The Economic Viability of Black America PT I

[Inaubryn]

The United States of America is arguably the wealthiest nation in history. With the abundance of capital and an innumerable array of economic opportunities, why then are entire segments of its citizenry economically handicapped? In a country of three hundred million, not everyone can be a real estate tycoon or an oil baron. Not everyone can be a multi-million dollar athlete or a movie star. But, when you can look at an entire group, in this instance an entire race, albeit a minority in numbers, and as a whole they are not economically viable, something must indeed be wrong.

In this, our United States, every law abiding citizen, that is those who are not incarcerated, are afforded the opportunity to seek and hold gainful employment. We even go so far as to federally subsidize programs which aid many Americans in finding and obtaining work. Why then is it that the percentage of blacks that live below the poverty line (25%) is more than twice that of the total population (12%)?1There is something inherently wrong with that statistic and the blame has to lie somewhere. But, with whom does it lie?

At first glance you may want to blame the group itself, pointing out that there are far too many opportunities in a society built on capitalism for anyone to live in poverty. But, poverty is a by-product of any economic system no matter how well thought out, or executed. So, taking into account that poverty itself, is a given, we can make the assumption that a certain percentage of the population will undoubtedly reside in such a state. But, we generally perceive these numbers to resemble the demographic make up of the population. In other words, whites being the majority will have more impoverished people within their racial group and blacks being a minority will have less in their racial group, as it compares to the population as a whole. Yet, further investigation into the population groups themselves reveals a wide disparity in economic power, growth, and assets.

In 1990, blacks held about ten percent of all jobs. At that time they were roughly twelve percent of the population. In the 2000 U.S. Census the median income of black men was $30,000 annually and $25,589 for black women. In comparison the median annual income for all men was $37,054, and for all women was 27,194. This is a disparity of $7,054 and $1,605, respectively. In addition, the median annual income for black families was $33,300 compared to the median income of all families in the U.S., $50,000. That's nearly a $20,000 gap.1 The numbers also support the evidence that Blacks are less likely to hold professional and managerial positions in the workforce. The data states that blacks were represented in all occupations but were more likely than the total civilian employed population to hold jobs in the service and production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Twenty-two percent of all Blacks and fifteen percent of all workers were in service jobs. Nineteen percent of Blacks were in production, transportation, and material moving jobs, compared with fifteen percent of all workers. These proportions varied by sex. Twenty-five percent of Blacks and thirty-four percent of all workers were in management, professional, and related occupations. Approximately twenty-seven percent of both Blacks and all workers were in sales and office occupations.

These black employment and occupational disparities translate into large and persistent deficits in blacks' share of money income. What could possibly precipitate so great a gap? Perhaps there are clues to be found in educational statistics. It is a widely accepted practice in the United States, and indeed throughout the world, that getting an education will make one privy to new fronts, opens up entirely new doors, and points the way to new avenues. Education is the catalyst by which we go on to a better life. It is the precipitator of the “American Dream”.

A college degree is looked upon as measure of accomplishment, a way to say to the world that I am educated, that I am dedicated, that I am somebody. This is what makes one attractive to potential employers. You walk into a corporate office to interview for a job with no more than a high school diploma, if that, and they look at you as though you have accomplished nothing. Your level of schooling does not reflect any capabilities that you may possess, nor does it reflect the mindset and discipline needed to perform in the corporate world. Which begs the question, what use are you to them? No employer is going to potentially waste money on an unproven commodity. It's the difference between an athlete who has performed at a high level in collegiate sports and one who was a stand out in junior high. It would not make sense for a pro franchise to invest large sums of money, not to mention its future, in someone who has only a limited amount of experience in their particular arena. You are not a viable candidate for the job as your performance is questionable at best. So from this, the importance of education, as it relates to the financial world, can be ascertained.

That being said, without this much vaunted “holy grail” that we call education, most people could and do wind up working lower end jobs, that is to say, jobs which do not pay in the top tier of salaries. Statistical data tells us that fourteen percent of blacks, twenty-five years of age or older, have obtained at least a bachelor's degree compared to twenty-four percent of the total U.S. population.1 Again we see a discrepancy in the numbers at minus ten percent. So, once more we see blacks fall far behind their racial counterparts.

The thing about the numbers and the statistics is that they give us a breakdown, they tell us what is. What they do not tell us is why what is, is. In order to do that we need to delve into the reasons the numerical information bears out as it does. What is the history behind the economic struggle now faced by many blacks in the United States?

[Inaubryn]

This is a paper I wrote for a final. It stems from a topic I've always been interested in as well as an idea I've had for some time. The paper is relatively brief and covers the topic in broadstrokes, more or less, with little details and statistics interspersed throughout. This is a topic that has been covered in several volumes of material and cannot be accurately covered in a 10 page paper. Nevertheless, here it is.


This posting comes from the BET debacle post thing. So, this gives those of you a bit of insight into my mind and thoughts, on some of the things we discussed in that thread, and it hopefully gives you a better understanding of my state of mind on this matter. So read if you care to, don't if you don't. Toodles.

[paazin]

This thing is hideously long

[Inaubryn]

This thing is hideously long

It's a Final paper you dunce. Whatta ya expect? And it's only 10 pages which is fairly short in relative terms.

[mxlm]

A 10 page final paper is far from hideously long, njubling.

I'd call it rather short, myself. I'm used to 25 page final papers.