GOP austerity program will disproportionately impact Blacks and Latinos

[^_^ 5,021]

The GOP austerity program will ratchet down the standard of living for all working Americans, and ratchet up the racial economic divide.

• While the unemployment rate for Blacks and Latinos remains at Depression levels, Republicans consistently block meaningful job creation proposals. The official unemployment rate is 15.8 percent among Blacks and 13 percent among Latinos as of December 2010. The White unemployment rate is 8.5 percent.4 Including discouraged and under-employed workers would push these unemployment numbers up significantly.

Despite these facts, the GOP’s Congressional leadership has consistently opposed broad based stimulus and public job creation programs that have the best projected economic returns. While their stance hurts millions of unemployed and under-employed Americans, they drag down Black and Latino workers the farthest and fastest.

• With fewer assets to fall back on in hard times, Black and Latino families rely more heavily on unemployment insurance, Social Security and public assistance in times of need. For example, a new analysis shows that well over half of older Blacks (59.1 percent) and Latinos (64.8 percent) depend on Social Security for more than 80 percent of their family income, as compared to only 46 percent of Whites. Republican opposition to these programs pushes people of color who are struggling — and other low-wealth households — further down the economic ladder.

• Blacks will be disproportionately affected by the attack on public sector workers. New analysis in this report shows Blacks are 30 percent more likely than the overall workforce to work in public sector jobs as teachers, social workers, bus drivers, public health inspectors and other valuable roles, and they are 70 percent as likely to work for the federal government. Public sector jobs have also provided Black and Latino workers better opportunities for professional advancement. The GOP hostility toward government and government employees will, if translated into policy, have a devastating effect on Black and Latino workers, while eroding our nation’s capacity to carry out the important work of the public sector.

• Republican tax breaks disproportionately flow into the hands of high-income and high-wealth Whites. The recent income tax extension heavily favors Whites, who are three times as likely as Blacks and 4.6 times as likely as Latinos to have annual incomes in excess of $250,000, according to original analysis in this report.8 In the short term, the extension of Bush-era income tax cuts for households earning $250,000 or more per year deprives the federal government of the necessary revenue to create jobs and revive the economy. In the longer term, these cuts will do even greater harm by widening racial income and wealth divides.

• The Republican tax cut agenda rewards wealth for those who already have it, and limits opportunity for those who do not. Recent efforts to weaken the estate tax will help to ensure that the wealth inequalities of generations past are carried forward indefinitely. Additionally, the preferential treatment of capital gains and dividend income

further exacerbates the racial wealth divide by rewarding wealthy Whites with dramatically lower tax rates. Original analysis provided in this report shows that Blacks earn only 13 cents and Latinos earn eight cents for every dollar that Whites receive in dividend income. Similarly, Blacks have 12 cents and Latinos have 10 cents of unrealized capital gains for each dollar that Whites have.

http://www.faireconomy.org/files/State_of_the_Dream_2011.pdf

Edited January 17, 2011 by \

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I have to wonder about the validity of the author's "facts". Around here, the only ones working are the Latinos. Blacks and Latinos are two divergent groups, in so many ways.

[^_^ 5,021]

I have to wonder about the validity of the author's "facts".

The study has citations. Check them out.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The study has citations. Check them out.

You pulled that out of that pdf, or from somebody citing that pdf?

[^_^ 5,021]

You pulled that out of that pdf, or from somebody citing that pdf?

The pdf has cites, as all studies do. They are in the usual location. Feel free to check them out.

[james&olya 1,121]

The GOP austerity program will ratchet down the standard of living for all working Americans, and ratchet up the racial economic divide.

I think it is a mistake to see this primarily through a racial lens. The policies of the republican party will, in the end, benefit a very tiny percentage of the population. Even many now that think they are upper middle class will get hurt! The saying that 'a rising tide lifts all boats' presupposes a strong force that seeks leveling. The republican policies seek to eliminate those forces that tend to level the playing field. We are already seeing the results. The only people now benefitting from an improved economy are the top 2%. The middle class is going to start shrinking and it won't be because any significant number of them are moving up! The fortunes of the middle class depend more on the working class than on the fortunes of the plutocracy! It won't matter what color you are, unless you are in the very elite group at the top you will get scrxwed!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The pdf has cites, as all studies do. They are in the usual location. Feel free to check them out.

I looked there. I could not find what you posted in the pdf, so I assume either you posted from the body of a very long biased study, or from an article citing the study. Either way, it really doesn't matter much. Most of the 100 "cites" in the usual location are just as suspect as the study is, or I suppose whatever the original OP article is. It's a hit piece, after all, to incite black folks to action, and liberal white folks to donate more money to defeat the evil Republicans for not supporting a nebulous job program that was never introduced during the first two years of the Obama administration.

[^_^ 5,021]

I could not find what you posted in the pdf ...

It's right there in the beginning.

[luckytxn 2,265]

I looked there. I could not find what you posted in the pdf, so I assume either you posted from the body of a very long biased study, or from an article citing the study. Either way, it really doesn't matter much. Most of the 100 "cites" in the usual location are just as suspect as the study is, or I suppose whatever the original OP article is. It's a hit piece, after all, to incite black folks to action, and liberal white folks to donate more money to defeat the evil Republicans for not supporting a nebulous job program that was never introduced during the first two years of the Obama administration.

Definitely. It is the same old scare tactics and laying the groundwork so they can scream racism as usual. Minorities and the poor votes are paid for and they do not want that to change that.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It's right there in the beginning.

My eyes must be failing me then.

[^_^ 5,021]

My eyes must be failing me then.

Yes, they are. Look at pages ii and iii of the Executive Summary.

[alienlovechild 75]

The GOP austerity program will ratchet down the standard of living for all working Americans, and ratchet up the racial economic divide.

• While the unemployment rate for Blacks and Latinos remains at Depression levels, Republicans consistently block meaningful job creation proposals. The official unemployment rate is 15.8 percent among Blacks and 13 percent among Latinos as of December 2010. The White unemployment rate is 8.5 percent.4 Including discouraged and under-employed workers would push these unemployment numbers up significantly.

Despite these facts, the GOP’s Congressional leadership has consistently opposed broad based stimulus and public job creation programs that have the best projected economic returns. While their stance hurts millions of unemployed and under-employed Americans, they drag down Black and Latino workers the farthest and fastest.

Why should the GOP care more about unemployment rates among minorities than the Obama Administration which been a disaster for minorities and the young?

The previous job stimulus didn't work for any group as billed period that's why is unpopular to back another major job stimulus bill.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Yes, they are. Look at pages ii and iii of the Executive Summary.

Here we go. This is what I was looking for.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons decreased by 556,000 to 14.5 million

in December, and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent. Over

the year, these measures were down from 15.2 million and 9.9 percent,

respectively. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men

(9.4 percent) and whites (8.5 percent) declined in December. The un-

employment rates for adult women (8.1 percent), teenagers (25.4 per-

cent), blacks (15.8 percent), and Hispanics (13.0 percent) showed

little change. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.2 percent, not

seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In December, the number of job losers and persons who completed tem-

porary jobs dropped by 548,000 to 8.9 million. The number of long-

term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little

changed at 6.4 million and accounted for 44.3 percent of the unem-

ployed. (See tables A-11 and A-12.)

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

We need to get these kids working. Who is going to pay my social security?

[Danno 1,228]

While it is always more fun to focus on skin color, lets run the numbers again but this time lets just use two factors of choice, and watch how much less skin hue means.

-Education and unwed mothers.

[mawilson 2,133]

• Blacks will be disproportionately affected by the attack on public sector workers.

That's true. Whenever you visit the DMV, the post-office or any other government

offices, you always see fat black ladies who wouldn't last a day in the private sector.

The only reason they have a job is because the government doesn't discriminate on

the basis of raceincompetence.