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A Liberal Solution To Black Unemployment

March 25, 2010

Raynard Jackson

Every time I try to give radical, Black, liberals the benefit of the doubt when it comes to doing what’s in the best interest of our own community, I am saddened to conclude that I doubt that there is any benefit.

They claim to represent the Black community, but yet at every turn they undermine the very people they are supposed to be helping. If white people did to us what we are doing to ourselves, there would be a great uproar throughout the country.

The national unemployment rate is 9.7 %, but within the Black community it is 16.5% (12.6% for Hispanics). The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has implored the president to create more job training and small business programs for the minority community. Barbara Lee, chairman of the CBC, stated, “This is a deplorable situation. The facts speak for themselves, and we have to make sure the unemployment rate is addressed throughout the country—and to address the gap. We are saying, for communities of color, we have to look at job training so the gap is closed and look at ways to address systemic unemployment.”

The CBC has joined forces with groups like the NAACP and the National Urban League to deal with this issue. Last month, Obama met privately with NAACP president, Ben Jealous, Urban League president, Marc Morial, and Al Sharpton. No one from the CBC was invited. Their absence spoke volumes!
All Blacks should have been insulted that these people were the ones chosen by Obama to talk with him about job creation within the Black community. None of these people or organizations has any knowledge about job creation or economics. This was a cynical political move by the White House to silence the criticism of Obama within the Black community.

So, what is the radical, Black, liberal solution to Black unemployment? They support amnesty for those in the country illegally. These illegals suppress wages and eliminate Blacks from low skilled jobs they would otherwise get. If illegals were removed from the equation, then wages would rise and low skilled people would be better able to support themselves. But, they can’t compete with illegals who are willing to work for 70% less than the market rate wage.

So, let me make sure I understand the liberal argument. Black are disproportionally impacted my high unemployment, so they want to inject 20 million more people into the job market by giving amnesty to those who are here illegally, thereby making the high Black unemployment even higher! WOW, ok, now this makes sense. All in the name of building coalitions with the Latino community, we are willing to sacrifice our own people. How can you feed your neighbor, if your own kids haven’t eaten? Yes, this is a zero sum game!

Last week, the Washington Post newspaper did a very insightful article about this topic. According to Vernon Briggs, a professor emeritus of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, “the issue of job competition remains. What we have got here is people using immigration as a political issue to unite certain segments of the population, regardless of the economic and labor market impact. In my view, African American workers are the most adversely affected of all groups, but many legal immigrants in the Hispanic community are also severely impacted because they are disproportionately in the low-skilled labor market where the illegal immigrants compete."

"This new generation of leaders (in the Hispanic community) recognize the need to build stronger coalitions," Morial said. "It is very important that the nation's communities of color do not simply see themselves as groups competing for crumbs."

Jealous, from the NAACP, said "There is a need for a floor for how all workers are treated." There is a need to ensure that nobody in this country can be forced to work in near-slavery-like conditions. So much of the black experience has been about us fighting over centuries to be part of this country, and for Latinos it's a similar story."

Are these guys crazy? They accuse Obama of not doing enough about Black unemployment, but yet they want to increase the number of people competing for a finite number of low skilled jobs? In the immortal words of George W. Bush, “this is fuzzy math.”

I could at least understand this cooperation if they had the good sense to extract some type of concession from the Latino community. For example, why won’t the Latino community speak out on the racist policy that allows Cubans (mostly white Cubans) to stay in the country based on the idiotic “wet foot, dry foot policy?” Simply put, the policy states that if a Cuban gets one foot on U.S. soil, then they are granted the chance to remain in the country and later would qualify for expedited legal permanent resident status and U.S. citizenship. Contrast that with people from Haiti who are summarily returned immediately to their country with no hope of getting an opportunity for citizenship.

How long will these so called Black leaders continue to sell out their own people and get nothing in return? Blacks must think strategically, not emotionally. It is totally idiotic to support a policy that will hurt the very people you claim to represent. I can no longer give these radical, Black, liberal individuals the benefit of the doubt because I doubt that there is any benefit.

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com).
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