Gore actually has a quota for his Secret Service detail — no more than two Blacks at anytime. During his first administration, he had but one token Black manager on his staff of over 200 employees. That was Thurgood Marshall Jr. who almost suffered from exhaustion because he had to attend nearly every social event so that there could be Black representation. He is more than dangerous. He appears to have a problem — “low Negro tolerance level” (to quote Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney).
Black farmers have personally met with Al Gore three times, 1997 and twice in 1998. Still their plight is dismal and the discriminatory process by the federal government persists. Black contractors have been all but eliminated from the Federal Highway Administration procurement process. All of the federally sponsored empowerment zones, enterprise zones, etc. have amounted to nothing but rhetoric. The vacant lots and abandoned buildings that existed before the economic boon are still standing in our cities undisturbed.
As Governor of Texas, George W. Bush has embraced small business. Small business, inclusive of Black owned business, has actually skyrocketed during his tenure versus that of his predecessor, Ann Richards. His staff and the state agencies are inclusive of some of the brightest Black talent in the nation. It would be refreshing to see some of the brightest minds — many of which would be Black — working in management levels at the federal government. It would also be refreshing to see an end and settlement of all the discrimination lawsuits currently on the books at the federal government.
The biggest oppressor of small business and American individuals is the current federal tax system. George W. Bush would eliminate the Death Tax, which impedes economic growth by seizing the capital needed to make small businesses flourish. The tax rate on families would be capped at 33 percent. Families making $35,000 or less would pay no taxes at all. George W. Bush believes the hard-earned income belongs to the people who earned it, not to the bureaucrats in Washington.
George W. Bush has pledged to me in writing he would immediately simplify the process for procurement for small business owners, especially for women and minorities. I am confident the trend would reverse and show increases in Black business procurement at the federal level almost immediately.
Public education in America is a disgrace. George W. Bush has declared an “education recession” and is taking the issue head on. Is there something wrong in working for every child to have a good education?
Governor Bush supports Association Health Plans so that small companies, which employ 60 percent of the uninsured, can access the same economies of scale that large employers have, and realize the significant savings that group purchasing brings. At long last, chambers of commerce, for instance, can afford medical plans for their members.
Finally, I want a president I can trust. In George W. Bush, I see an honest person. I see a person who will be candid and deal with my issues fairly. I see a person who will not “shake down” Buddhist nuns and falsely take credit for everything good and ignore the responsibility of dealing with major problems that face us. I want a president that is inclusive of all America and will not bend to the highest bidders. Our businesses, families and friends — here and abroad — will be much better off with George W. Bush as president versus Al Gore.
I have but one logical and intelligent decision to make —George W. Bush in 2000!
Harry C. Alford, President & CEO
National Black Chamber of Commerce | 