DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710060237

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A17  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: DECISION '97
                                            LENGTH:   48 lines

EDUCATION HIS FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS

When it comes to government's role in job creation, Rudy Langford, 63, of Hampton has a large perspective of government largesse.

It's needed, and he's the proof, said Langford, who recalls the opportunities that government provided him 39 years ago.

In 1958, Langford was trying to overcome his family's poverty and life under legal segregation. He was the youngest of 15 children, but he was able to attend a small business college, thanks to government money.

``If (government) had not been there, God knows where Rudy Langford would have been today with no education,'' said Langford, postmaster at Hampton University.

So he puts the question of job creation into a wider context.

It's a perspective, he suggests, that includes government's role in education, civil rights, finance, regulation of commerce. And it's about how all those connect.

Government, Richardson says, must improve education, promote opportunity to schools, aggressively attract good-paying jobs, and encourage companies to seek diversity.

``I don't believe in quotas,'' he said. ``But what I do believe in is giving people a chance to get through the door . . . and excel.''

He believes in expanding the private-sector economy, not hiring more people for government jobs.

But, he added, ``if we're going to continue the growth, if we're going to expand the tax base, then we're going to have to open doors, create jobs so people could go to work and be constructive citizens.''

Yet Langford also agrees that businesses are over-regulated. Still, he says, deregulation should not happen quickly until there are important social changes.

He fears too many businesses will use any savings to boost profits without hiring more employees.

``I don't believe that we have all the discrimination out of our system yet,'' he said. ``We have to protect the rights of people, to make sure the rights are not infringed.''

Most important, said Langford, is this: ``Education is the solution of all social ills, every one of them.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Hampton University Postmaster Rudy Langford credits the government's

help for him being where he is today.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu