http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/23/news/economy/black-unemployment/index.html
Black unemployment in the U.S is at a new low, but that doesn't mean there isn't still a problem present. The racial unemployment gap between blacks and whites hasn't changed much over the years, partially due to way employers treat each race when hiring. In short, job availability and employment is increasing, but discrimination is not. In addition to that, having a job doesn't guarantee you can buy all the things you need to support yourself or a family.
This article was written by Lydia DePillis at CNN Money on January 25th. I don't know much about unemployment rates in this country, because I don't pay enough attention to developments in the economy, so I had no previous information regarding this article besides the fact that there's a major inequality across the board between races. I hadn't thought about the fact that when employers are permitted to hire through networks rather than interviews, whole races are completely obliterated from the competition. Though this article didn't say anything about how the government is reacting to these facts, I'll take a guess that the people currently in power have taken one look, said "Wow, isn't it great that black unemployment is at a new low? We did that! So we don't have to make that issue a priority anymore!" and moved on with their political agendas. What they need to be doing is taking a closer look to see the issues underneath those statistics. Too many politicians these days are content to see something good happen with a certain issue and then cross it off their to-do list.
Synthesis: This article is comparable to when political bosses used immigrants for votes in the late 1800's/Gilded Age. The political bosses helped the immigrants by providing food and shelter in return for their votes, but that wasn't all that they needed. It might've been more impactful for the immigrants to elect a candidate who actually represented their views and needs, not someone who abided by the wishes of their rich allies. It's a similar situation to how today's politicians think they're fixing the problems of minority groups, when in reality they're just sweeping them under the rug for someone else to deal with.
Well the good thing about that is that Trump hasn’t moved on from this issue yet. He intends to continue on this path until almost everyone in the country can get food on the table. I think it’s more important for organizations like Black Lives Matter to focus on the education rates and local issues that torment many unfortunate people today. Maybe then we can reduce that wage gap. It’s not rooted in sexism it’s rooted in education. To be fair that started with segreafstion. But now that those practices are gone we should focus on amending our mistakes, not bashing the president for dropping unemployment to the lowest it’s ever been
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify first, when I said wage gap I actually meant to say racial unemployment gap (that was probably confusing, sorry. fixed it now for clarity.)
DeleteEducation rates and local issues in low-income communities are definitely huge problems that need to be addressed, and while those definitely contribute to the gap, those are separate from what I'm talking about as the main cause (according to this article specifically). The number of African Americans with college degrees has doubled since 1990, but the unemployment gap hasn't changed. The discrimination between races when hiring is what this article focuses on. And I'm not referring to an employer looking at a black job applicant with a lower education level and then a white job applicant with a higher education level and hiring the white person, I'm talking about employers hiring through networks (of primarily white people, usually) instead of looking at resumes and interviews of every applicant trying to get a position. That's a major contributor to the gap and it can be looked over pretty easily because it's subtle and seems so harmless at first glance. Whether or not a black applicant has gotten their college degree, employers still have the power to hire based on race alone(sometimes subconsciously, sometimes not).
Sexism was not mentioned anywhere in this article or my summary/analysis. My use of wage gap instead of racial unemployment gap is probably partially responsible for throwing you off on that one.
It's admirable that you still have faith in Trump to remedy this issue, but due to his track record of apathy and disrespect towards black people and communities, personally, I highly doubt that he'll make any significant progress towards closing the gap during his presidency.
The black lives matter movement can only do so much, seeing as their traction and representation in politics currently is sorely lacking. I trust that they're doing everything in their power to solve and raise awareness for issues like these. At this point, it's the responsibility of the people who actually control the government to remedy this issue, because they’re the only ones who can make real, tangible change.
And to be clear, I'm most definitely not giving Trump credit for dropping black unemployment to the lowest it's ever been.
oh DAMn she showed you!
Delete-Untalented stranger
yeah she did ^^
Deletelol go off larsen
DeleteI agree that it's important to get education rates up but maybe first we ought to get cops to stop shooting unarmed black kids. Furthermore, high unemployment rates in the black community is almost always due to racism at all levels of society, from people in backwoods Tennessee to our current president. It's not right to blame unemployment on so-called "black laziness."
DeleteSlavery was the catalyst for current racism. It made it so black people were always behind white people and white people always had the advantage. So it's kind of hard for BLM to focus on topic like education and local issues because black people are being shot on the streets simply for being black. And just because segregation isn't still a thing, the mindset is still very present. And with a psychotic president in office it shows that someone still can still have power and succeed while being racist, sexist, and xenophobic.
DeleteFirst I’d like to apologize for bringing up a topic that wasn’t relevant. It had nothing to do with your writing I was just being silly. Firstly I think that while Trump may not be taking full Affirmative action regarding the wage gap between African-Americans and whites I believe it’s important to mention that his general administration Involving teriffs and tax cuts in the past year have worked towards improving the standard of living for all working class citizens, regardless of color. I believe that somewhat less important but still significant is the fact
DeleteThat Trump has a higher approval rating in minorities than the past few republican nominees. That doesn’t say too much at least in regards to 2012 becuse that candidate wasn’t really anyone’s favorite, however it is interesting. As far as businesses getting under the radar about racist choosing of jobs, while I don’t know if the President has any plans for stopping it, I do know he has plans for increasing wages and decreasing unemployment further. I’ll retract my previous statement in saying that instead of causing it he is simply doing a good job of keeping it at an all time low. He was dealt a good hand to be fair. Wages have already shown an increase over the year due to mainly his new focus on investment in faster manufacture and emphasis on infrastructure. He explained this point really well in his speech tonight however the jist of it is that by investing money in industry and manufacture, there will be more of an incentive to get jobs done quicker. A good example he made was the Empire State Building. In it’s time it was built in a singular year. Now it takes 10 years just to get a permit for a road to be built. To increase the wages of workers and create new jobs that will in turn help the wage gap, we need to focus on faster manufacture. As far as black lives matter, I believe they don’t need more members or increased government support to make a pivotal shift in the movement. I think they instead need to step back and re focus in on some key local issues. One example is 13% of people being responsible for 54% of the murder. 90% of those murders are to other African Americans. It’s small changes in the communities that will help alleviate these problems, not rioting in a street and breaking windows. I am under the belief that if we focus on the root of the problems and thre big cases, instead of focusing all of our efforts on the latter, we would have a really good and impactful movement. I’m not trying to downplay the terrible people out there that shot people of color for no reason. I’m just trying to reason that they may not be the only problem. Overall I think Trump’s best point in his speech tonight was coming together. Finding common ground in issues like these is what will make the country move forward. If we keep arguing like we are now and coming to government shutdowns every month we certainly aren’t going to get anything done in the next 8 I mean 4 years. Instead, I think talking about problems and working them out like we are now is the best way to come to a good conclusion. At least in my opinion.
To continue being fair, economies work in long and continued trends that are nigh-impossible for one figure or party to change in the course of a single year, especially when it is widely agreed that said person has had no major legislative accomplishments until the passing of the tax plan (a month ago). Therefore, the current economy is more likely a product of decades of economic influences and policy, and that doesn't even touch on the social issues detailed in the above article; and it's probably not prudent to say that a president who has made countless racist/racially charged remarks (such as calling a Hispanic pageant winner Ms Housekeeping or calling predominantly non-white countries "sh*thole countries") is working to help "almost everyone", or that segregationist policies or ideas are "gone" even when the president has endorsed someone who has spoken positively about slavery (Roy Moore), a former KKK grand wizard still has sway in American politics, and a race comprising over 1/10th of our population is still experiencing a years-old wage gap between itself and another group separated on a census only by the color of their skin.
ReplyDeleteI like when white boys say that we should deal with black on black crime before we solve AA unemployment. I also really love that we are called "lazy' and "unprofessional" due to the stereotype that all black people are poor, uneducated and ghetto. The reality of the matter is we've been banished to the ghetto due to Jim Crowe, segregation, and most recently The War on Drugs (aka modernized Jim Crowe- but that's another story) I feel that rioting, though extreme, is more than warranted. I feel I am completely valid when I say black people are not the problem in this situation, nor this country- but if we really want to point fingers, we can start by the uneducated white men who voted for Trump. (Please pardon my structure- it is 4AM and I am feeling rowdy>
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should start disproving the stereotype by being educated and reading that I used that as an example. It’s wonderful that you express that opinion and I agree that those are issues that need to be fixed. Perhaps if that society would work together peacefully as the most successful political and human rights reformers have wanted, then those issues would be a thing of the past. I personally don’t have any racial stereotypes, but if you deem facts as racist then that is a separate issue that needs to be addressed
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