Shay Reily of BookerRising comments on a recent article in the New York Times that suggests that the plight of African-American men has worsened despite the gains of other groups:
“Let us not forget the how-not-to-be-poor-in-America formula put forth by black libertarian economist Walter Williams: graduate from high school, don’t have children before marriage, stay away from drugs, stay out of jail, and have a decent work ethic. While it is mentioned, what I don’t see enough in this article is much more discussion of bad life choices made by some black men - and more specifically, by their parents - that are responsible for their predicament in the first place.” (more frm Shay)
Thanks for citing that Times article. It is an eye-popper.
It is hard to see what, if anything, can be done to halt this slide into the abyss. How can we change the mores of a group who doesn’t recognize personal responsibility. How can we break into a mindset that is constantly excused by the mainstream.
Of course Walter Williams is correct. Unfortunately, the current lost generation has never heard of him.
The current “lost generation” doesn’t need to hear of him. There are many others around who can lead the way.
Despite the warnings of myself, other friends, and family, a person I know dropped out of high school. He wound up in jail. He’s now out and doing much better, but him reading Walter Williams wouldn’t mean jack.
I think the headline for this post says it all: Plight or Bad Choices? It’s obvious that the answer is the latter. Since this problem is so endemic to the Black community (similar to alcoholism in the Native American population), is it time to look at some race-specific solutions? I’m not a big fan of seeking solutions from the government (which are usually very expensive and usually exacerbate the very problems that they seek to address), but something must be done before we have a Black Underclass that no program or any amount of money can address… OR have we already reached that point?
I think that some of it is bad choices. But a lot of it is that all of the low-wage jobs in NYC are controlled by immigrants. If a new position opens up the manager tells them to go gt their cousin, a friend or someone they know and a help wanted sign never goes up and no ad never goes out and they don’t even have applications to give out. Go int one restaurant and they are all Afghanis, the next they are all Colombians, etc.
So it is hard for many black, and white, men to get in. Now, if that male has a record or other problems then the problems just becomes much more severe.
If you do not believe me start walking around and asking for applications, as I have, in places in Manhattan and Brooklyn and look at the crazy looks that people give you.
Jesus is the answer.
Free will of individuals will continue to allow individuals, even those who are saved, to make bad choices.