Jesse Jackson was on NBC News “Meet the Press” recently and made one of his trademark idiotic statements —“Apartheid remains” in America. Apartheid is a government policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. But on closer examination — unbeknownst to Jackson, he got it about right.
Jackson went on to say “Apartheid gaps in poverty and healthcare and education. We’re in the middle of the end of the apartheid struggle even now —it’s just changing phases.” Indeed blacks are segregated and discriminated on in America —just not quite in the sense that the reverend contends.
The first thing one must understand before attempting to digest anything that Jackson, Sharpton, and the rest of the race pimps might say is that in their narrow world —everything centers around race. Without racism, or at least the perception of racism, those reverends who foment division along racial lines would merely be obscure preachers.
The point that Jackson has (even though it wasn’t his point) is that the American government has been, and continues to be responsible for much of the despair within the black community. Perhaps it would be beneficial to discuss the three areas that Jackson contends still is influenced by apartheid.
1. Poverty. Uneducated blacks do live in poverty. The reality is that without education or job skills, there is nothing that can lift one out of poverty. Another factor that exacerbates black poverty is the fact that blacks are loath to move out of their neighborhoods to secure employment. Logic dictates that one must go to where the jobs are – not stay in a location where the jobs aren’t. Also, many blacks have no interest in taking an entry level job in order to start gaining experience which would allow them to advance to a better job and a better income.
2. Healthcare. The level of healthcare ties in with poverty, in that the poor must depend on Medicaid to pay for their medical needs. Medicaid is not designed as a good diagnostic program — it is designed to provide payment for medical care for current illnesses. So we are back to the lack of education and job skills. If one can command a reasonably decent job, one can expect employer provided medical insurance which will offer disease prevention as well as ongoing medical care for acute medical problems.
3. Education. The federal government has pumped, and continues to pump billions of dollars into failing public schools. There is absolutely no correlation between federal dollars spent and the quality of education obtained. That fact has been validated over and over but still the liberal logic is “if we just spend more money.” No liberal can ever tell you exactly how much more money is needed —just spend more.
Now what Jackson didn’t and won’t ever tell anyone.
1. The federal government keeps blacks in poverty by encouraging a lifestyle of living off the public dole. There are no programs which provide any incentives to work, but one can lose a portion of their public assistance income if they do work. The nationwide average of welfare (as a broad term) income is around $30,000.00 a year. People who have little education and no technical skills cannot earn more than they will receive for doing absolutely nothing. So doing nothing becomes their vocation.
2. The federal government devised, implemented, and now under Obamacare, is expanding the Medicaid Program. Being poor isn’t race specific —a poor white person will receive the same government health program as a poor black person. No discrimination there —unfortunately it is just the penalty one pays for being poor.
3. In predominately black schools, the quality of education is typically poor at best. But Jackson and his ne’er-do-well cohorts scream like banshees when anyone suggests school vouchers. When one is in bed with the teacher’s unions, one is not going to let a lack of learning environment dictate decisions. And poor blacks must send their kids to educational cesspools designed for holding the throwaways of society. Federal dollars have to continue to flow to these drug filled schools and unfortunately, the parents will always vote for people who reject the idea of their kids going to a place where they might learn.
And the racism drumbeat goes on!
Have a good week. Bill Shuey is a freelance writer from North Carolina.
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