The Price of Discrimination

Dear Rational Economists:

Practicing discrimination raises the cost of doing business. Economists say that if the economy were completely rational it would eliminate racial discrimination automatically. In a discriminatory society, any business that flouts discrimination can hire the best employees at the lowest price, and will beat the competition. The latest example of the economic law of nondiscrimination comes from, where else, the government of the District of Columbia.

Last week City Administrator John Koskinen explained to the Washington Post that Mayor Williams's failure to fill the numerous vacancies at the top level of city government resulted from the Mayor's “strong preference for placing African Americans and other minorities in charge of top city agencies.” It's not exactly that the Irish need not apply, but they certainly won't be recruited, and if they apply they'll go to the bottom of the list. And, according to Mr. Koskinen, Mayor Williams can't recruit enough topflight black city administrators -- not because they're discriminated against, but because they are in such demand, the competition for them is so great, the salaries that they command are so high, and of course because the city of Washington is so hard on its poor besieged administrators.

Funny thing. The economic law of racial discrimination works in all directions, and it doesn't matter whom you discriminate against. It's going to cost you or, in this case, it's costing us, costing us dearly. Unless, of course, the whole story is a sham. Unless the administration's inability to fill the cabinet and to recruit good administrators doesn't result from discrimination, but from incompetence. Unless the administration finds it less embarrassing to boast that it's discriminating than to admit that it's inept.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Police Holding Pen
Jon Desenberg, JonDes@hotmail.com

I haven't attended a protest or march in years, but the huge rally in Dupont Circle on Saturday Morning, Inauguration Day was hard to resist. The costumes were great, the signs were creative, and the spirit was good. Over a thousand people marched peacefully from the Circle down P Street to 14th and down to K Street, where the police stopped any more progress. As the huge group of people turned around, they found themselves blocked in on all sides. L Street was also full of police, shoulder to shoulder, billy clubs out and ready, as were the alleys and any other exit. Politely asking when we might be allowed out of this temporary pen was met with blank stares. A few people were clubbed down as they tried to get through. All in all, around a thousand people were imprisoned for a half hour. I'd appreciate any comments by the police or city on this incident.

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Band Aids
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com

More testing of kids is merely a band aid placed on a spurting artery. The real problem, the real disease, in our schools cannot be cured by more testing. We will only learn that the current schools and educational practices are not working. The problem of educating youngsters in inner city schools is quite complex and will require innovative, creative, and complex solutions, not more testing. Our Mayor missed a golden opportunity yesterday in not jumping on the Bush education bandwagon. Here was an opportunity to get the new President to join hands with D.C. to create a whole new clean sheet of paper approach to the educational processes for inner city schools. Here was an opportunity to get support and monies to develop a system that will really work in educating minority youngsters who do not have the benefit of affluent, well educated parents who provide much of a child's education in the home. What DID the Mayor talk about? He talked about voting rights for D.C. What a waste of the President's time.

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Jury Duty
Tom Berry, tom@berrybest.com

Last week, on the above titled subject, Victor Chudowsky noted that “I guess because of the size of our pool people get called about once every two or three years.” If not already utilized, perhaps that jury pool could be expanded. Last week my daughter, who goes to school in Boston and has resided there for all of four months, served jury duty for the first time ever. I was amazed that the city had access to approximately 60,000 students for jury duty. My daughter said that she knew lots of students who have been called for duty. Perhaps DC could take a tip here (if not already doing so) and expand its pool to include students from GU, CU, GWU, AU, Trinity, UDC and other institutions. Just a thought.

[Does anyone know for sure whether students are included in the list of eligible jurors? The Board of Elections and Ethics has ruled that out-of-state college students are considered DC residents for the purpose of registering for voting, though they are considered nonresidents for the purposes of some benefit programs. Are they considered residents eligible for jury duty and, if so, how are their names captured? Only through voter registration, or in the unlikely event that they register their car in DC? — Gary Imhoff]

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Silos, Sand, and Chemicals
Rick Otis, rdotis@yahoo.com

Several of the submissions about the McMillan Reservoir filters mentioned that the use of sand filters predated the use of chemicals thereby implying that chemicals have replaced sand filters in our current drinking water system. This is not the case. Sand filters are a big part of public water supply systems across the country, particularly where the raw water source is surface water (as opposed to ground water from wells). The water processing plant on MacArthur Boulevard managed by the Army Corps has several large sand filters. It also uses chemicals after the filtration to remove bugs and fine silt not removed by the filters.

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More on (as Opposed to Moron) Strip Clubs
Peter Luger, lugerpj@georgetown.edu

I heard on NPR this morning that the council is attempting a compromise that would allow existing clubs to transfer their license but stop new clubs from opening. That is an excellent idea that will maintain the status quo. The clubs in Southeast that have been in existence for years will have the opportunity to move when they are forced out of the area by redevelopment, thereby catering to the existing demand. At the same time, people against the idea don't have to worry about having any more clubs than we already have. The clubs that move will still be restricted to the business district, so individual neighborhoods need not fear infiltration by the bad element.

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Ban on Single Beers
Kenan Jarboe, kpjarboe@erols.com

I heartily agree with the Washington Post's editorial this morning (1/22/01) on banning the sale of single beers. We have pursued this policy in ANC 6B with some success — but to be fair, it needs to be area-wide. The following is a message I sent to all Council members:

As Chair of ANC 6B, I would like to reiterate the strong support of ANC 6B for a ban on the sale of single beers. ANC 6B has a long standing policy opposing the sale of single containers of beer for off premise consumption. The sale of singles encourages and abets public consumption of alcohol and the associated problems of street crime and violence, public urination, panhandling and litter. In 1995, ANC 6B passed a resolution stating that we would routinely oppose the application for a liquor license by an establishment unless they agree not to sell singles.

This policy has met with success — it has helped clean up both major and minor problem areas. However, our success has been limited. As I discussed in my testimony before the Council in November of 1999, we have run into a chicken-and-egg problem. Some establishments, concerned about competition, agreed to stop selling only when their nearest competitor also agreed to stop -- they fear that they will suffer a financial burden while the problem of nearby public consumption of alcohol will not be solved. This has led to a situation where one recalcitrant store blocks all progress on the issue. Thus, we believe that a citywide ban would be the most effective and the fairest way to proceed. I hope you will be able to include a ban on singles in the ABC bill when it returns to the Council tomorrow.

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McMillan Possible Tower Site?
Jean Mammen, jemammen@bellatlantic.net

Just a suggestion -- the tower that is unwanted so close to so many elementary (Janney and St. Anne's), junior, (Deal) and High (Wilson, Georgetown Day) and university (AU) campuses, just might fit onto the McMillan reservoir site. I had been thinking of pointing out that since one of the two known users of the tower is the Howard University TV station, which is situated quite high up, that somewhere on the Howard campus might be a good place for the tower, if it is needed at all.

The McMillan site is quite large, discussion of its use is just beginning, and it is adjacent to Howard, preserving the virtue of proximity to its 50 percent user. What does the home ANC think? And what is the home ANC of the "other tower" that is cited in the ads objecting to the Tenleytown ANC's successful activism? I haven't heard a peep out of it.

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Statehood without State Functions: Nevada Continued
Timothy Cooper, Worldright@aol.com

Importantly, according to Nevada state archivist Guy Roche, one of the economic factors that influenced the original grant of territorial status to Nevada in 1861 was the discovery of the Comstock Lode of 1859. Though it was not the determinative factor in the territory’s successful drive for statehood three years later, it did have a material influence on it because Nevada’s territorial status directly benefited the US government. Among other things, it ensured that “[Nevada’s] riches would help the Union and not the Confederate cause.” Furthermore, Roche claims that the “federal government bought much of Nevada’s silver and gold bullion to support its currency” and, of course, whatever federal taxes were collected went straight “into Union coffers.”

And interestingly, it was Nevada’s mine operators themselves who led the drive for Nevada statehood in 1863, at a time when Nevada’s economy was relatively robust. The miners’ chief motive was primarily economic. Hoping to win Congressional representation in order to shoot down a proposed federal tax on mineral deposits extracted from the western territories, they clamored for states’ rights. And the timing fit in nicely with President Lincoln’s own fears about losing the forthcoming presidential election and his ardent hopes for passing the 13th Amendment, which, of course, outlawed slavery. (He believed that he required two additional Senatorial votes to secure passage; ironically, it turned out that he didn’t.)

In 1864, Congress did in fact grant Nevada statehood. But in that same year a statewide recession set in. Ironically, it was the miners themselves who had voted down a proposed “gross proceeds” tax on territorial mines the year before that would have averted the financial crisis in the state. As a result of the economic downturn, the miners passed a “net proceeds” tax instead, which failed, unfortunately, to generate sufficient revenues to avert the crisis. Nevada then issued bonds to prop up the economy, which were snapped up by California bankers at exorbitant interest rates. But by the end of the 1860’s, the “Big Bonanza” had struck — fueled by gold and silver discoveries in Nevada’s southwest desert and the arrival of the Transcontinental Railroad. (Silver would soon supersede gold as Nevada's # 1 economic engine, and it became known as “The Silver State.”) By 1869, cattle and sheep farming had also become a key state economy. During the course of the next seven years, the "money rolled in," says historian Drakes, and by 1875 Nevada was able to “pay off” its California bonds.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS AND CLASSES

New Arts Nonprofit in Mt. Pleasant
Juliet Bruce, juliet@artsforlife.com

The Institute for Transformation Through the Arts offers arts-based counseling and workshops for health, education, and community/organizational development. We also publish a newsletter, The Phoenix, that provides a forum for artists working in these areas and educates the public and policy makers on the critical role of arts in society. We welcome submissions, but encourage a query letter first. Our current schedule includes private sessions for individuals and group sessions for children by appointment, as well as the following scheduled workshops: Saturday, January 27, 3-5. Creative Recovery for adult children of alcoholics and other dysfunctional families. “Repairing the Bonds through Movement and Poetry.” $20. Tuesdays, January 30, February 6, 13, and 20, 7-9 p.m. An Expressive Arts Approach to Crisis. Tackling problems through movement, mask-making, painting, and writing. 4 sessions, $130. Thursday, February 8, 7-9 p.m. Writing Circle: A Sanctuary for Writers. $20.

For detailed descriptions of these workshops or for more information about our programs, please visit our web site at http://www.artsforlife.com. For directions or to sign up, please call 202-667-3766 or E-mail juliet@artsforlife.

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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS

Bancroft Elementary School Knitting Program
Peg Blechman, blechman@access-board.gov

The Bancroft Knitting Program has started! Thank you to in themail members for your support! We've also started a partnership with the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda. Members of the 7th grade class will be helping to teach knitting to the Bancroft 3rd and 4th graders. And the 5th grade class will be coming with the Waldorf Handwork teacher to Bancroft once a month to work on their knitting project — socks! — so the 3rd & 4th graders can be inspired. Any one who can volunteer, we're looking for you. The knitting teacher comes to the class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you would like more info, contact me.

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“Deserving Recipients” Web Site Seeks to Connect Givers with Needs
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

On January 29 the Journal newspapers will be covering a new DC-area web site I set up, “Deserving Recipients,” that seeks to connect those in the DC-area who have needs for the things to those who with things they'd like to donate. If you have a computer, microwave oven, fax machine, or car that you'd like to give away, then you ought to be able to visit a web site where there is a list of deserving recipients throughout the DC-area. Donors should not have to work as hard as they do to locate individuals or organizations who can benefit from their donations. So if you know of a person, organization, or charity with a need for things, do please take a moment to describe that need with a short message on this web site. Explain why the person or organization has this need. Traffic on this web site ought to be busy after January 29. http://www.his.com/pshapiro/deservingrecipients/ (Mention of Deserving Recipients will be in the HomePC section of the newspaper in all eight editions — two Maryland, and six Virginia — as part of a general article on computer recycling.) Messages on this board will be deleted after a month, to keep the messages current. Off-topic messages will be deleted without warning.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Room Wanted
Henry Vega, henry_vega@hotmail.com

I am looking for a room in the Washington-Metro area for this summer, approximately from May 14 till August 22. I am going to DC for an internship program. Thank you for your help. Henry Vega, Ag. & App. Economics, 257 Barre Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634-0355. Office phone: 864-656-2371, home phone: 864-624-5187.

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Capitol Hill — Short-term Housemate
Mary Vogel, maryvogel@yahoo.com

To share 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath row house through end of May, maybe June. Rent will range between $550 and $700 depending on negotiations with new owner. I’m vegetarian, activist, recycler, nonsmoker, relatively neat, friendly and caring. Call Mary, 547-7203, between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.

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Bird Veterinarian
Ms. Dorothy Persiflage, dan@his.com

Ms. Persiflage is sad to report that her beloved Quaker parrot, Kramer, has recently been driven to pick feathers from a small band around his lower neck. Ms. Persiflage, well aware of Kramer's political views, naturally attributed this disturbance to the recent attempted theft of the Presidential election by Mr. Gore and his supporters in the media and Florida Supreme Court. Kramer seemed especially upset by the exceedingly tacky nature of the Clintons' departure from town and office (he actually screamed "a tout TA'" at them!), and his feather-pulling intensified. Therefore, Ms. P would like to take Kramer to a qualified veterinarian, and would solicit any recommendations from the ever so knowledgeable readers of themail.

A tout ta'! Do

[Now, I know that saying that themail will publish comments on national political affairs only if they are directly connected with DC local events presents a challenge to readers. Ms. Persiflage has been creative in dragging in dreaming up an excuse for commentary, and has succeeded only because of my sympathy for ailing Polly. Don't try this yourself unless your dog is dying. — Gary Imhoff]

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CLASSIFIEDS -- CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com

GOOD FOR THE GANDER, NOT THE GOOSE: Mayor Anthony A. Williams' deputy chief of staff, Mark Jones, needs a refresher course on how to be an effective political operative. He consistently breaks one of the paramount rules of the job: Be felt, not seen. What's more, although he recently beheaded his own assistant, Thomas Tucker (Loose Lips, 12/22/00), for alleged influence peddling, Jones himself appears to be dancing close to an ethical edge. Jones has permitted the paid staffer of a private firm, which has a city contract that Jones once supervised, to work in his Judiciary Square office on an unrelated project, apparently without following the required formal process for such an assignment.
Read the entire Loose Lips column here: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/lips/lips.html

From washingtoncitypaper.com's CITY LIGHTS page, here are a few early warnings for upcoming events:
FRIDAY: Tavis Smiley discusses his new book How to Make Black America Better at 8 p.m. at the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Jefferson Auditorium, 14th & Independence Ave. SW. $13.
THURSDAY: Maria Pages Dance Company, 8 p.m. at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. $20-$30.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html

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