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Sister Irene Munoz papers, 1973-2006

Los Desarriagados Article: ""Chicana Returns From China"" Page 6

Revenue Sharing Cont. Facts About Corrections
$5.3 billion allocated in 1972 for the nation as a whole.
The five factor formula includes more arithmetic and is as follows: A. 1/3 of $3/5 billion allocated among the states on basis of population. B. 1/3 of $3.5 billion allocated among the states on basis of urbanized population. C. 1/3 of $4.5 billion allocated among the states on the basis of population inversely weighted for per capital income. D. 1/2 of 1.8 billion allocated on the basis of income tax collections E. 1/2 of 1.8 billion allocated on the basis of general tax effort
Once the state allocation is determined each state receives 1/3 of the total allocated to each State. The other 2/3 is then distributed to local authorities by certain formulas:\
Area population X tax effort X relative income divided by sum of the products of population x tax effort x relate income of all county ares times Total local government share equals Country area allocation
All of the above determinations are carried out by the Treasury Department's Revenue Sharing Division and the allocations are not originally determines in cooperation with State of local governments. If we wish to find out how much a city or county received in revenue Sharing Division, Washington D.C. Since the basic figures of population, income and taxes are from the Bureau of Census sources, it becomes apparent why we labored so hard to get accurate Census counts in areas heavily populated bu the Spanish speaking. I have always contended the national programs based on population, employment, income or unemployment tend to short change the raza because of the inaccurate counts and the face the millions of Spanish speaking live outside the so- called economic stream of society. A county heavily populated by raza will be short - changed under the above formulas. While a county with complete counts and accurate tax collection will benefit. The poverty pf the raza county will not be stated correctly just as our unemployment stats is not now reported correctly by the U.S. Dept. of Labor or the State's Employment Services. 
Non-Discrimination in use of Revenue Sharing Funds
The revenue sharing law provides that no person in the U.S. shall be denied benefits or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available.
The complaints should be made to the Governor of the State. If there is non-compliance with the Governor's request to cease the discriminatory activity, the Governor should be asked to refer the matter to the Attorney General who can bring suit in Federal Court.
Proposed Special Revenue Sharing
The Nixon Administration has submitted a Better Communitied Bill for special revenue sharing funds. The proposed would abolish urban renewal, model cities, neighborhood facilities projects, water and sewage grants, open space programs, rehabilitation loans and public facility loans. The proposal would replace the grants with a $2.3 billion in funds to the local governments. The administration uses the same arguments for these special revenue funds as those used for the general revenue act. The special revenue proposal is before Congress now and a position should be taken on the proposal. If the above programs do not effectively help the raza then of course it would be better to take a chance that we can do better at the local level and perhaps divert funds to some of our goals and objectives. I for one believe that in the past urban renewal has hurt the raza badly and if the proposal is approved would argue for funds to be placed elsewhere besides in urban renewal.
Under the proposed special revenue sharing some cities will get more than the combined grants from the above programs. Other cities will get less. It appears that the larger more congested an urbanized areas will receive more than before whereas the smaller less urbanized areas will receive less. I noticed that all New Mexico cities will get less than before over the proposed five year funding.
The main issue for this meeting is to take a position that is consistent with the Raza needs on these programs and present it to the Senators, Congressmen, and Governor of Michigan. While it is true that the Administration won the first two test on the battle of the budget there are new developments, including the Watergate mess, that may bring about some changes in policy.
Administration reorganization revenue sharing proposals
If Congress adopts the President's Fiscal 1974 Budget the:
1. OEO will be dismantled
2. The Emergency Employment Act will expire June 30
3. There will be reductions in the Manpower Development and Training Act as well as changes in the program administration.
4. 10 specific manpower programs funds will be transferred to local officials who are to determine which programs should be continued and at what levels. These programs include MDTA institutional training, Concentrated Employment Programs, Job Opportunities in Business Sector, Public Service Careers, Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Operation Mainstream.
SER, OIC, and the Urban League have been told that their contracts will not be renewed in the fall ant that they must look to local officials for funds to continue their program.
For purposes of this meeting there is a need to make recommendations to elected State and Federal officials on the changes included in the Administration proposals for manpower programs. We have three main choices:
1. Approve the recommendations to transfer manpower funds to the local authorities
2. Approve the transfer of funds without the elimination of Congressional authorization by asking that a block grant be made to those localities that have manpower programs. The block grants would be administered by one local authority. The block grant would eliminate the necessity of disbursing manpower funds to those localities that do not need special manpower funds.
3. Propose that the programs remain as they are without changes.
The Flaw in Revenue Sharing
The central idea for revenue sharing was that State and local governments were losing the battle for funds to the Federal government, therefore to save the federal system the trend must be reversed thru the mechanism of sharing income tax revenues.
It was always assumed that revenue sharing was to be over and above the categorical grants approved by Congress. In this way the State and local governments would receive more funds after revenue sharing than before.
In December, 1970 the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations stated that the allegation that revenue sharing would undermine categorical aid programs is a faulty assessment of Congressional and bureaucratic interests in specific programs. Robert Finch, Counselor to the President, George Romney and George Schultz, Director of Management and Budget were members of the Commission.
This Administration is now engaged in the effort to eliminate those categorical aid programs that in their opinion are a waste of tax payers money. No one would agrue the need to eliminate waste, but why only those programs designed to assist the poor and the minorities.
Secondly, the analysis now shows that elimination and substitution of some programs will mean less revenue for the States and localities which is exactly the reverse of how revenue sharing was sold to the public, Congress, the States, cities, and localities.
Conclusion
The strategy should emphasize the continuation of some categorical aid to the poor and minorities while the five year experimentation with revenue sharing is in progress. The promises to have both categorical aid and revenue sharing must be kept.
Secondly, revenue sharing is a fact of life and probably will become part of our system of taxation and revenues. Therefore we must adjust to the new circumstances by: 
A. Organizing separately and thru coalitions with others for the specific purpose of assisting la raza with revenue sharing funds and programs.
B. Preparing and submitting lists of names to the Governor. Mayors and County officials for membership in Revenue Sharing Councils, Task Forces, and Advisory Committees.
C. Organizing our own revenue sharing advisory councils in the State, County, City and Townships.
D. Setting up on a Statewide basis a committee to prepare proposals for revenue sharing funds from whatever source finally come to the local authorities.
E. Submitting names of persons to the Governor to hire for the budget and allocation of revenue sharing funds of the State. We need qualified Spanish speaking to become employees of the State, Counties, and cities.
F. Organize a civil rights or equal employment committee to process complaints of revenue sharing funds expenditures or hiring that discriminate against the Raza.
G. Draw a statement of goals and objectives with the idea of presenting it thru a statewide committee to the Governor, Mayors, and County officials.
Of the 1.5 billion dollars spent yearly on corrections in this nation, it is estimated that 95% goes for custodial costs: walls, bars, and guards. Only five cents of every dollar is spent on rehabilitation: education, job learning, and health services.
There are some 4,700 prisons and jails in the U.S., many of them built in the last century and a few in the 18th century. It would cost from ten to twelve billion dollars merely to replace obsolete facilities.
This appalling state of affairs has provoked sharp comments;
According to President Richard Nixon, the American system for "correcting and rehabilitating criminals presents a convincing case of failure."
"We have developed systems of correction," says Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, "which do not correct."
"Correction remains the stepchild of the criminal justice process," observes former Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
"There is no justice here. I'm not dispensing justice," exclaimed a criminal court judge after arraigning scores of people at an average speed of two minutes per defendant.
COMMUNITY CORRECTION

A much cheaper and more humane approach to the problems facing correctional institutions is the concept of community corrections. It presents alternatives to confinement and punishment by developing means for rehabilitation. 
There are many types of community base and transitional programs:
Pre-trial intervention programs
Probation
Half-way houses
Work Release
Pre-release centers
Parole program
Evidence indicates that community corrections reduce the need for expensive facilities. In addition, such programs are more humane than traditional correction programs.

A NATIONAL DISGRACE

President Nixon: "No institution within our society has a record which presents such a conclusive case of failure as does our prison system."
John Mitchell, former U.S. Attorney General: "The state of America's prisons comes close to a national shame. No civilized society should allow it to continue."
Norman Carlson, Director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons: "Anyone not a criminal will be when he gets out of jail."
Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: "A visit to most prisons will make you a zealot for prison reform. If you will form a fact finding party of one judge and two or three lawyers you will soon discover that 78-80 per cent of all prisoners are in sub-standard institutions. When you see a prison built 100 years ago for 600 inmates and find it crowded with 1500 men with almost no recreational facilities, obsolete vocational training, little or no counseling, and two men living--or existing--in a cell 6 ft. x 8 ft., I think you will understand the paradox of why so many of them come back."

PRISON REFORM Recommendations
1. That Spanish speaking inmates have the right to form rehabilitation, education, and cultural organizations within the institutions. 
2. That Spanish speaking inmates have the right to receive reading materials without custodial censorship. That first amendment rights extend to custodial institutions.
3. That the emphasis in correctional institutions be shifted to rehabilitation rather than custody and punishment. 
4. Increase Spanish speaking employment in the correction services, that is, parole officers, case workers, counselors and teachers and custodial officers.

Continued page 4

LOS DESARRAIGADOS
MWCLR Barrio Communications
Post Office Box 606
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

Non-Profit 
Organization
U. S. Postage
PAID
Notre Dame, Indiana
Permit No. 12

Saving...

Revenue Sharing Cont. Facts About Corrections $5.3 billion allocated in 1972 for the nation as a whole. The five factor formula includes more arithmetic and is as follows: A. 1/3 of $3/5 billion allocated among the states on basis of population. B. 1/3 of $3.5 billion allocated among the states on basis of urbanized population. C. 1/3 of $4.5 billion allocated among the states on the basis of population inversely weighted for per capital income. D. 1/2 of 1.8 billion allocated on the basis of income tax collections E. 1/2 of 1.8 billion allocated on the basis of general tax effort Once the state allocation is determined each state receives 1/3 of the total allocated to each State. The other 2/3 is then distributed to local authorities by certain formulas:\ Area population X tax effort X relative income divided by sum of the products of population x tax effort x relate income of all county ares times Total local government share equals Country area allocation All of the above determinations are carried out by the Treasury Department's Revenue Sharing Division and the allocations are not originally determines in cooperation with State of local governments. If we wish to find out how much a city or county received in revenue Sharing Division, Washington D.C. Since the basic figures of population, income and taxes are from the Bureau of Census sources, it becomes apparent why we labored so hard to get accurate Census counts in areas heavily populated bu the Spanish speaking. I have always contended the national programs based on population, employment, income or unemployment tend to short change the raza because of the inaccurate counts and the face the millions of Spanish speaking live outside the so- called economic stream of society. A county heavily populated by raza will be short - changed under the above formulas. While a county with complete counts and accurate tax collection will benefit. The poverty pf the raza county will not be stated correctly just as our unemployment stats is not now reported correctly by the U.S. Dept. of Labor or the State's Employment Services. Non-Discrimination in use of Revenue Sharing Funds The revenue sharing law provides that no person in the U.S. shall be denied benefits or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available. The complaints should be made to the Governor of the State. If there is non-compliance with the Governor's request to cease the discriminatory activity, the Governor should be asked to refer the matter to the Attorney General who can bring suit in Federal Court. Proposed Special Revenue Sharing The Nixon Administration has submitted a Better Communitied Bill for special revenue sharing funds. The proposed would abolish urban renewal, model cities, neighborhood facilities projects, water and sewage grants, open space programs, rehabilitation loans and public facility loans. The proposal would replace the grants with a $2.3 billion in funds to the local governments. The administration uses the same arguments for these special revenue funds as those used for the general revenue act. The special revenue proposal is before Congress now and a position should be taken on the proposal. If the above programs do not effectively help the raza then of course it would be better to take a chance that we can do better at the local level and perhaps divert funds to some of our goals and objectives. I for one believe that in the past urban renewal has hurt the raza badly and if the proposal is approved would argue for funds to be placed elsewhere besides in urban renewal. Under the proposed special revenue sharing some cities will get more than the combined grants from the above programs. Other cities will get less. It appears that the larger more congested an urbanized areas will receive more than before whereas the smaller less urbanized areas will receive less. I noticed that all New Mexico cities will get less than before over the proposed five year funding. The main issue for this meeting is to take a position that is consistent with the Raza needs on these programs and present it to the Senators, Congressmen, and Governor of Michigan. While it is true that the Administration won the first two test on the battle of the budget there are new developments, including the Watergate mess, that may bring about some changes in policy. Administration reorganization revenue sharing proposals If Congress adopts the President's Fiscal 1974 Budget the: 1. OEO will be dismantled 2. The Emergency Employment Act will expire June 30 3. There will be reductions in the Manpower Development and Training Act as well as changes in the program administration. 4. 10 specific manpower programs funds will be transferred to local officials who are to determine which programs should be continued and at what levels. These programs include MDTA institutional training, Concentrated Employment Programs, Job Opportunities in Business Sector, Public Service Careers, Neighborhood Youth Corps, and Operation Mainstream. SER, OIC, and the Urban League have been told that their contracts will not be renewed in the fall ant that they must look to local officials for funds to continue their program. For purposes of this meeting there is a need to make recommendations to elected State and Federal officials on the changes included in the Administration proposals for manpower programs. We have three main choices: 1. Approve the recommendations to transfer manpower funds to the local authorities 2. Approve the transfer of funds without the elimination of Congressional authorization by asking that a block grant be made to those localities that have manpower programs. The block grants would be administered by one local authority. The block grant would eliminate the necessity of disbursing manpower funds to those localities that do not need special manpower funds. 3. Propose that the programs remain as they are without changes. The Flaw in Revenue Sharing The central idea for revenue sharing was that State and local governments were losing the battle for funds to the Federal government, therefore to save the federal system the trend must be reversed thru the mechanism of sharing income tax revenues. It was always assumed that revenue sharing was to be over and above the categorical grants approved by Congress. In this way the State and local governments would receive more funds after revenue sharing than before. In December, 1970 the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations stated that the allegation that revenue sharing would undermine categorical aid programs is a faulty assessment of Congressional and bureaucratic interests in specific programs. Robert Finch, Counselor to the President, George Romney and George Schultz, Director of Management and Budget were members of the Commission. This Administration is now engaged in the effort to eliminate those categorical aid programs that in their opinion are a waste of tax payers money. No one would agrue the need to eliminate waste, but why only those programs designed to assist the poor and the minorities. Secondly, the analysis now shows that elimination and substitution of some programs will mean less revenue for the States and localities which is exactly the reverse of how revenue sharing was sold to the public, Congress, the States, cities, and localities. Conclusion The strategy should emphasize the continuation of some categorical aid to the poor and minorities while the five year experimentation with revenue sharing is in progress. The promises to have both categorical aid and revenue sharing must be kept. Secondly, revenue sharing is a fact of life and probably will become part of our system of taxation and revenues. Therefore we must adjust to the new circumstances by: A. Organizing separately and thru coalitions with others for the specific purpose of assisting la raza with revenue sharing funds and programs. B. Preparing and submitting lists of names to the Governor. Mayors and County officials for membership in Revenue Sharing Councils, Task Forces, and Advisory Committees. C. Organizing our own revenue sharing advisory councils in the State, County, City and Townships. D. Setting up on a Statewide basis a committee to prepare proposals for revenue sharing funds from whatever source finally come to the local authorities. E. Submitting names of persons to the Governor to hire for the budget and allocation of revenue sharing funds of the State. We need qualified Spanish speaking to become employees of the State, Counties, and cities. F. Organize a civil rights or equal employment committee to process complaints of revenue sharing funds expenditures or hiring that discriminate against the Raza. G. Draw a statement of goals and objectives with the idea of presenting it thru a statewide committee to the Governor, Mayors, and County officials. Of the 1.5 billion dollars spent yearly on corrections in this nation, it is estimated that 95% goes for custodial costs: walls, bars, and guards. Only five cents of every dollar is spent on rehabilitation: education, job learning, and health services. There are some 4,700 prisons and jails in the U.S., many of them built in the last century and a few in the 18th century. It would cost from ten to twelve billion dollars merely to replace obsolete facilities. This appalling state of affairs has provoked sharp comments; According to President Richard Nixon, the American system for "correcting and rehabilitating criminals presents a convincing case of failure." "We have developed systems of correction," says Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, "which do not correct." "Correction remains the stepchild of the criminal justice process," observes former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. "There is no justice here. I'm not dispensing justice," exclaimed a criminal court judge after arraigning scores of people at an average speed of two minutes per defendant. COMMUNITY CORRECTION A much cheaper and more humane approach to the problems facing correctional institutions is the concept of community corrections. It presents alternatives to confinement and punishment by developing means for rehabilitation. There are many types of community base and transitional programs: Pre-trial intervention programs Probation Half-way houses Work Release Pre-release centers Parole program Evidence indicates that community corrections reduce the need for expensive facilities. In addition, such programs are more humane than traditional correction programs. A NATIONAL DISGRACE President Nixon: "No institution within our society has a record which presents such a conclusive case of failure as does our prison system." John Mitchell, former U.S. Attorney General: "The state of America's prisons comes close to a national shame. No civilized society should allow it to continue." Norman Carlson, Director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons: "Anyone not a criminal will be when he gets out of jail." Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: "A visit to most prisons will make you a zealot for prison reform. If you will form a fact finding party of one judge and two or three lawyers you will soon discover that 78-80 per cent of all prisoners are in sub-standard institutions. When you see a prison built 100 years ago for 600 inmates and find it crowded with 1500 men with almost no recreational facilities, obsolete vocational training, little or no counseling, and two men living--or existing--in a cell 6 ft. x 8 ft., I think you will understand the paradox of why so many of them come back." PRISON REFORM Recommendations 1. That Spanish speaking inmates have the right to form rehabilitation, education, and cultural organizations within the institutions. 2. That Spanish speaking inmates have the right to receive reading materials without custodial censorship. That first amendment rights extend to custodial institutions. 3. That the emphasis in correctional institutions be shifted to rehabilitation rather than custody and punishment. 4. Increase Spanish speaking employment in the correction services, that is, parole officers, case workers, counselors and teachers and custodial officers. Continued page 4 LOS DESARRAIGADOS MWCLR Barrio Communications Post Office Box 606 Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 Non-Profit Organization U. S. Postage PAID Notre Dame, Indiana Permit No. 12