I sure wish I had it as easy as Obama! Oh, if only I were Black! Maybe then I could be successful, too!
The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly, with only a slight pause during the economic peak of the late 1990's. In 2000, 65 percent of black male high school dropouts in their 20's were jobless — that is, unable to find work, not seeking it or incarcerated. By 2004, the share had grown to 72 percent, compared with 34 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts. Even when high school graduates were included, half of black men in their 20's were jobless in 2004, up from 46 percent in 2000.
¶Incarceration rates climbed in the 1990's and reached historic highs in the past few years. In 1995, 16 percent of black men in their 20's who did not attend college were in jail or prison; by 2004, 21 percent were incarcerated. By their mid-30's, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had spent time in prison.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/national/20blackmen.html?_r=1&oref=sloginBlack people earn 62% of what white people earn.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/newsflash_060705_ssNow, to be fair:
Women earn 77% of what men earn.
http://www.diversityjobs.com/income_gap_between_men_and_women_narrows_as_another_gap_widensWe have had two black governors in U.S. history and three black senators since Reconstruction.
We currently have eight women governors and sixteen women senators.
We have a whole lot more white male governors and white male senators.
My point? Neither black men nor white women have it easy, and both Obama and Clinton deserve credit for rising above obstacles. But I'm sorry, Geraldine, you don't get a pass on saying Obama is where he is because he's black. And no, I'm not attacking you because you're white. :crazy:
And Senator Clinton, how could you have let her go on for another news cycle before you said you disagreed with her remarks? You're not trying to pull a good cop/bad cop routine, are you?
Edited because I had a fact wrong. (Switched from one draft to another and lost what I was saying.)
Edited again to say the income gap between black and white men narrows considerably with education. By 2004, black men with masters degrees make 95% of what white men with masters degrees make, and black men with doctorates slightly outearn white men with doctorates. It isn't the sort of advantage that propels mediocrity to the top.