(ThyBlackMan.com) Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again – expecting different results. The question is, are African Americans as a people insane? It is a legitimate question, and one that deserves an answer. As a result of the 2008 Great Recession, the African American(AA) unemployment rate rose and topped out in March of 2010 at 16.8 percent. It has since dropped to 8.3 percent in December of 2015, the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. The AA community was the worst affected worker group in the country when it came to unemployment during the Great Recession and that continues to be the situation today.
In reality, the black unemployment rate topped out at 30.0 percent and not 16.8 percent. You see, this administration has been understating the national and African American unemployment rates for the last eight years and the 16.8 percent is an understated rate. The 30.0 percent rate of unemployment placed the black population in the category of having experienced a Great Depression versus a Great Recession, as the rate of unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930’s reached 25.0 percent. Here is the link where the issue of understated unemployment rates was factually dealt with: https://thyblackman.com/2015/11/12/the-rip-off-of-african-americans-and-the-unemployment-rates/.
Unlike the majority white population, who turned against traditional politicians, because they felt traditional politicians were complicit in the causes leading up to the Great Recession and its fallout; African Americans have continued to embrace traditional politicians. As a result of largely white support and their determination to go a different route, in both of the major parties, the candidacies of Senator Bernie Sanders for president on the Democratic Party side and Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman on the Republican Party side sprung up and gained momentum. Whites in reacting to what they observed to be the undue influence of to much money in politics which led to traditional politicians adopting policies that resulted in the rich getting richer and the poor of this vast country of ours getting poorer, chose a non-traditional path. It is largely due to the activities and the determination of these white voters that the issue of money in politics is now on the front burner.
Nevertheless, on the Democratic side, due in part to largely black support, the traditional candidacy of Secretary Hillary Clinton appears to be a successful done deal. And there in lies the point of this article. Mrs. Clinton has said that “she will continue the practices” of this current administration. For African Americans, that means she will continue the harmful practice of understating national and black unemployment rates, even as black unemployment rates increase, yet again.
The current administration came into office understating the African American unemployment rate, and indeed the national unemployment rate. In reality, when category U-6 is used, the black rate of unemployment clocks in at 18.0 percent and the national rate at 9.8 percent (click on the link above regarding understated unemployment rates). These rates are high, especially when you look at 17 to 19 year old African Americans whose true rate of unemployment is 50.0 percent, based on category U-6.
Of course, understating the unemployment rates damages African Americans way more than it damages whites or any other worker groups simply because the black unemployment rate is so much higher than any other worker group. It currently stands at 9.0 percent for March as officially reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). If this President and Secretary Clinton wanted to do one single thing that would help African Americans more than anything else, it would be … instruct the Secretary of Labor, who is appointed by the president and oversees and is in charge of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to dump the changes President Bill Clinton made during his term in office when it came to counting the unemployed.
Why is this important? Well, the nation maybe headed into another recession. It would be good to know the true starting point of unemployment for African Americans and indeed the nation. If we used the old method of stating unemployment rates, the starting point for African Americans as these rates rise is 18.0 percent and not 9.0 percent. That makes a huge different when you judge the economic health of African American communities!
When you shield, and I use that term euphemistically, the true nature of a problem from the public, the usual result is nothing gets done about resolving that problem, as currently is the situation. And maybe that’s the objective of understating these rates; out of sight, out of mind. Additionally, there will be no serious discussions of solutions and no legislation or funding dedicated to a non-existing problem. It’s confounding that the African American community allows black political pressure groups and the Congressional Black Caucus to gloss over this issue. Understating the nation’s unemployment rates is a stab in the back to African Americans.
To those who say, there is nothing this administration can do about it, and it is the fault of Republicans; you are categorically and absolutely wrong! There is nothing preventing this president from having a news conference and saying, the unemployment rates of the nation are being understated and his administration will adopt the standard that was used prior to the Clinton administration’s changes when it comes to reporting the monthly rates of unemployment. In other words, there is nothing preventing this president from telling the truth.
So, are African Americans insane for supporting these traditional politicians again, who are clearly undermining them economically, expecting them to change their ways? You decide, if this fits the definition of insane behavior. It is obvious understating the unemployment rates truly hurts the AA community. Should the AA community demand these traditional politicians change their ways? And why is the black media not addressing this issue (send a link to this article to Ebony, Black Enterprise, Essence, News One and others in the black media and ask them why they do not focus light on this issue)? Change really requires action…your action. Change does not happen by itself; it needs help…your help.
Staff Writer; James Davis
This talented brother is a graduate of Florida A. and M. University(FAMU), a former stockbroker, and a human rights activist who resides in Sanford, Florida. He was awarded the prestigious Governor Haydon Burns Scholarship to attend FAMU and while at FAMU was awarded the first Martin Luther King Scholarship. He is also author of three books, among them are “The Fix This Time,” Expanding Social Security Benefits to Create Jobs and Spur Demand( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MI3PD2M ) and “Hey…God’s Talking To You,” The Study Book ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GYI3VQW ).
He can be reached through his blog @, (http://www.thefixthistime.com).