As usual, the lamestream media has ignored one of the most tragic economic and social conditions in this country. In fact it has almost disappeared from public discussion altogether despite the election of Obama : 70% of all African American children are born to unmarried women. Most of those 70% are now condemned to a lifetime of poverty. Without male parenting, their neighborhoods and schools are condemned to disorder.
Even when the economy was doing well, employment prospects for young black men were getting worse. Under Bush the Dumber, black male unemployment averaged 8%. Now it is about 20%. For black women it's not much better. By 2005, one third of all young, black non college men were incarcerated. More than 60% of black male high school dropouts born since The Great Society started, go to prison. By 2004 , for every college degree earned by a black male, two were awarded to black women.
The black middle class has been leaving inner cities for the last 30 years. Thus they have become even more concentrated with the very poor, poorly educated, unemployed and unemployable.
Since 1965 we have had Federal, state and local policies and prgrams designed to reduce poverty. Sometimes specifically aimed at black poverty. None of them have worked. We are now creating a THIRD generation of black inner city children being raised by only one parent who have AT BEST a 1 in 20 chance of avoiding a LIFETIME of poverty. Study after study shows that to have a 95% chance of avoiding such a life, you need to graduate high school ; stay out of jail; not get married or pregnant before age 21. To more than double the chances of success black children need to grow up in two parent homes. Would someone identify a single policy or program designed to increase marriage rates and promote fatherhood in the black community ?
Nathan Glazer, a retired sociology professor from Harvard ( of all places ) has compiled and summarized the findings of the leading studies on black achievement . Sadly, the more accurate thing to say is LACK of black educational achievement over the past 30 years. THIRTY YEARS ! These studies include the Barton / Coley study for ETS comparing black and white students and the work of William Julius Wilson comparing black male and black female educational performance. These studies highlight that black students are absent more than white children; they watch more television; they read fewer pages for homework; they have fewer books in their homes; and are more likely to be raised by a single parent. To which Glazers research and interviews adds the social penalty of "acting white". Many black males who succeed academically are seen as "traitors" to their "group culture".
Why does all this matter and what is it doing in Dollar Den ? Well, we're talking about a substantial portion of the U.S. population. Poor people cannot buy as much stuff as wealthier folks . They go to jail more and have to be housed and fed. The public educational system has clearly proven to be part of the problem and not the solution i.e. the more money spent = the worse the results. Job training programs, Affirmative Action and other government programs have not done and cannot do anything to even reach ( let alone address ) some of the root causes of the educational and other gaps. Not unless we get serious about illegal immigration and out of wedlock children. One way or another, we ALL have to pay for this and other societal disfunctions.
Illegal immigration ? That's right. One of the primary causes of black male unemployment is illegal immigration. Iillegal immigrants take the jobs formerly filled by poorly educated and unskilled black males. Couple that with our shift from a manufacturing to a service based economy and the prospects get even bleaker for young black men given their often self imposed educational deficiencies.
And nobody knows what to do about out of wedlock children. No government does, that's for sure. Not unless we start taxing unwed mothers for having children. And start subsidizing abstinence. Hmmm. Might not be a bad idea.
As bad as the unemployment numbers are ( the REAL rate is at least 10.2 % btw ), among black males they are twice as bad. That is a societal and community disaster unseen since the Great Depression. And no stimulus package, and not even tax cuts and a free market, will do a thing to change it much.



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