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Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder.
Dec 12, 2013, 3:59 PM
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Intervention to Cure Black Friend's Addiction -- to Liberalism Larry Elder | Dec 12, 2013
At an out-of-town memorial service for my dear friend and mentor, Alan Schonberg -- a business titan known for his warmth, grace and generosity -- I saw "Paul," a man I've known some 30 years. It had been a long, long time. Paul, like me, is a black attorney. Unlike me, he is a Democrat, active in local politics.
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2013/12/12/intervention-to-cure-black-friends-addiction--to-liberalism-n1761391/page/full
While introducing me to someone, Paul made some casual crack about my "conservative" politics, something like, "Of course, we don't always agree ... " Usually, I have neither the time nor the energy to unravel the decades of slop in the heads of most liberals/leftists/collectivists/progressives. But sometimes, I can't help myself.
I decided to conduct an "intervention," as one would a friend or relative in need of assistance to confront and overcome a severe drug problem. We talked. I then sent him following letter:
Dear Paul,
To repeat, the only credible reason for a thoughtful black to stay a Democrat is "social justice," the premise that Republicans care less than Democrats do about the underprivileged. And even there, the case is weak. Your nonchalant allegiance to Democrats damages the country in general and the black community in particular.
From 1890 to 1940, depending upon the area of the country, a black kid was slightly more likely than a white kid to be raised in a home headed by two married parents. Today, nearly 75 percent of blacks are raised in homes headed by a single parent, triple the rate from that of 1965. Over the same period, the rate for whites and Hispanics have also soared. Blame LBJ's so-called "war on poverty," which incentivized women to "marry" the government, allowing the fathers to abandon their financial and moral responsibility.
FDR's New Deal also inflicted a great deal of damage to blacks. Land was taken for government projects, sharecroppers lost jobs and New Deal money was often spent for political gain, rather than actual need. UCLA economist Lee Ohanian, who has probably done more research on this issue than anyone else, says the New Deal deepened and lengthened the Great Depression.
The federal minimum wage, initially enacted in 1933, also devastated black unemployment. According to the libertarian Cato Institute: "Early empirical evidence attests to the unemployment effects of the minimum wage. ... By reason of the minimum wage provisions of the codes, about 500,000 Negro workers were on relief in 1934." Economist Milton Friedman said: "We regard the minimum wage law as one of the most, if not (SET ITAL) the (END ITAL) most, anti-black laws on the statute books."
The failure to privatize Social Security holds blacks back. The Cato Institute writes: "A study by the nonpartisan RAND Corporation found that the rate-of-return for African-Americans was approximately one percent lower than that for whites. The result was a net lifetime transfer of wealth from blacks to whites averaging nearly $10,000 per person."
California Rep. Maxine Waters called the black unemployment rate, then at 15.9 percent, "unconscionable." What do liberals propose to do about it? Spend more of taxpayers' money on -- fill in the blank -- health care, education, job training, preschool. Raise the minimum wage. Increase taxes on "the rich" -- precisely the approach that is giving us the worst economic recovery in 80 years.
Social issues are important, but should be fought out at the state and local level. Even on many non-economic issues, the Democratic Party is out of step and out of touch with the feelings of non-elites. Attorney General Eric Holder, for example, remains on the warpath about voter I.D. laws, calling them racist. But polls show blacks nearly as likely as whites to support voter I.D.
On immigration, Coretta Scott King once wrote to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in support of strong laws to punish those who hire illegal aliens. She said that employment of illegal aliens is unfair to America's "un- and semi-skilled workers," a disproportionately large number of whom are black.
On the issue of gay marriage and abortion, non-elite blacks part from the "leadership." Though the Democratic Party passionately supports Roe v. Wade, many polls find blacks more "pro-life" than whites. While the Democrat leadership demands "marriage equality," a 2011 poll found that 58 percent of blacks oppose gay marriage, a higher rate than the rest of the country.
"Dems good, Republicans bad." "Dems care about you, Republicans care about money." Heard it all -- and it's bull.
Can you answer this question correctly? As between liberals and conservatives, who donates more to charity? The answer is it isn't even close. According to the book "Who Really Cares" by Arthur Brooks, conservative-headed households are more generous with their money by some 30 percent and also give far more of their time.
We talked about vouchers. Obama opposes them, thus blocking many black and brown families from the same opportunities his mother afforded him --Punahou prep school in Hawaii -- and that the Obamas afford their own children, who've never attended public school. Isn't education the key to success? Or, as you "progressives" put it, education is "the civil rights issue of the 21st century."
Didn't mean to overwhelm you. I expect this to give you an industrial-sized case of "cognitive dissonance." I tried. Alan would have.
-- Larry
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Heisman Winner [119597]
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Ya gonna get joeg and deweather all hot and bothered!***
Dec 12, 2013, 5:15 PM
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Heisman Winner [111424]
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Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder.
Dec 12, 2013, 5:43 PM
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how anyone making under 250k support the republicans is beyond me.
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All-TigerNet [11208]
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LoL...LoL....I think that I'm starting to understand you.
Dec 12, 2013, 7:58 PM
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This was suppose to be sarcastic and funny, right?
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Heisman Winner [111424]
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Re: LoL...LoL....I think that I'm starting to understand you.
Dec 12, 2013, 8:00 PM
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One of these days I will become a wealthy industrialist like the rest of you, until then I am going to vote for politicians that aren't shifting the burden of our deficit onto the working class.
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All-TigerNet [11208]
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LMAO! Stop! You're killing me.***
Dec 12, 2013, 8:16 PM
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Heisman Winner [111424]
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Re: LMAO! Stop! You're killing me.***
Dec 12, 2013, 8:50 PM
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laughter is a common response when in denial.
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All-TigerNet [11208]
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I don't get it.***
Dec 12, 2013, 9:54 PM
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Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder.
Dec 13, 2013, 2:43 AM
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he lost me at getting rid of the min wage. Jobs lkike walmart and mcdonalds that pay the min wage mean their employees are at the poverty line and require fed assistance to be able to eat or get health care
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Heisman Winner [111424]
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Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder.
Dec 13, 2013, 3:26 AM
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it is just mean spiruted rhetoric to appeal to the base, but would never fly in a general election. Over 70% polled on both sides want to see it raised, it would be political suicide otherwise.
Bottom line is that Increasing the Minimum wage, to say 12$, would stimulate the economy thus creating more consumer demand, and create an incentive for those who do sit back on unemployment and welfare to go back to work. It would be win win all around, and as you said, would almost eliminate the need for food stamps.
Sadly, there are billionaires that spend a lot of money to see policies like this pushed, as there are posters on this board who think it is a good idea. It is bigotry in its purest form.
The vacuum this would create would ultimately drive all of our wages down in the end.
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All-TigerNet [12269]
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Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder.
Dec 13, 2013, 7:16 AM
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How about all of the lost jobs raising it would cause?
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CU Guru [1723]
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That's just Republican spin
Dec 13, 2013, 7:19 AM
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Don't you know the stingy heads of these companies are just hoarding all that extra cash and can afford to pay an unskilled worker MUCH more.
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All-In [40875]
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I have three teenagers at my house that all make
Dec 13, 2013, 4:13 AM
[ in reply to Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder. ] |
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at or near minimum wage. They are grateful for their jobs. They never miss work, they are never late for work.
They are not in poverty.
They understand that these are the sorts of jobs that you have to start with. They believe that they are to give their employers an honest day's work. It doesn't matter if they think they are underpaid (they aren't and don't believe they are), they still work hard and find a new job if they believe more.
Will they have minimum wage jobs 10 years from now? My guess is no.
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Walk-On [134]
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Not trying to be combative, but...
Dec 19, 2013, 12:51 PM
[ in reply to Re: Why Do Blacks Support Dems.? Asks Larry Elder. ] |
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I really don't see how raising the minimum wage helps fight poverty. People that perform minimum wage jobs, also depend on the products and services that minimum wage jobs produce. So while they get a bigger paycheck, the purchasing power of the money they make decreases. So to me its like you are constantly chasing your tail.
In fact I would be curious if raising the minimum wage would actually hurt the middle class. Folks who are in this class probably will not see an immediate raise in pay, thus hurting their purchasing power as well because of the increase in product and service cost.
I would like to see a world where at the bottom a person does not have to work 2 jobs to afford housing. I think that should be a goal. However, I am not sure that you can do this through wage manipulation.
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Oculus Spirit [83017]
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Because JFK and LBJ had balls, and because they had
Dec 17, 2013, 5:45 PM
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balls many Dems from the South joined GOP. Elder is ignorant as he ignores the success stories and focuses on the negative only.
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