Black Male Unemployment up to 72% -College Education a Must!!!

[muckraker10021]

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The Danger Zone</font>
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<b>by Bob Herbert

March 15th 2007</b>

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/opinion/15herbert.html

The national unemployment rate came in at 4.5 percent last week and was generally characterized as pretty good. But whatever universe those numbers came from, it was not the universe that black men live in.

Black American males inhabit a universe in which joblessness is frequently the norm, where the idea of getting up each morning and going off to work can seem stranger to a lot of men than the dream of hitting the lottery, where the dignity that comes from supporting oneself and one's family has too often been replaced by a numbing sense of hopelessness.

What I'm talking about is extreme joblessness -- joblessness that is coursing through communities and being passed from one generation to another, like a deadly virus.

Forget, for a moment, the official unemployment numbers. They understate the problem of joblessness for all groups. Far more telling is the actual percentage of people in a given segment of the working-age population that is jobless.

Black men who graduate from a four-year college do reasonably well in terms of employment, compared with other ethnic groups. But most black men do not go to college. In big cities, more than half do not even finish high school.

Their employment histories are gruesome. Over the past few years, the percentage of black male high school graduates in their 20s who were jobless (including those who abandoned all efforts to find a job) has ranged from well over a third to roughly 50 percent. Those are the kinds of statistics you get during a depression.

For dropouts, the rates of joblessness are staggering. For black males who left high school without a diploma, the real jobless rate at various times over the past few years has ranged from 59 percent to a breathtaking 72 percent.

''Seventy-two percent jobless!'' said Senator Charles Schumer, chairman of Congress's Joint Economic Committee, which held a hearing last week on joblessness among black men. ''This compares to 29 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts.''

Senator Schumer described the problem of black male unemployment as ''profound, persistent and perplexing.''

Jobless rates at such sky-high levels don't just destroy lives, they destroy entire communities. They breed all manner of antisocial behavior, including violent crime. One of the main reasons there are so few black marriages is that there are so many black men who are financially incapable of supporting a family.

''These numbers should generate a sense of national alarm,'' said Senator Schumer.

They haven't. However much this epidemic of joblessness may hurt, very little is being done about it. According to the Labor Department, only 97,000 new jobs were created in February. That's not even enough to accommodate new entrants to the work force.

And then there's the question of who's getting the new jobs. According to statistics compiled by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, the only groups that have experienced a growth in jobs since the last recession are older workers and immigrants.

People can howl all they want about how well the economy is doing. The simple truth is that millions of ordinary American workers are in an employment bind. Steady jobs with good benefits are going the way of Ozzie and Harriet. Young workers, especially, are hurting, which diminishes the prospects for the American family. And blacks, particularly black males, are in a deep danger zone.

Instead of addressing this issue constructively, government officials have responded by eviscerating programs that were designed to move young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the labor market.

Robert Carmona, president of Strive, an organization that helps build job skills, told Senator Schumer's committee, ''What we've seen over the last several years is a deliberate disinvestment in programs that do work.''

What's needed are massive programs of job training and job creation, and a sustained national effort to bolster the education backgrounds of disadvantaged youngsters. So far there has been no political will to do any of that.

You get lip service. But when you walk into the neighborhoods and talk to the young people, you find that very little, if anything, is being done. Which is why the real-world employment environment has become so horrendous for so many.


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[QueEx]

This is the kind of article you hate to say thank you for posting. Nevertheless, thank you for the unfortunate, depressing and painful truth - bearing the bad news that must be told. In replying to the article, I was selecting passages to highlight here -- but I suddelly realized that I had selected damn near the entire article.

QueEx

 

[JanktheFixer]

We have to start by taking responsibility.

 

[Thick Johnson]

many muthafux are stuck fucked
cause even when they get a job
the job wont be shit but money 2
get back and forth to work and a
few meals in this day and age.

Tell me that aint discouraging.

Shit is serious out here aint too
many street level loop holes like
open air drug markets. Alot of
petty hustles are dead now.

Some went back to pimpin hoes
cause pussy will always generate
dollars.

Many mothathafuckas are looking stupid right about now.

 

[Greed]

Jobless Rate: A Look Behind African American, Hispanic Youth Unemployment Rates

7 hours ago | Also Featured in National News Politics

When the Bureau of Labor statistics released its monthly jobs report in September, the memo didn’t come with an explanation as to why 18-29 year old African Americans and Hispanics had double-digit unemployment.

But when asked what are the causes of African American youth unemployment at 22.4 percent and 13.7 percent for Hispanics, two experts on labor and economics expressed two different views.

Paul Conway, the president of Generation Opportunity, a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to educating and mobilizing 18-29 year olds on the close and long-term economic challenges facing the United States, focused on education reform and graduation rates.

“One of the issues that goes on a lot of times is directly related to education and graduation rates,” Conway said in light of his experience with working on welfare reform.

“That’s a major, major issue in both of these communities,” he continued.

Conway, who served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Labor in the 2000s, explained that many high school graduates who do go on to trade school or college but lack large professional networks could have a negative impact on the unemployment numbers.

“If they don’t have large peer groups, or professionals they can tap into or work with closely,” he said, then that too can have an impact on the unemployment numbers.

Additionally, what often is missing from youth in these two demographics are “leadership examples — examples that people can draw from,” he argued.

Conway noted that while the official non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 22.4 percent for African American ages 18-29, if that number included all the people in that demographic not in the labor force–165,000–then the unemployment rate would be higher at 24.3 percent.

Likewise, if the total number of Hispanics not counted in the labor force–331,000 for the month of August–were included in the unemployment statistic, then the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would rise from 13.7 percent for Hispanics ages 18-29 to 17.5 percent.

Whites ages 18-29 had a lower unemployment rate (10.9 percent) than both Hispanics and African Americans the same age, but when all 1,294,000 out of the labor force are factored into the unemployment figure, then the unemployment figure rises to 15 percent.

Conway noted that its important to look at the underlying factors behind those unemployment numbers, and not just focus on creating a better business environment, but to focus on equipping people “to be able to realize the full extent of their abilities and make access to opportunity,” which he says can be done through education and reform of the education system.

“You cannot have high drop out rates and not have high levels of people choosing not to finish school and hope to have great progress made getting people into the workforce,” he said.

The former Chief of Staff to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao also said that in places where school choice–giving parents the ability to choose which charter or magnet schools their children can attend–is blocked by political opposition, the outcome of that is “paid for by the students themselves.”

Employment Policies Institute economist Michael Saltsman, who has done academic work in labor economics, noted that the unemployment rate for “true youth” not ages 18-29 but ages 16-19 is much higher than the former group’s rate.

According to BLS, the unemployment rate for Hispanics ages 16-19 is 29 percent, and the unemployment rate for African Americans ages 16-19 is 38.8 percent.

“Employment for young adults is affected by labor cost increases like the minimum wage,” Saltsman said.

In his study, which didn’t address the 16-19 age range or the 18-29 range but the 16-24 range, Saltsman said that he and a few other economists focused on those people who may be coming to the workforce with less skills, may have less education, or may have been a high school dropout.

What they found is that the minimum wage had a higher impact on black young adult males than it has on either white or hispanic males.

“Their bottom line result was that each 10 percent increase in the federal or state minimum wage decreases employment for black males by 6.5 percent. That’s compared to 2.5 percent for white males and 1.2 percent for Hispanic males,” he said.

And while the minimum wage plays a role in unemployment, Saltsman says it is “by no means a determining role.”

Additionally, his study, which uses over 20 years of government data, found that African Americans males ages 16-24 were more likely to be paid closer to the minimum wage.

“Over 27 percent were paid closer to the minimum wage,” he says of the findings in his study. He added that Hispanic males were the least likely to be paid closer to the minimum wage.

“Their number was closer to 19 percent,” he said.

Because African American youth are more likely to be paid closer to the minimum wage, they were more likely to be affected by the rule.

Saltman’s study found that a third of black males in this age group were getting employment in places like eating and drinking establishments, and another 10 percent were working in grocery stores, all jobs likely to pay closer to the minimum wage.

Hispanic youth, on the other hand, tend to work in construction. But because construction wages were above the minimum wage, Hispanics were less likely to be effected.

http://politic365.com/2012/10/05/jo...n-american-hispanic-youth-unemployment-rates/

 

[QueEx]

Interesting. There appears to be a "race" component involved here as much as any other cause. When whites are excluded (assuming, arguendo, that they're getting a better education) the differences between black youth and hispanic youth, regardless of the age group sampled, does not appear to be simply education-related.

The last few lines in the story above tend to offer service industry v. construction industry employment as a reason for some of the disparities between blacks and hispanics being paid closer to the legal rate (minimum wage), but why the disparity between blacks and hispanics in the rate of employement at all levels ??? I didn't get from the article that such was a mere function of education.

Also, if we somehow adjust for education, would the rate of employment disparity between whites on one hand and blacks and hispanics onthe other even out? - if not, why not? Wouldn't that not suggest there are "racial reasons" behind the disparities ???

 

[muckraker10021]

Has anything changed in the last 7 years???
<blockquote><span style="background-color:yellow"><b>

White men with prison records receive far more offers for entry-level jobs in New York City than black men with identical records, and are offered jobs just as often - if not more so - than black men who have never been arrested, according to a new study by two Princeton professors.</b></span>
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/nyregion/17felons.html?_r=0
</blockquote>


Entry level jobs are exactly what the name implies; the ability to get your foot in the door of an employer. We have all heard about the "Horatio Alger" stories of people who started out in a corporations mail-room (entry level) and wound up being CEO of the company. If Black men with no criminal records are being denied entry level jobs due to a preference for white men with criminal records then the catastrophic Black male unemployment numbers will persist. Long term unemployment fosters criminality, which breeds violence and death as individuals fight over the same turf. Look at Chicago where bullets and dead Black male bodies are piling-up in the Black community. President Obama who comes from Chicago has not said a word about this deadly carnage. He has not designated anyone from his administration to be his proxy and attempt to deal with what's going on in Chicago. Obama's former chief-of-staff Rahm is the mayor of Chicago; what type of federal assistance is he asking for?? Where are the community leaders and Black elected officials; Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Sr., Farrakhan, etc. Poor education K thru 12, & lack of entry level jobs for Black males, will continue to exacerbate this situation which is not unique to Chicago.

 

[Naha-Nago]

Will read.


*two cents*

 

[RepostKing]

black men need to live their life like they are a black man and not a white women. You can't do the same shit and get away with like get caught with a pocket book full of coke and not spend one day in jail.

Stop aiming for entry fucking jobs thinking you're going to work your way up to the top. Only for blonds with big tits


Before you make a decision think to yourself will this get me arrested. If not proceed.

If you're studying some shit first find out if the shit makes any fucking money. Dont cop a job as a bus driver in New York then wonder why you're always broke. 65 to 75k aint shit in New York if you're living alone paying child support

Speaking of child support you aint gonna get it...you just pay it, so if you cant afford kids then dont make one or two or three. I'm 40 with no kids, not cuz my dick dont work its because I dont want to have to work because of my dick!

 

[Greed]

Interesting. There appears to be a "race" component involved here as much as any other cause. When whites are excluded (assuming, arguendo, that they're getting a better education) the differences between black youth and hispanic youth, regardless of the age group sampled, does not appear to be simply education-related.

You'll get no argument from me. White people are racist, and as long as black people have to rely on white people for jobs because the black economic situation is shit, then expect black people to continually be hired last. That's if they decide to apply.

The last few lines in the story above tend to offer service industry v. construction industry employment as a reason for some of the disparities between blacks and hispanics being paid closer to the legal rate (minimum wage), but why the disparity between blacks and hispanics in the rate of employement at all levels ??? I didn't get from the article that such was a mere function of education.

I could guess it's cultural. Some people with no jobs think some jobs are beneath them. I see tons of black women, hispanics, and non-black males working at McDonalds.

Other factors are similar to what I stated above where blacks have to beg for jobs from whites. This link is about black construction workers marching to demand city construction work being done in their own neighborhoods.

http://www.wbez.org/news/labor/black-chicagoans-rally-demand-construction-jobs-102776

Of course, they voted for Daley and Emanuel with no questions asked, so as far as I'm concerned this is the most obvious result in the world.

Also, if we somehow adjust for education, would the rate of employment disparity between whites on one hand and blacks and hispanics onthe other even out? - if not, why not? Wouldn't that not suggest there are "racial reasons" behind the disparities ???

I think it will even out on a lag. Blacks catching up in education would precede the resultant image change for black men held by non-blacks, which, as I stated above matters because non-blacks are generally the hirers of blacks.

So the size of that lag is probably massive. Just like it would be a long timeframe for black men to catch-up educationally.

 

[Greed]

Entry level jobs are exactly what the name implies; the ability to get your foot in the door of an employer. We have all heard about the "Horatio Alger" stories of people who started out in a corporations mail-room (entry level) and wound up being CEO of the company. If Black men with no criminal records are being denied entry level jobs due to a preference for white men with criminal records then the catastrophic Black male unemployment numbers will persist. Long term unemployment fosters criminality, which breeds violence and death as individuals fight over the same turf. Look at Chicago where bullets and dead Black male bodies are piling-up in the Black community. President Obama who comes from Chicago has not said a word about this deadly carnage. He has not designated anyone from his administration to be his proxy and attempt to deal with what's going on in Chicago. Obama's former chief-of-staff Rahm is the mayor of Chicago; what type of federal assistance is he asking for?? Where are the community leaders and Black elected officials; Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Sr., Farrakhan, etc. Poor education K thru 12, & lack of entry level jobs for Black males, will continue to exacerbate this situation which is not unique to Chicago.
[/size][/color]

Well muck, here's the choice I think people like you need to make. What's more important in an entry level position, the opportunity or the pay?

People see young black men as a risk. White middle class teenagers are just as skill-less, but when faced with having to pay a white or black teen a minimum wage of $9/hour, which is more than either one is truly worth, employers fall back on their biases.

You can think it's not a function of the wage level and that's fine, but I think if you let employers discount the perceived risk of hiring someone young and low-income then they will do just that.

Which goes back to my question of what's more important the opportunity or the pay.

 

[Greed]

black men need to live their life like they are a black man and not a white women. You can't do the same shit and get away with like get caught with a pocket book full of coke and not spend one day in jail.

Stop aiming for entry fucking jobs thinking you're going to work your way up to the top. Only for blonds with big tits


Before you make a decision think to yourself will this get me arrested. If not proceed.

If you're studying some shit first find out if the shit makes any fucking money. Dont cop a job as a bus driver in New York then wonder why you're always broke. 65 to 75k aint shit in New York if you're living alone paying child support

Speaking of child support you aint gonna get it...you just pay it, so if you cant afford kids then dont make one or two or three. I'm 40 with no kids, not cuz my dick dont work its because I dont want to have to work because of my dick!

There are different paths in life for different people. When people in this thread talk about entry-level positions we are talking about entry-level into the workforce itself, not just a company.

White kids seem to have the option of getting their first taste of work 16 and up, maybe younger. Black men aren't getting their first until 20 and up. Why should anyone have to wait just to get their first bottom of the totem pole position.

I hope you aren't telling the young men in your life to "Stop aiming for entry fucking jobs" because they won't advance since that's for white women.

Anyway, not doing stupid shit with drugs and avoiding kids you can't afford is good advice and will naturally come about in people with economic opportunity.

 

[Greed]

'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

A minimum wage just creates desperate people.

He's practically begging you to stop making work illegal.


'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

By Mitch Smith and Rosemary R. Sobol
Tribune reporters
6:18 p.m. CST, December 2, 2012

After officers arrested Jerry Warren Jr. on suspicion of committing a Wicker Park robbery Saturday, the soon-to-be-22-year-old said he only wanted some birthday money, authorities said today.

His plan didn’t work. Warren, who police say netted a whopping $4 in the robbery, was ordered held Sunday on $125,000 bond. He will have to post $12,500--3,125 times more than he’s accused of stealing--to leave jail.

Warren, of the 2700 block of West Maypole Avenue, is suspected of robbing a 29-year-old woman Saturday in the 1800 block of West Ellen Street about 8 p.m. Saturday. After demanding money and being told that she had none, Warren made off with $4, according to a police report.

A description of the robbery suspect was broadcast to officers, and Warren was detained walking nearby. The victim, who was treated and released for blunt trauma, identified Warren as the robber, prosecutors said.

As the 21-year-old was placed in custody, Warren told officers he had been unsuccessful finding a job and just wanted some money before his Dec. 19 birthday, according to a report.

"I just wanted money for my birthday!" Warren told officers, according to a report. "I’m looking for work and can’t find any! Please! I don’t want to go to jail for $4!"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...tells-cops-20121202,0,3064719.story?track=rss

 

[Greed]

Young men, minorities worse off in hunt for college degrees: study

Young men, minorities worse off in hunt for college degrees: study
By Susan Heavey | Reuters – 12 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wide racial and gender gaps persist among young Americans when it comes to earning a college degree and getting a job, according to fresh data from a 14-year government survey released on Friday.

The study of about 9,000 25-year-olds - part of the so-called "millennial generation" - found 30 percent of such young women in the United States had earned a bachelor's degree compared to 22 percent of men.

Those women who had at least a bachelor's degree were more likely to be employed than similarly educated men and spend less time out of work, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

"In general, from ages 22 to 25, individuals with more education held more jobs, worked more weeks, and were less likely to be out of the labor force," the statistics agency said.

Sociology professor Thomas DiPrete, co-director of Columbia University's Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality, said the data highlights a worrying gender gap when it comes to college education, with men slipping behind.

While the study, which began in 1997, did not track wages, "the pattern is quite obvious that the higher educated are doing much better," said DiPrete, who analyzed other data from the BLS's long-term survey in his forthcoming book, "The Rise of Women."

The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, also found large educational differences by race.

At age 25, blacks and Hispanics were twice as likely as whites to be high school dropouts, while whites were more than twice as likely to have earned a bachelor's degree, the survey showed.

While 30 percent of whites had graduated from college by their mid-20's, only 14 percent of blacks and 12 percent of Hispanics had done so, it found.

That gap translated to a wide disparity for employment, especially among those with the least education, the agency said. White high school drop-outs were still more likely to spend more weeks employed than racial minorities, it found.

For example, white dropouts spent 28 percent of their weeks between the ages of 22 and 25 out of work compared to black dropouts, who were unemployed for 42 percent of that time, according to the agency.

Its snapshot echoes other data that show more education has helped buffer young Americans from the effects of the recent 2007-2009 recession that ended just as many "millennials" were entering the workforce.

A Pew Charitable Trusts study released last month found that the rocky economy hit many youth hard but college graduates saw their employment stabilize more quickly.

"Having a college degree buffered those young adults in the labor market," said Diana Elliott, a researcher at the Pew's Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility Project.

http://news.yahoo.com/young-men-minorities-worse-off-hunt-college-degrees-202308645.html

 

[QueEx]

Re: 'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

A minimum wage just creates desperate people.

He's practically begging you to stop making work illegal.

There you go again.

Yesterday, reading T.O.'s mind.

Today, reading the robber's mind.

 

[gene cisco]

Re: 'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

A minimum wage just creates desperate people.

He's practically begging you to stop making work illegal.


'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

By Mitch Smith and Rosemary R. Sobol
Tribune reporters
6:18 p.m. CST, December 2, 2012

After officers arrested Jerry Warren Jr. on suspicion of committing a Wicker Park robbery Saturday, the soon-to-be-22-year-old said he only wanted some birthday money, authorities said today.

His plan didn’t work. Warren, who police say netted a whopping $4 in the robbery, was ordered held Sunday on $125,000 bond. He will have to post $12,500--3,125 times more than he’s accused of stealing--to leave jail.

Warren, of the 2700 block of West Maypole Avenue, is suspected of robbing a 29-year-old woman Saturday in the 1800 block of West Ellen Street about 8 p.m. Saturday. After demanding money and being told that she had none, Warren made off with $4, according to a police report.

A description of the robbery suspect was broadcast to officers, and Warren was detained walking nearby. The victim, who was treated and released for blunt trauma, identified Warren as the robber, prosecutors said.

As the 21-year-old was placed in custody, Warren told officers he had been unsuccessful finding a job and just wanted some money before his Dec. 19 birthday, according to a report.

"I just wanted money for my birthday!" Warren told officers, according to a report. "I’m looking for work and can’t find any! Please! I don’t want to go to jail for $4!"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...tells-cops-20121202,0,3064719.story?track=rss

Bullshit. Plenty of work is out there, but these cats don't want to work hard for $9/hr. They expect to get $20/hr without any skills.

Here in Cleveland we have temp services that will put you on any fucking day you want to work. Dope fiends live at those places because you only have to work the days you want to work. When I was younger, I knew cats that would only go to the daily temp agencies on Thursday and Friday. Why? So they could have club money for the weekend.

There are other temp agencies that will put you on in a factory or warehouse, but the jobs will require you to work for weeks or months at a time.

Cats just don't want the work(witnessed this from personal experience time and time again). They want skilled money without going to get the skills. And if you are that broke, the government will pay for you to get fucking skills.

 

[Greed]

Re: 'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

Bullshit. Plenty of work is out there, but these cats don't want to work hard for $9/hr. They expect to get $20/hr without any skills.

Here in Cleveland we have temp services that will put you on any fucking day you want to work. Dope fiends live at those places because you only have to work the days you want to work. When I was younger, I knew cats that would only go to the daily temp agencies on Thursday and Friday. Why? So they could have club money for the weekend.

There are other temp agencies that will put you on in a factory or warehouse, but the jobs will require you to work for weeks or months at a time.

Cats just don't want the work(witnessed this from personal experience time and time again). They want skilled money without going to get the skills. And if you are that broke, the government will pay for you to get fucking skills.

There are multiple dynamics at work and I acknowledged the one you mentioned earlier in the thread. However, I don't think poor young black males thinking they're too good for minimum wage is the dominant dynamic.

 

[Greed]

When Will Obama Address Black Unemployment?

When Will Obama Address Black Unemployment?
Clarence B. Jones
Posted: 07/08/2013 9:46 am

Thanks to the Doug Ross@Journal we are able to drill down deeper into our current "true unemployment." This includes, for example, part-timers seeking full-time work (also known as "U-6") that jumped to 14.3 percent, a six-month high.

"The Labor Force Participation Rate, has never been lower since the seventies -- the percentage of eligible workers who actually have a job -- has stubbornly remained under 64 percent since 2011." Against this background the "unemployment rate for African-Americans is a devastating 23.7 percent," for Hispanics 13.2 percent, women 11.6% and youth overall, 16.1%

The real largely untold story about our economy, however, is the magnitude of unemployment among African-American youth.

What a poignant political and historical irony that our nation's first elected African-American president would promote and sponsor a domestic political agenda that will facilitate one of the highest rates of unemployment in the African-American community, particularly among teenagers? This is exactly the probable consequence if the pending Immigration Bill passes in the House.

In a previous blog I wrote that high black unemployment is being "thrown under the bus" to satisfy the demands of the business community and the unprecedented lobbying money and efforts of Silicon Valley and other high tech businesses.

Where are the outraged voices of the labor movement and leaders in the African-American Community, aside from other voices of moral conscience? Does anybody care?

Thanks to Paul Solman of PBS Business Desk, in addition to Doug Ross's Journal, there is at least some media attention being directed at this serious problem:

"Job Rate For Poor Black Teen Dropout? Try 95%" (Paul Solman of PBS Business Desk)

Paul Solman: And how about kids that are not in school, what percentage of them ages 16 to 19 is not working now?

Andrew Sum: Over half. If you're a high school dropout you're talking about 30 percent working. Among high school grads who graduated from high school in the last three years -- we do a separate survey of them the fall after graduation -- 45 percent of them held a job, the lowest in the last 50 years we've been collecting this data. And to make it worse, of that 45 percent, only half of them were able to get a full-time job. Only one in five young high school grads, not in college, [is] working full-time.

Paul Solman: So, you mean, it's effectively an 80 percent underemployment rate?

Andrew Sum: Yes. And, if you happen to be a young black male, we're talking. Ninety percent are not working full-time.​

The analysis and comments of Paul Solman are independent from those in my previous blog about the likely consequences the passage of the pending Immigration Bill will have on high black unemployment, especially among black teenagers

Why does President Obama continue to get a "pass" or "get out of jail card" free on this issue?

Is this the way our nation plans to celebrate and commemorate, next month, the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's prophetic "I Have a Dream" speech at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC?

Thomas Jefferson said," I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever"

What say you, Mr. President? Is the impact of the pending Immigration Bill on high black unemployment your legislative response on behalf of the "Joshua Generation" to the Dream of the "Moses Generation"?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clarence-b-jones/when-will-obama-address-b_b_3560881.html

 

[MasterKey]

I've watched this article for some time. My 2 cents.


College education is a must? Why That gets you qualified for a job working for someone else. Most people who go to the colleges that prepare them to create there own jobs have already been given the rest of the lessons at home with the parents.

black males need to learn how to CREATE there own jobs. There are so many jobs that need people to do them. All you need is a laptop, and smart phone. You can get both for few hundred dollars. Khan Acadamy is free and you can brush up on whatever you need to learn.


A story about some people back in in Detroit lost there job back in 08. His dad was a barber who knew how to create his job. He asked his son what type of work was he doing in the plants. He was making some small widgets. He asked his son could the machine fit in his garage. He said yes. They went around and around till they found a similar, but older machine being sold. While that was going on he worked on pricing, how to sell them, how to get contracts. He got the machine working in his garage, and started making the widgets. A JOB WAS CREATED. A job can be created out of something you already know you just have to learn how to market it.

 

[QueEx]

Re: When Will Obama Address Black Unemployment?

What a poignant political and historical irony that our nation's first elected African-American president would promote and sponsor a domestic political agenda that will facilitate one of the highest rates of unemployment in the African-American community, particularly among teenagers? This is exactly the probable consequence if the pending Immigration Bill passes in the House.

I may have missed the factual analysis which makes the "probable result" predicted by the author. Did you see it ???

When Will Obama Address Black Unemployment?
Clarence B. Jones

Fair question. Seriously. But, I wish Mr. Jones had also offered-up what he proposed the President do. He was full of statistics and quotes, but no proposals I expect more than complaints and criticisms from someone of Mr. Jones' stature. I can appreciate his analysis of the problem, but I find it deficient when he fails to suggest solutions.

 

[Greed]

I've watched this article for some time. My 2 cents.


College education is a must? Why That gets you qualified for a job working for someone else. Most people who go to the colleges that prepare them to create there own jobs have already been given the rest of the lessons at home with the parents.

black males need to learn how to CREATE there own jobs. There are so many jobs that need people to do them. All you need is a laptop, and smart phone. You can get both for few hundred dollars. Khan Acadamy is free and you can brush up on whatever you need to learn.


A story about some people back in in Detroit lost there job back in 08. His dad was a barber who knew how to create his job. He asked his son what type of work was he doing in the plants. He was making some small widgets. He asked his son could the machine fit in his garage. He said yes. They went around and around till they found a similar, but older machine being sold. While that was going on he worked on pricing, how to sell them, how to get contracts. He got the machine working in his garage, and started making the widgets. A JOB WAS CREATED. A job can be created out of something you already know you just have to learn how to market it.

I don't think there is a black economic base ready to support such an initiative on a widespread scale.

 

[Greed]

Re: When Will Obama Address Black Unemployment?

I may have missed the factual analysis which makes the "probable result" predicted by the author. Did you see it ???

I didn't see it because it's considered a truism in the black community and America in general. You can always go through the threads from when Bush wanted to deliver amnesty. Borders and Limits. What should Blacks think about Immigration.

Those threads got into the analysis. Looking back, I find myself rejecting the entirety of my old position. I don't see a threat at all from amnesty. But it is a minority position within the black community and America.

Fair question. Seriously. But, I wish Mr. Jones had also offered-up what he proposed the President do. He was full of statistics and quotes, but no proposals I expect more than complaints and criticisms from someone of Mr. Jones' stature. I can appreciate his analysis of the problem, but I find it deficient when he fails to suggest solutions.

I'm not familiar with the guy, but his solution may be to get someone to care. The first step in solving the problem is getting people to acknowledge its a problem. Very few people are talking about black employment, in general, and virtually no one in power is talking about it and certainly not addressing it.

A victory at this point would be to get someone not black to care about the levels of black employment.

 

[MasterKey]

I don't think there is a black economic base ready to support such an initiative on a widespread scale.

Small things build up to large things with momentum behind them and proper awareness. For instance. If someone see's me with my business, they ask me how to get one going for what there interested in, I tell them and they tell 2 people.

 

[Greed]

Small things build up to large things with momentum behind them and proper awareness. For instance. If someone see's me with my business, they ask me how to get one going for what there interested in, I tell them and they tell 2 people.

I feel like that's been the model for the past few decades.

 

[MasterKey]

I feel like that's been the model for the past few decades.

It has been, but I don't think its working correctly. I got taught the game by a older white guy. I was doing some consulting work at his company and asked how he started. Over lunch he told me pretty much everything I needed to know. I have refined some of the things overtime, but the key thing he pointed out was that this was taught to him over years at the kitchen table, but the basics was what he taught me. I just think people have to want to do it.

 

[Greed]

It has been, but I don't think its working correctly. I got taught the game by a older white guy. I was doing some consulting work at his company and asked how he started. Over lunch he told me pretty much everything I needed to know. I have refined some of the things overtime, but the key thing he pointed out was that this was taught to him over years at the kitchen table, but the basics was what he taught me. I just think people have to want to do it.

I don't think black people have the luxury of the slow and steady approach. That's for the people who are already secure.

I think the black economic position requires some drastic changes in thought before the entrepreneurs in the community can rise. Namely a desire to buy black or have the family resources and black banks to provide capital.

I think we're a long way off from both.

 

[thoughtone]

Re: 'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

A minimum wage just creates desperate people.

He's practically begging you to stop making work illegal.


'I just wanted money for my birthday!' robbery suspect tells cops

By Mitch Smith and Rosemary R. Sobol
Tribune reporters
6:18 p.m. CST, December 2, 2012

After officers arrested Jerry Warren Jr. on suspicion of committing a Wicker Park robbery Saturday, the soon-to-be-22-year-old said he only wanted some birthday money, authorities said today.

His plan didn’t work. Warren, who police say netted a whopping $4 in the robbery, was ordered held Sunday on $125,000 bond. He will have to post $12,500--3,125 times more than he’s accused of stealing--to leave jail.

Warren, of the 2700 block of West Maypole Avenue, is suspected of robbing a 29-year-old woman Saturday in the 1800 block of West Ellen Street about 8 p.m. Saturday. After demanding money and being told that she had none, Warren made off with $4, according to a police report.

A description of the robbery suspect was broadcast to officers, and Warren was detained walking nearby. The victim, who was treated and released for blunt trauma, identified Warren as the robber, prosecutors said.

As the 21-year-old was placed in custody, Warren told officers he had been unsuccessful finding a job and just wanted some money before his Dec. 19 birthday, according to a report.

"I just wanted money for my birthday!" Warren told officers, according to a report. "I’m looking for work and can’t find any! Please! I don’t want to go to jail for $4!"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...tells-cops-20121202,0,3064719.story?track=rss

 

[Greed]

Single-sex schooling can empower black boys

Single-sex schooling can empower black boys
By Freeden Oeur, Special to CNN
updated 11:13 AM EDT, Fri October 18, 2013

(CNN) -- One of No Child Left Behind's controversial initiatives -- support for single-sex public schools and classes -- has come under heavy fire from critics. A common objection is that the programs are based on gender stereotypes: Boys need discipline and should be free to run around the classroom; girls require gentle care and can be trusted to sit still.

Is single-sex public education outdated and backward in this day and age?

Sociologist Michael Kimmel wrote in a CNN.com opinion column that single-sex classrooms in otherwise coeducational schools "segregate boys and girls."

It's a powerful statement. Segregation usually calls to mind racial segregation. In public schools today, black students remain considerably more segregated from white students compared with other racial and ethnic groups.

But does separating students along the gender line, as Kimmel claims, do more harm than good?

Separation is not always a form of segregation. Some single-sex schools can do more good than harm. For educators who are looking for a way to address the needs of black boys -- who lag behind their peers on a range of academic and social measures, according to research -- single-sex education is an important tool.

Instead of abandoning the option, educators and policymakers should learn from the promising work of some of the schools that serve young black men. An all-male public school can celebrate many different ways of being a young man, freeing students from a straitjacket notion of masculinity.

Take Urban Charter, a school that I researched for a year. (Urban Charter is a pseudonym. Federal guidelines require that its real name be kept confidential. This is a common practice for school-based research involving minors.) It's an all-boys high school in a large urban school district on the East Coast. It opened several years ago. Nearly all the boys there are African-American, and a large majority of their families are working-class or poor.

Opponents warn that single-sex schools reinforce gender stereotypes. It's a valid concern. Yet the teachers at Urban Charter actively fought stereotypes, not simply of boys but of black boys. The school staff was well aware of common stereotypes of their young men -- as, say, rappers and basketball players -- and so the school culture nurtured individual interests and passions. At weekly assemblies, the accomplishments of the mock trial team were celebrated alongside those of the basketball team. There was a thriving comic book and anime club, and nearly the entire school turned out for theater productions.

Critics also worry that all-boys schools promote a machismo culture and could alienate boys who are gay. Yet a schoolwide commitment to helping young men become gentlemen meant frequent lessons about respecting women and girls.

The unique gender composition did not itself make all the difference. The school administration knew this from the start. As the school's founder said, "you can make it all boys; you can separate the boys. That does nothing. Separation gives you an opportunity to work the boys. You've got to shun the whole boot camp mentality, disciplinary school mentality."

That opportunity was creating a pro-academic climate with small class sizes and a longer school day. A large budget and buy-in from parents and teachers also helped tremendously.

Urban Charter's accomplishments can't be denied. Since 2011, the school has a near-perfect graduation rate, and over 80% of the students have gone on to college. Nearly all the boys I interviewed said they didn't want to be anywhere else (and most had been unhappy when they enrolled). They frequently cited the number of caring teachers.

Research has shown that single-sex schools serving at-risk youth are likely successful for reasons other than simply separating kids by gender. Yet too often, opponents mischaracterize the claims made by those who support the schools. Certainly, there are many differences among boys and among girls. But parents should have the option to choose between single-sex programs and coeducational options. (The programs must be completely voluntary, in keeping with 2006 Department of Education guidelines.)

To be sure, proponents haven't always helped their own cause. Some have mistakenly used biological sex differences to justify educating boys and girls separately.

But Urban Charter, for example, didn't tout those differences at all. The school instead cited very real, troubling and enduring differences in academic outcomes (performance in school, graduation rates) and social outcomes (exposure to drugs and violence, the likelihood of being incarcerated) between black boys and their peers.

Let's stop saying that single-sex public education is a form of segregation; it can empowering. And African-American boys are among those who could benefit the most.

Editor's note: Freeden Oeur is an assistant professor in the department of education at Tufts University.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/18/opinion/oeur-same-sex-education/index.html?hpt=op_t1

 

[bububang]

..............

 

[QueEx]

Why Don’t We Raise More Hell About Unemployment?

​

by Imara Jones
Wednesday, June 11 2014

We’re halfway through 2014 which means that it’s a good time to ask “Just where are we on jobs?” Sparking the conversation is the fact that last Friday the Department of Labor released its sixth jobs report of the year.

The jobs number is the most important piece of economic data for the overwhelming majority of Americans, especially people of color who rely more on work than on wealth to make ends meet.

Though at first glance the news appears to be generally positive, the reality is that the numbers reveal a jobs machine in shambles. Despite 51 months of job gains, the economy is short 20 to 30 million jobs of where the country needs to be in order to make a difference in the lives of most. When multiplied by the number of family members who depend on household breadwinners, this means that there are as many as one out of three Americans who are losing ground because of the pitiful state of the labor market.

But this crisis seems to be missing something that its scale would indicate is needed: a sense of national urgency about the dire state of unemployment. Although headlines continue to be dominated by Bowe Bergdahl, Bridgegate, Benghazi and Beyoncé, what’s key is the fact that half of all Americans are on the precipice of economic calamity because of a lack of national attention to jobs.

Out of the 10 million Americans officially unemployed, more than one out of three have been so for six months or more. An additional 7 million people are in part-time jobs who want full-time ones. Another 2 million people are “marginally attached” to the labor market meaning that they want work but search for it sporadically, many due to the difficulty of actually finding work.

But the whopper is that up to 8 million others who want a job have stopped their search altogether and disappeared from the workforce.

Tally these numbers up and we’re close to 30 million people who remain flat on their backs six years after the economic meltdown began.

However, headlines in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times put forth a different interpretation. They trumpeted the fact that labor market has regained, numerically speaking, all of the nearly 9 million jobs lost in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown. CNNMoney proclaimed, “Finally! Job Market Returns to 2008 Peak.” However, as Maya Angelou often said, “You can tell a fact but not the truth.”

If you include the new entrants into the jobs market during that time—specifically young people graduating from high school and institutions of higher learning—we’re still short 8 million jobs. The bottom line is that despite more than four years of official economic “recovery,” the employment market has gained almost no new ground.

One of the reasons for an overall lack of alarm in the media might be that the jobs crisis is no longer considered news. Rather than a spectacular event, it’s now become the prolonged de facto grind that our culture now accepts. Additional facts from last week’s jobs report points to why.

As has been the case for years now, black, young adult and teenage joblessness is up to three times higher than the overall unemployment rate. Fortunately, the unemployment rate for Latinos has fallen from double to single digits, but it’s still 50 percent higher than that of whites. And half of all young black men in urban areas across the country are without work.

Because of the duration of this same-as-it-ever-was scenario for groups key to America’s economic future perhaps the harsh reality has been baked into public consciousness. This conventional wisdom may be so ingrained that it can be ignored by large portions of the press and toned down into a more easily digestible scenario.

The interesting thing is that average people may not be completely buying the rosier outlook.

In most Gallup surveys since 2008, Americans have ranked “jobs and/or the economy” as the number one issue. And yet public opinion hasn’t translated into public action. Besides the stimulus bill of 2009, Washington has taken no substantial steps on jobs and the national conversation has moved on to the latest conflagration, either manufactured or real.

Cable news networks have focused more on whether aliens kidnapped Malaysia Flight 370 rather than the actual jobs crisis. The disappointing irony is that this coverage choice has been a ratings bonanza. It may not matter what we’re actually experiencing day to day. Somehow we might rather hear a fanciful story about a distant, missing aircraft instead of plugging into what’s going on right in front of us.

I put the question about this fundamental disassociation to Jared Bernstein, Vice President Biden’s former chief economic advisor and now a Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget Policy Priorities. Berstein battled inside the Obama administration for a more aggressive jobs push and has organized a recent project to focus on full employment. He’s also a frequent guest on financial news networks.

“The toxic combination of increasing wealth concentration and evermore money in politics means less representation for those on the short side of the inequality divide,” he said. “One way you see this played out is when trickle-down tax cuts targeted at the wealthy are sold as a way to create jobs. There’s no empirical evidence to support that specious connection, and yet we still hear it all the time.”

But here we have the problem presented again. There’s a gap between what’s being said about jobs and what’s actually true about the jobs crisis.

Employment guru Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute put it even more bluntly.
She argues that there is “a huge disconnect between the scale of the problem out there and what Washington is doing. Policymakers have done things to make conditions worse. Washington got obsessed with budget hysteria which is absolutely the wrong thing when what we need is stimulus. That’s what’s required.” Shierholz is right.

That’s why President Obama and former President Bill Clinton have jobs plans that seeks to ignite demand and create jobs. The conservative American Enterprise Institute and progressive-leaning Bernstein have some job ideas that overlap. In fact there’s no shortage of jobs proposals. But they’re not going anywhere. As Shierholz says, “Decisions are being made on something other than economics.” Still the question remains of why there’s a lack of public outcry about the stagnation?

Perhaps the fact that crisis has gone for six years now may be part of the answer. As students in Psychology 101 are often taught, humans, like frogs, will immediately leap out of boiling water but if the temperature is turned up gradually frogs will remain in the water even to their detriment.

Whatever the reason, time is not on our side. A generation of young Americans is at risk of being lost to an economy that’s not working for them. This will have a myriad of unforeseen circumstances.

Let’s hope that we learn to leap before its too late.
​

http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/06/Why_Don't_We_Raise_More_Hell_About_Unemployment.html

 

[megareaon]

move to arizona ,not to bad

 

[Greed]

Why Aren't Teens Working Anymore?

Why Aren't Teens Working Anymore?
Statistics show an uptick in job availability for teens, but many still aren’t joining the workforce.
By Melinda Carstensen
June 21, 2014 at 10:08 AM

The overall labor market added over 200,000 jobs in each of the past four months, and teen hiring saw the biggest gain in eight years last spring, Bloomberg reports.

The outlook appears especially bright this summer: In a survey of 250 employers that hire hourly employees, the job website Snagajob.com found that 74 percent of companies expect to hire summer workers.

But many U.S. teens, competing with more experienced workers and building their resumes for college, aren’t entering the work force.

Prior to the economic downturn, teen employment rates began declining in the early 2000s after a 48.6 percent peak in 1979, the New York Times reports. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds in the country worked in 2013, compared with 45 percent in 2000.

Alina Tugend, the Times writer, points out that some kids in more affluent families forgo paid work opportunities to build their resumes through community service, summer classes or unpaid internships. Others play year-round sports and don’t have time to hold a part-time job.

Many teens from low-income or minority families, on the other hand, may seek work to supplement their families’ income but can’t find it.

In 2013, only about 17 percent of African-American teens were employed.

But teens who don't join the work force could see their academic and professional careers take a hit in the long run.

Work experience that’s relevant to a college applicant’s major can show admissions officers “an interest bubbling up under the surface,” said Lisa Sohmer, a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the director of college counseling at the Garden School in Jackson Heights, New York.

These part-time jobs can help students figure out if they’d enjoy working in a specific field.

Plus, Sohmer said, any part-time job, from waiting tables to working in retail, can teach youth important lessons for college and for life.

“[Part-time jobs] show admissions officers characteristics of the student that make them appealing — responsibility, work ethic, the ability to start something and finish it,” she said. “It shows resilience, and not everyone can go work for their congressman.”

John Challenger, CEO of Chicago-based outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said some employers are reluctant to hire teens because they’re inexperienced and can’t work year-round like more senior employees.

To stay ahead of the competition, he says, teens can network with friends or family.

Research shows students who work in high school earn 10 to 15 percent more when they graduate from college, Ishwar Khatiwada, a co-author of a study on youth employment, told the Times.

Sohmer and Challenger agreed that having a breadth of experience is crucial for long-term success.

“It’s like you’re laying the foundation to be a hardworking citizen of society,” Challenger said. “The earlier you develop that character trait, the more generally you give yourself a better chance of happiness and independence.”

http://homewood-flossmoor.patch.com...ica/p/why-arent-teens-working-anymore13708378

 

[RepostKing]

Education is bullshit if it isn't specific. You must create multiple streams of income.

 

[Greed]

Education is bullshit if it isn't specific. You must create multiple streams of income.

Sure, but it's also good to learn how to manage an income stream as early as possible by getting a first job when a person is ready for one. Right now, people (particularly young black urban males) aren't finding it easy to find a first job without some significant hindrances. Let's fix that.

 

[Mrfreddygoodbud]

skills are way more important in a capitlist society...

self education YES college education NO,

too many have one, and are jobless with student loan debt...

Folks with skills, plumbing, carpentry, electrician, truck driving,



getting paid!!

get that skill and experience in the real world....FIRST!!!