‘Economic Affirmative Action’ Won’t Work
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/economic-affirmative-action-wont-work-class-ahead-of-merit-legally-defensible-but-counterproductive-b7622630
Jason Riley:
History suggests that ending racial favoritism won’t doom black advancement, because black advancement has never been contingent on racial favoritism. In 1940 nearly 90% of black families lived in poverty. By 1960 the share had fallen to less than half. Census data show that during this period blacks increased their years of schooling at a faster pace than whites, that the share of blacks attending college doubled, and that the proportion of blacks entering skilled professions more than doubled. None of this progress can be attributed to Great Society interventions or race preferences for blacks, because those things didn’t yet exist.
Liberals largely ignore this history of blacks lifting themselves out of poverty and instead push a narrative that attributes black progress to affirmative action and other forms of government benevolence. Racial preferences have resulted in other people taking credit for black achievement. Although these policies have done little if anything to help the black poor, they’ve done a great deal to help Democrats secure the black vote—which is one reason liberals are eager for new forms of racial favoritism.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/economic-affirmative-action-wont-work-class-ahead-of-merit-legally-defensible-but-counterproductive-b7622630
Jason Riley:
History suggests that ending racial favoritism won’t doom black advancement, because black advancement has never been contingent on racial favoritism. In 1940 nearly 90% of black families lived in poverty. By 1960 the share had fallen to less than half. Census data show that during this period blacks increased their years of schooling at a faster pace than whites, that the share of blacks attending college doubled, and that the proportion of blacks entering skilled professions more than doubled. None of this progress can be attributed to Great Society interventions or race preferences for blacks, because those things didn’t yet exist.
Liberals largely ignore this history of blacks lifting themselves out of poverty and instead push a narrative that attributes black progress to affirmative action and other forms of government benevolence. Racial preferences have resulted in other people taking credit for black achievement. Although these policies have done little if anything to help the black poor, they’ve done a great deal to help Democrats secure the black vote—which is one reason liberals are eager for new forms of racial favoritism.