WHAT DOES CREATED EQUAL MEAN?

I hear many politicians pandering to minorities by claiming it’s not fair that they, as a race or minority group, are not more successful.

I do not agree with this statement for the following reasons, and more, please bear with me.

I believe the phrase, “ALL MEN (let’s not start a new topic- the phrase is referring to all members of the human race) ARE CREATED EQUAL” is simply stating that everybody must be treated equally by the government and the private sector. It should be unacceptable for legislation to be passed that gives any social, political or racial group an unfair advantage over another. I hope nobody reading this paragraph disagrees- if so please comment.

The “reason” some politicians provide for passing legislation giving minority businesses unfair advantages is usually, “Minorities are not as successful as whites.”

My answer to that statement is, “There are as many reasons for failure as there are for success.” When I say that I am likely to add, “And those politicians are ignoring important reasons.” Another appropriate response is that many minority citizens are more successful than many Whites.

I am a white man born in the suburbs- so I must be successful, right? I am happy with my situation, but I have had my share of disappointments’ and had to work hard for everything I’ve earned.

I was passed over for numerous promotions and sought-after positions by male whites as well as females, Hispanics and younger officers. I earned a Master’s Degree in 2005 because the chief, at that time, had declared officers seeking promotions would greatly enhance their potential by doing so. I retired fifteen years later as a patrol officer (The same position I held for my 29 years at that department).

Just to be clear, when I earned my Master’s Degree my ex-wife and I were raising 7 children on a very limited budget. My “study time” was limited to nights after the kids were put to bed, or when my wife was not working. My ex was supportive, but it did put additional strains on an already strained relationship. Somehow the “silver spoon” of whiteness did not benefit me as the press and the pandering politicians say is the case.

One of my closest friends at that department, who was Black, said to me after more than one of my disappointments, “If you were Black I’d give you my lawyer’s card, but he only handles minority cases.”

Statista (https://www.statista.com) shows the poverty rate for the population as a whole is 11.6%, the rate for Blacks is 19.5% and for non-Hispanic Whites is at 8.1%. The article I found did not give a rate for Hispanics but did note that the rate for Hispanics and Blacks is more than double that of Whites. So, statistically, Whites are more successful than minorities.

What then, do I think, are some of the reasons that minorities are not as successful as Whites?

I contend that difference is not due to prejudice, or unfair legislation. The only “unfair legislation” is discriminatory against Whites, I cite the fact that many cities have “Enterprise Inclusion Programs” (Or similar programs with different names) designed to help minorities. How can you help minorities without hurting Whites?” On the same topic I ask, “Why are Asian Americans the least likely class to fall below the poverty line- 10% vs. 13% overall as of a 2019 poll (https//wwwpewresearch.org>key-…). Are Asians immune to prejudice, or is there no prejudice in play?

If there is no prejudice what is the cause? I believe the difference in monetary success, as with most problems, is the result of many factors. Factors, as I wrote above, that are ignored.

SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES:

How can any politician get away with saying they are trying to solve the problem of inequality of income/outcome and not address this issue? On August first of 2022 The Annie E Casey Foundation published an article (https.//www.aecf.org>blog) that noted 30% of single parent households live below the poverty level while 6% of married households are in that same situation.

A chart distributed by Statista (10/05/2022 https://www.statista.com) shows single parent households from 1940 to 2014. White households that were below the poverty level held near 0% from 1940 to 1960 and rose to around 10% in 1980. The category was changed to Non-Hispanic Whites in 1980, under that heading the percentage of families below the poverty level rose to 30% in 2010 and stayed level through 2014 (The latest year covered in the Statista article). Non-Whites were at 15 to 20% from 1940 to 1955 and then rose to 20 to 25% in the ten years between 1955 and 1965. From 1965 to 1970 the rate increased rapidly to 40%. The rate continued to increase as 70% of the Black/Non-White single parent families were living below the poverty level by 2014.

GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE:

I know politicians want to be liked. I feel like, because of this, they have a hard time pointing out the obvious if the obvious shows that potential voters are messing up (Poor due to failure to seek employment, single parent household…). Something we, as voters, should make abundantly clear to the politicians in both parties is that we believe our tax dollars should be spent wisely. If a program is not working, it should no longer be funded! If a program is not successful, it should be re-evaluated and changed or eliminated.

The numbers I provided in the previous paragraph made me wonder what, if anything, caused this rapid increase of poverty in minority single parent families. I had a hunch it was related to the “War on Poverty,” the unofficial name given to legislation first introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson January 8th 1964. As retired police officer I don’t believe in coincidences, and I believe it is at least worth mentioning that the incidence of minority single parent household poverty skyrocketed after the war on poverty was implemented. I’m not throwing stones, I’m just saying if the program is costing trillions, and isn’t working, perhaps a different path would be beneficial.

Ron Haskins wrote an article I found in The Brookings Institute (brookings.edu-) Blog. Haskins reports that in 2012 there were about 46.5 million people in poverty. The government, unsuccessfully, spent about $1 trillion on “means tested” programs to solve the “Poverty problem” that year. Haskins discovered that the amount the government spent is the equivalent of $22,000 per person suffering in poverty. Additionally, he notes that the poverty level in 2013 was below $20,000/person. The article then quips that the government could have solved the problem by just giving money to the people they were trying to help. Haskins rightly points out that giving money to able-bodied unemployed would not only upset the taxpayers, but also encourage minimum wage workers to quit their jobs in favor of the free money.

I feel that it’s time we call the government to task. Throwing $1 trillion at an unsuccessful solution is unacceptable! I hope everyone reading this is shaking their heads YES! If the war on poverty is not successful, why are we still funding it?

Haskins suggests that instead of looking to the government to solve the problem we should focus our attention on three factors that are directly linked to poverty and are under the control of individual Americans- education, family composition, and work. I disagree with him about the education, that is controlled by local government- but we can hold them accountable

I believe it is our duty as taxpayers/citizens to know where our tax dollars are going and to raise our voices in opposition to any waste of our money. If our voices are not heard it is our duty to vote those who are not acting responsibly out of office.

Haskins advises that the U.S. education system ranks near the middle of the pack in international testing. He adds that achievement testing over the last 10 years shows a growing gap between children from poor and wealthier families. Maybe, some of that trillion dollars we are throwing away on “means tested” poverty programs could be diverted, you know, like some people want to do with the police budgets.

Family composition is covered in the Haskins article, and he points out, as I did previously, that a child born in a single parent environment is five times more likely to live below the poverty level as an adult.

As far as education goes, I would like to add my concern about sex education and critical race theory being brought into schools when they are failing to successfully teach the basics. I don’t want my grade school aged grandchildren to be taught the state’s view of sex (what is acceptable) or CRT particularly when the schools are unable to teach history, english and math

The problem of “nonwork” is also covered by Haskins. He calls it “The surest route to poverty.” That’s hard to argue with. Haskins cites statistics that show the poverty rate among full-time workers is 2.9% as compared to the poverty rate of 16.6% among those working less than full-time and about 24% for those who don’t work.

EFFORT:

I recently went to work at a high school. I am amazed at the large number of students who are out of class more than in it. It brought back memories some of the “mess-ups” I went to school with who seldom attended school, seldom studied and, in truth, put forth no effort. How many of those who are struggling are doing so because they want the easy way out. Did they come from a welfare family, learn the lifestyle and repeat it? Remember that the Haskins article revealed that a child raised on welfare is 5 times more likely to live below the poverty level as an adult.

I worked in a county jail for 6 years prior to getting my patrol job. While I was there, I was welcomed into the world of “YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS!” One of my assignments in the jail was to work booking/intake. At this assignment I would ask incoming inmates questions pertaining to work and career to help the judge later determine a reasonable bond amount. I asked several able bodied (I know because some of the questions referred to their physical condition) men in their 20’s and beyond what their occupation was. They would often respond nothing. I would follow up, “What was the last job you held?” The answer was often that they had never worked. I was dumfounded the first time I heard that response. How can you hit 20, 30, 40 years old and beyond without ever working?

I held a job as a regional manager of a window washing concern prior to testing for my corrections job. One of my first Fridays on the job we were inundated with job applicants. After 2 or 3 terrible interviews I went to another manager in the break room and said, “How are you doing? I haven’t had an applicant that is interested in working yet today.” He responded, “Oh, this is your first late month Friday! I doubt you’ll find any keepers today. It’s the end of the month. The government just wants them to show proof they are looking for jobs. I got one guy who comes in at the end of every month. He asks for me ’cause we know each other. I don’t waste his time he doesn’t waste mine. He comes in, I give him the form. Badda bing, badda boom!”

STATISTICS LIE:

Remember the Mark Twain quote, “There’s lies, damn lies and statistics…” Yes, most of the wealth in the U.S. is held by Whites. Does that mean I’m rich, unfortunately- NO! Does that mean all Whites are rich, NO! Do these pandering politicians leave the impression all Whites are rich, YES!

Why?

Because then they can make bogus claims about helping Blacks, Mexicans, Cubans…. with enterprise inclusion programs.

How can laws giving an unknown Black applicant priority over an unknown White applicant be deemed as anything other than prejudicial?

How can college admission protocols that screen out White or Asian applicants after an arbitrary number has been reached be acceptable?

A large percentage of the wealth in America is held by Whites. Not mentioned by the politicians is the fact that many other Whites are living paycheck to paycheck. Many other Whites will go hungry tonight. Many other Whites lost their businesses during the pandemic due to government overreach.

I believe our country was founded on the backs of brave pioneers who risked their lives to create the ideal place for anyone to live. In order to keep that country all of us who have been plundering the fruits of those brave souls are now being called to protect our freedoms.

We are a nation of individuals who are held together by our constitution and our laws. If we allow any of our God given rights to be infringed upon we have opened the gateway to lose them all.

WHAT DOES CREATED EQUAL MEAN? As it was written it means all people have an equal opportunity to succeed. Lately some politicians have attempted to change the meaning to all people have a right to an equal outcome.

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