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Obama Demands Minimum Wage While Denying Minimum Education
Townhall.com ^ | September 11, 2014 | John Ransom

Posted on 09/11/2014 7:16:12 AM PDT by Kaslin

There’s good news folks.

Obama finally has an employment policy that works. Apparently, if you cross the border from Mexico illegally, the chances of you finding and keeping a job rise considerably.

At least in California.

“Immigrants comprise more than one-third of California’s labor force (35%),” writes the California Immigrant Policy Center wrote in a report released in September. “They ?gure prominently in the agriculture, manufacturing, and repair and personal service industries. The undocumented in particular comprise a large share of the labor force in these industries as they represent 9% of the total state’s workforce. The undocumented alone comprise 38% of the agriculture industry and 14% of the construction industry.”

The unemployment statistics tell a very different story for the African American community both nationally and in California. As of September, the unemployment rate for black young adults aged 18-34 was 17.8% nationally. The unemployment rate for their Hispanic peers—the population that no doubt comprises the biggest numbers of people here illegally-- was 9.2% nationally. Overall California “enjoys” unemployment that is about 21% higher than the rest of the country, while African Americans “enjoy” unemployment that is about 86% higher than the rest of the country. While the employment numbers in California can’t be compared directly to the rest of the country on a one-for-one basis, it’s safe to assume that black young adult unemployment in California approaches 40%. Whether it's approached from the short end in the high 30% range or the long end in the high 40% range is really the only question.

So I’m left wondering why Democrats aren’t suggesting that black teens cross the border unaccompanied by adults. Because that policy seems to be working out for the youngsters that Obama has encouraged to come to the United States illegally, at great expense to the U.S.

Of course a better policy might be to use those resources that Obama has been using to pander to the Hispanic community for another election cycle—postponing action on immigration to keep Hispanics in thrall to him-- on real programs that create jobs.

Like a non-program that enforces immigration laws.

Or how about this? Let’s get the K-12 education system providing the same results for African Americans that is does for white and Asian children. Let’s use vouchers so that blacks can have access to the same type of education that Obama’s kids get, or the same type of education that Colorado Senator Michael Bennet had when he grew up. Bennet went to the prestigious St. Albans School, inside the Beltway, a school that the largely African American community in Washington, D.C. can’t afford.

Anymore.

Bennet’s family could afford it because his father was a diplomat. Government service sure has been rewarding for a long, long time.

But if you are a regular resident of D.C.—residents who are mostly African American-- you don’t get the perks generally associated with Washington service.

Obama, you might remember, killed the D.C. program that gave vouchers to families making less than $23,000 per year to spend at any one of more than 50 private schools in the D.C. area. These schools generally cost less than public schools per pupil and generally got better academic results. It cost about the government $12 million per year out of a budget of around half a billion dollars to provide vouchers in a D.C. school system that is a blight on the nation.

Obama says he wants a minimum wage increase. But why is he giving people a minimal education by trapping them in failed public schools? Education, they type provided by the D.C. voucher program, is the true key to increasing wages. 

And the disparity between Hispanic employment and African American employment is the most pressing symptom of an education system that has left the African American community behind at a time that more people worldwide are moving out of poverty because of free market mechanisms.

It’s ironic that the progressive party, the party that admires so much of the rest of the world, is trying the hardest to deny to their most loyal constituents the same benefits that Chinese Communists and Indian Hindus are embracing.

Because in the real world, not the one Obama occupies, I’m thinking that graduates from St. Albans have slightly better chance of getting and retaining employment than illegal immigrants do today.

It’s too bad African Americans don’t have the same chance.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: africanamerican; blackunemployment; illegalimmigration; jobs

1 posted on 09/11/2014 7:16:13 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Ransom has bought into the myth of putting rotten students into better schools will make them great students. There already are plenty of resources for black parents to get their children into non-public schools.( Read Robert Weissburg’s “Bad Students, Not Bad Schools.”) Most don’t want them. Putting them into charter or private schools won’t do a d..n thing for them except make life miserable for the other students by their presence.


2 posted on 09/11/2014 7:30:47 AM PDT by driftless2 (For long term happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: Kaslin

Oh no! Mistake number 1...you assumed Obozo knows something about economics!


3 posted on 09/11/2014 7:31:13 AM PDT by econjack (I'm not bossy...I just know what you should be doing.)
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To: Kaslin

Education to a child is like water to a horse.

You can lead them to it. But you can’t make them learn.


4 posted on 09/11/2014 7:49:35 AM PDT by rfreedom4u (Your feelings don't trump my free speech!)
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To: driftless2

The Bell Curve come into play here.

While some will benefit form better schools (i.e. the 100+ IQ) the 80 IQ which is the mean of the distribution will not.

In our “non discriminatory” world we dumb everyone down to 80 IQ levels.


5 posted on 09/11/2014 7:54:39 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (To the left, everything must evidence that this or that strand of leftist theory is true)
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To: Kaslin

“Or how about this? Let’s get the K-12 education system providing the same results for African Americans that is does for white and Asian children.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Now that’s what I call aiming low. What happened to shoot for the moon even if you hit the dirt? How about having universities provide what used to be an eighth grade education and then work up from there? If we could ever reach the point where a high school diploma represents a REAL high school education again there would be no need for about ninety percent of the universities, the rest could go back to real educating of those who have the ability to do that level of study rather than calling someone who is the equivalent of a 1950 sixth grade dropout a college graduate.


6 posted on 09/11/2014 8:44:18 AM PDT by RipSawyer (OPM is the religion of the sheeple.)
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To: Ouderkirk

“In our “non discriminatory” world we dumb everyone down to 80 IQ levels.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

You may have erred there...to the upside.


7 posted on 09/11/2014 8:46:16 AM PDT by RipSawyer (OPM is the religion of the sheeple.)
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To: econjack

You haven’t read many of the author’s columns if any, have you?


8 posted on 09/11/2014 8:56:43 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Kaslin

Meanwhile, hypocrite leftist David Letterman wants slaves (interns) to work for him for NO PAY. What a fraud.


9 posted on 09/11/2014 9:01:46 AM PDT by Dr. Thorne ("Don't be afraid. Just believe." - Mark 5:36)
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To: Kaslin

The governor in my state (WA) said the other day that the reason our schools are under funded is that the minimum wage is too low. Not enough of that minimum wage is making it to retail to create tax revenues.

He did that with a straight face too.


10 posted on 09/11/2014 9:06:47 AM PDT by llevrok (Straight. Since 1950.)
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To: llevrok

He’s an ignorant liberal so that doesn’t surprise me one bit


11 posted on 09/11/2014 9:24:13 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Dr. Thorne

Hypocrite is right, but then all liberals are hypocrites


12 posted on 09/11/2014 9:25:41 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Kaslin

I guess my point was to subtle. I’m saying: Regardless of how acute the suggestion is, he wouldn’t know a good proposal if it bit him in the ass.


13 posted on 09/11/2014 11:02:10 AM PDT by econjack (I'm not bossy...I just know what you should be doing.)
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To: Kaslin

Immigrants in California comprise more than one third of the labor force.

Another reason to flee California.


14 posted on 09/12/2014 8:09:00 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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