Posted on 01/28/2019 12:40:53 PM PST by Kaslin
Seventy-one years ago this month -- in January 1948 -- a black, 17-year-old high school dropout left home. The last grade he had completed was the 9th grade. He had no skills, little experience, and not a lot of maturity. Yet he was able to find jobs to support himself, to a far greater extent than someone similar can find jobs today.
I know because I was that black 17-year-old. And, decades later, I did research on economic conditions back then.
Back in 1948, the unemployment rate for 17-year-old black males was just under 10 percent, and no higher than the unemployment rate among white male 17-year-olds.
How could that be, when we have for decades gotten used to seeing unemployment rates for teenage males that have been some multiple of what it was then -- and with black teenage unemployment often twice as high, or higher, than white teenage unemployment?
Many people automatically assume that racism explains the large difference in unemployment rates between black and white teenagers today. Was there no racism in 1948? No sane person who was alive in 1948 could believe that. Racism was worse -- and of course there was no Civil Rights Act of 1964 then.
How then could there be this low unemployment rate, with virtually no racial difference? Racism is despicable. But that tells us nothing about what weight it has -- compared to other factors -- as a cause of particular social problems such as unemployment.
Perhaps the most widely condemned racism in the second half of the 20th century was that in South Africa under apartheid, when an openly racist government proclaimed white supremacy, and denied blacks basic human rights. Yet, even under such a regime, there were particular occupations in which black workers outnumbered white workers -- even though it was illegal to hire any blacks at all in those particular occupations. Economics carried weight, even in South Africa under apartheid.
In the United States, what was unusual about 1948 was that, for all practical purposes, there was no minimum wage law in effect. There was a minimum wage law on the books. But it was passed in 1938, and a decade of high inflation had raised money wages, for even low-level jobs, above that minimum wage.
Among the effects of a minimum wage law, when it is effective, is that many unskilled and inexperienced workers are priced out of a job, when employers do not find them worth what the law specifies. Another effect of a minimum wage law is that it can lead to a chronic surplus of job applicants.
When an employer has 40 qualified applicants for 20 jobs, it costs the employer nothing to refuse to hire 10 qualified black applicants. But if he has no more than 20 qualified applicants, that is a different ball game.
The point here is that economic factors carry weight, and sometimes, under some conditions, those economic factors carry more weight than racism. Even in South Africa under apartheid.
In the United States, as the minimum wage rate specified in the law began to be raised, beginning in the 1950s, so as to catch up with inflation and then keep up with inflation, the minimum wage law became effective in practice once again -- and a racial gap in unemployment rates opened up and expanded.
As a black teenager, I was lucky enough to be looking for jobs when the minimum wage law was rendered ineffective by inflation. I was also lucky enough to have gone through New York schools at a time when they still had high educational standards.
Decades later, when examining the math textbook used by some young relatives of mine, who were living where I grew up in Harlem, I discovered that the math they were being taught in the 11th grade was less than what I had been taught in the 9th grade.
The opportunities open to my young relatives in Harlem -- and to other young blacks elsewhere -- were not nearly as good as the opportunities open to me back in 1948.
Many of the seemingly compassionate policies promoted by the progressives in later years -- whether in economics or in education -- have had outcomes the opposite of what was expected. One of the tragedies of our times is that so many people judge by rhetoric, rather than by results.
Thomas Sowell ping
Adding to what he states so well:
Women in the work force went from something you did to gain luxuries in 1948, to becoming the norm. Families were making more; demand went up; prices rose. These women add more bodies to the pool of workers.
In the latter half of the time discussed, unchecked illegals have taken over the role as cheap, or entry level workers.
In other words, the higher the FedGov raises the minimum wage, the fewer entry level jobs there will be.
Especially for minorities.
It’s as if the FedGov is doing this on purpose.
To be honest I can not blame the businesses for cutting the hours.
When Dr. Sowell passes away we ought to declare a national holiday.
My pleasure, jaz
That’s a great idea. He sure is a national treasure
Minimum wages helped send jobs offshore to China and such, where nobody over here cares how little they paid.
He has a great intellect, even though not all his theories are equally plausible. But how helpful it would be if we had entire colleges of people of such intellect. They could then debate and hammer out something considerably more solid than the opinion of one man.
Thanks Kaslin for pinging jaz. Thanks for the ping jaz, appreciate it.
Love seeing Dr. Sowell writing again. He’s had several recently, and what a joy to read his works.
I am pretty sure you do not wish to celebrate the passing of Dr. Sowell.
Some could interpret your suggestion that way.
Dr. Sowell is a national treasure.
All said is true. There is also the factor of motivation and expectation.
In S Atlanta my grandson’s school does not expect anyone to learn. But they are all expected to go to college. Most parents are college educated. Butg. nthese days you can get a college degree without needing to know anything.
Also in S Atlanta some people are money hungry. Rather than do something illegal these uneducated money hungry people flip houses and are making more than I am.
I do not make more money because I am not money hungry.
Motivation and expectations are as important as education.
bkmk
In 1972 I worked at a furniture mfg in Orlando FL. for the minimum wage of $2.10 hr.
I was 20, single, and shared a 2 bedroom apt. For $150 a month split 2 ways.
Key points:
To make more money, after I had proved myself, I asked to be trained in one of the piecework jobs. I was good at it and busted my butt. Nice increase in income.
Even at minimum wage I was able to support myself. Because the government had not yet destroyed certain consumer markets.
I paid $9 every 2 weeks for health insurance
Decent beer was 99¢ a six. I paid 35¢ a pack for cigs. (quit them in 1978)
I paid 33¢ a gallon for gas and drove a 3 year old Datsun 510 with 25K miles that I bought for $1050 & got 25 mpg - no A/C.
I made my lunch every day for work. Breakfast at home every day. Do I need to mention the cost of food at the grocery store? Pretty cheap relative to my wages with careful shopping.
I worked 5 to 10 hours a week of over time. Business was good at that time, but OT was voluntary & I took all they would give me.
I had no debt to service and I still saved a few bucks every week. Even got laid on rare occasions LOL
Try to do that today on minimum wage or higher. It’s the government’s fault that you can’t.
A big reason health insurance was low was the fact that some coverage was a la carte and not mandated by the government.
A single 20 yo man didn’t have to pay for mental health coverage, nor did he have to pay for maternity coverage. Drugs were part of the policy deductible. When they began the low copay for drugs, premiums had to go up.
Before maternity coverage was mandatory for all policy holders my BIL paid $300 cash for the delivery room fee on his first kid. 2 years later and maternity coverage was mandatory, the cash cost for his next kid was $1600.
“Perhaps the most widely condemned racism in the second half of the 20th century was that in South Africa under apartheid, when an openly racist government proclaimed white supremacy, and denied blacks basic human rights.”
And yet many blacks from other African nations, nations governed by black officials, were streaming to apartheid South Africa to live.
Translation please.
FMCDH(BITS)
Ideal socialism is a paper tiger. Unfortunately, real socialism really is a tiger.
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