[Stoat]

I heard a caller into a radio show one time saying employers often don’t want of hire minorities b/c if the worker messes up they can’t be fired. Why would anyone want to hire someone that they can’t fire if the person ends up being a bad employee? Affirmative action is racists and as most liberal ideas generates the exact opposite of its stated intent (Jim Quinn, 104.7)

I understand that the sentiments you express are extremely common among employers, and are entirely justified.  Such situations interfere with the natural market processes of Capitalism and end up hurting all concerned.

[RobbyS]

Let’s not try to make capitalism as a purely meritocraic process. Family and other connections help even Yale graduates get a leg up on the competition. Thomas doesn’t mention this, but his lack of any such connection probably hurt him as much as the downplaying of his degree. He was fortunate in that Danforth was taken with him. IAC, Richard Nixon had a similar experience. When he graduated from Duke Law School , no New York firm offered him a job despite his excellent record. Too bad: he would have made an excellent corporate lawyer. His background was almost as deprived as Thomas’.