· Family instability
and fatherlessness in black communities. A University of Maryland and Michigan
State study found that young black men commit homicides at nearly ten times the
rate of young white and Hispanic men combined. Black-family dysfunction is a
serious problem.
· Big-city, unionized
schools provide miserable education.
· The war on drugs puts
potential black entrepreneurs in jail, cutting short otherwise productive
careers.
· Numerous government
policies, including minimum wages, government lotteries, occupational
licensing, and many others, make life more costly for all the poor.
Racism
is not responsible for lagging black prosperity. Racism, in fact, has greatly
diminished and no longer requires government action. Here is evidence:
· The nation twice elected
a black as president. States with big pluralities of whites, like New
Hampshire, voted for Obama both times.
· In the 1950s,
movies portrayed blacks as passive and deferential. Now, blacks play forceful leading
roles.
· In the 1950s, blacks
seldom appeared in advertisements because whites were uncomfortable being advised
by blacks. Now, whites willingly follow the lead of assertive blacks advising them
what products to buy.
· Michelle Obama and
Oprah Winfrey are among America’s most admired women. Until recently, Bill Cosby
was considered the nation’s most admired man. Never would such approbation have
occurred in the 1950s.
American
blacks lag in prosperity, yes, but racism is not the reason. Much diminished,
racism no longer warrants government’s attention.
