Quote:
|
Originally Posted by loquitur
Wrong. The growth of the black middle class was as a result of the civil rights laws.... People in the black middle class didn't get there because of AFDC.
|
The black middle class grew as a result of both the civil rights laws and social safety net programs.
Children who do not go to school hungry (through food stamp/nutrition programs) or have access to early leaning programs (like Head Start) or a better living environment (through housing assistance programs) are more likely to learn and succeed.
Sgle mothers who are given assistance (through AFDC/TANF) while they (and many young unemployed black males) learn a skill (through CETA and other federal job training programs) are far more likely to succeed.
Medicaid had a dramatic impact on the health of millions of children and families living in poverty. Medicare has significantly improved the quality of life for millions of seniors.
Quote:
|
As for why blacks are more likely to work in govt jobs, I would guess there are a lot of interesting sociological explanations for it. But that doesn't make govt employment into a social program - or are you suggesting that govt work isn't real work, or that black civil servants somehow aren't earning their pay?
|
I raised the issue of blacks in goverment jobs because you suggessted that government work wasnt real work:
Governments don't create jobs. Not real ones, anyway....(#77)
Quote:
The lesson of the last 40 years that I'm talking about is the huge increase of crime and virtual destruction of the intact urban black family as a result of disincentivizing fatherhood (as distinct from breeding and leaving) and work. The link of the Great Society programs with the social dysfunction of the 70s and 80s was pretty well documented...
I wrote about it here; go have a read
|
It is a matter of perspective...you appear to focus on the negative outcomes of the Great Society programs...I acknowledged that there were abuses and unintended consquences...however, those who benefited far outweigh those negative outcomes.
I have read many analyses of the social progams and their impacts on the poor, working class, and seniors... and based on what I read here, I think you minimize the substantial positive benefits of those programs.
I would encourge you to read some of the work of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (particularly Eleanor Holmes Norton, the current congresswoman for DC.) and the Urban and Brooking Institutes.
And I will read your analysis when I have time.