Democrats put Blacks in the Back of the Bus
The supporters of legalization for millions of illegal aliens have effectively admitted that the unread bill they support will severely damage the financial situation of low-skilled -- read minority -- youth in America.
Those who support the bill that's being ramrodded through the Senate seem quite content to put blacks in the back of the economic bus; an economic bus already rendered hostile by the collapse of the American economy under Obama.
By adding a new Title V to the bill that provides $1,500,000,000 over the next two years to provide "jobs" for Americans between the ages of 16 to 24, the bills' supporters are admitting that the bill will hurt young workers, especially minorities. Of course these are not real jobs like those found at McDonalds or any other company where the job actually produces a profit and provides a stepping-stone to better jobs in the future. Instead these will be government makework jobs designed to hide the impact of the immigration bill.
Currently the unemployment rate for black Americans is 13.5%, vs. 6.7% for whites, but the rate for black teens is 42.6%, vs. 21.6% for whites. It's clear that the Obama economy has had a very disparate impact on blacks. This is in large part due to the much lower skill levels of blacks than whites.
While 94.4% of whites finish High School only 88.1% of blacks do. Similarly while 39.2% of whites have at least a Bachelors degree only 20.1% of blacks do. There are many theories as to why this gap exists but a likely cause is the horrible state of public education in the inner cities where Democrat politicians and teachers unions work together with little concern for the children they're supposed to serve.
Irrespective of the reason for the horrible black unemployment situation, opponents of the unread immigration bill have pointed out for months that legalizing millions of low-skilled workers who will compete primarily with black Americans for jobs will have a devastating impact on black employment.
Until now those who think that America needs millions of low-skill, lawbreaking, non-English speaking workers more than it needs the English-speaking, law-abiding, and skilled immigrants who are waiting for legal admission to the U.S. have either ignored or rejected concerns about any possible impacts on existing minority Americans their immigration bill may cause.
But by including Title V they've tacitly admitted that yes, blacks will be devastated by this sudden influx of people who will be willing to work in worse conditions and for less pay than blacks.
Given that the whole immigration bill is really just a political ploy -- we know that if illegals were going to vote Republican there would be no huge push for legalizing millions of low skilled workers -- black Americans might want to rethink their political loyalties.
Republicans have favored school choice for decades. Giving inner city black parents the ability to choose where their children go to school would force the corrupt public education cabals to compete with private schools which have a proven track record of educating inner city blacks. Yet Democrats fight tooth and nail to prevent poor blacks from having a chance at a good education.
Republicans have favored tax breaks for companies that create jobs in the inner city, the sort of jobs that provide the first economic step out of the ghetto, while Democrats have consistently opposed such plans. If Democrats really cared about blacks they'd be for any plan that would help blacks be all they can be. Democrat intransigence may be rooted in the belief by Democrats that if blacks weren't dependent on government handouts they'd be less likely to vote for the welfare party.
Republicans oppose gay marriage, a moral position shared by the majority of blacks, due to their deeply held religious beliefs. Yet President Obama and the Democrat party basically told blacks they didn't care what blacks think by rabidly supporting same-sex marriage.
And now conservative Republicans oppose legalizing millions of lawbreaking illegals while liberals are ecstatic about the prospect of more cheap gardeners. Clearly, given Obama's inaction in the face of obscenely high black unemployment and his support of legalizing a huge pool of people to compete with blacks for jobs, Democrats really don't care about the economic plight of blacks in America.
While America needs immigration reform, rewarding those who break our laws just because Democrats think those lawbreakers will vote Democrat without worrying about the impact of all of these new Americans on black Americans is a clear example of putting party ahead of country.
Instead of trying to woo Hispanics by legalizing millions of welfare-seeking Democrat voters, Republicans should use the Democrats blatant disregard of issues critical to the black community to bring blacks back to the party of Lincoln.
Unlike liberals, conservatives believe that blacks can make it on their own if they weren't hobbled with government paternalism and grossly inadequate educational and economic opportunities. Conservatives know that blacks need a hand not a handout.
Republican support for the current immigration bill will not only not result in Hispanics switching to the Republican party but it will give black Americans no reason to switch to the Republican party even in the face of the Democrats' clear disrespect for black Americans.
Republicans need to offer a vision of immigration reform that does not involve crushing black Americans and that prevents the exploitation of illegal aliens. In doing so they can force the Democrats to make it even more obvious that Democrats take the black vote for granted. Such plans exist but not in the unread bill liberals are trying to push through the Senate.
You can read more of tom's rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious and feel free to follow him on Twitter