(ThyBlackMan.com) When you look at how this election cycle is unfolding at the national level and count losers and winners, African Americans (AA) would have to rank as the biggest losers. You ask, how do you draw that conclusion? Here is how. Even with
1) an African American president sitting in the White House,
2) a seasoned Congressional Black Caucus in Congress,
3) an African American media that has been around for decades and
4) more politically active AA preachers then at any other time in recent history, blacks economically have fared over the last eight years worst than any other racial group. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is right when he states the AA unemployment rate is embarrassingly high. Over several years and with consistent documentation on Thyblackman.com, it has been shown the real African American unemployment rate is 18.0 percent or higher; a stone’s throw away from 25.0 percent which was the unemployment rate when the nation was declared to be in a Great Depression in 1930’s.
Nevertheless, many of you say, the economic condition of Black America has always been worst than that of the larger majority and
thus accept these disgustingly high unemployment numbers as the norm. So, what is new and earthshaking about this statistic you say? That is true, however blacks have never lost as much ground as they have lost under this administration when compared with other presidential administrations. Of course, the Great Recession had a lot to do with that. But, when you look at the misinformation generated by this administration about the economic state of Black America and indeed the nation as a whole; if you are objective, you have to conclude these actions are not pro-African American. And there again Donald Trump is right.
It is the Republican and Democratic Party’s policy of misinformation about the economic state of the African American community that is troubling and has stymied “a real discussion about solutions.” If you understate the fact, blacks have a higher unemployment rate than is presently being published by this administration and past Republican administrations, you minimize the problem. While this approach is great politically for the party in power, (and that’s why they do it) it does very little for those suffering economically.
One of the greatest set-backs of the AA community is the continued understating of its unemployment rate. African Americans, without any protest, have allowed an African American president to use the informational apparatus of his administration to confuse not only the nation, but African Americans specifically about the how badly they have been doing economically. You see, when you observe the rise of Donald Trump, you have to ask yourselves, how did his outrageous form of political rhetoric become so popular, so fast? The reason why, is because the actual facts on the ground when it comes to the economy and unemployment, the facts that people live, deal and interact with daily, do not match the discourse spewed out by this and past administrations, starting with Bill Clinton’s presidential administration. These past administrations simply suppressed information and misinformed the public.
Whites, who are not accustomed to being unemployed and under-employed knew that their rate of unemployment was much higher than this administration’s monthly unemployment reports were stating. Whites, especially when it came to the Republican Party rejected traditional politicians who supported in any way this misinformation campaign about the economy and presented no real way to return the American economy to the job creation machine of previous years. To a great extent, whites in the Democratic Party also mounted the same offensive through Bernie Sanders.
Therefore, Mr. Trump is right in his attack of professional politicians in both parties who found it was easier and more convenient to euphemistically “misstate” facts describing the nation’s economic dilemma rather than tell the truth. So, in a real sense, you have to ask yourselves, would Donald Trump have been able to mount the challenge that he has against established politicians had they been honest with the American voter when it came to jobs, job creation and the economy? What Mr. Trump is doing, you see, is forcing these traditional politicians on both sides of the aisle to have the discussion, I alluded to above, about solutions. A conversation they apparently and with great reluctance do not want to have, largely because they are bankrupt when it comes to solving the job creation problem facing America. In forcing this discussion, he may force traditional politicians out of office, because at the end of the day, this is truly the discussion the American voter wants to have during this election cycle.
Additionally, if anyone needs evidence that Donald Trump is right about how badly the economy and Black America are doing, you need look no further then the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC), which has the responsibility of raising and lowering interest rates. The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) headed by Janet Yellen who oversees the FOMC, certainly would have raised interest rates, after almost a decade of zero to very low interest rates, at its last meeting on September 21st, if as the administration statistics suggest, the economy is at or near “full employment.” The current national unemployment rate for August according to this administration is 4.9 percent, however the true unemployment rate according to experts is 9.7 percent (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm). With unemployment “officially” at 4.9 percent, the Fed feels the national economy cannot withstand a raise in interest rates of .25 percent, which is a small rate of increase. The Fed maybe a believer that this economy is not doing as well as the administration’s statistics suggest. They may also feel the official unemployment rate is not a completely honest reflection of the health of the economy. What other explanation accounts for them not raising interest rates more aggressively? The last time the Fed raised interest rates was in December of 2015, and then it was only a quarter of a percent.
However, Mr. Trump is completely wrong about African Americans in that he has apparently come to the erroneous conclusion, that they are fickle in regard to their loyalty to the Democratic Party. Black America shifts in loyalties to the majority white controlled parties are based upon what those parties literally do for them when it comes to their struggle in this country to be free. They were largely Republicans before becoming Democrats because it was the Republican Party that was instrumental in freeing Black America from slavery. However, the AA community knows freedom did not stop at the ability to be physically free of the chains of slavery; they needed to politically express themselves. African Americans later won political freedom through supporting the Democratic Party in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
The shift to the Democratic Party by blacks en masse was no different than their support of the Republican Party earlier. For blacks and this is what white politicians on both sides of the aisle forget, it is not about them (politicians) but its about Black America’s march to freedom. And it is a long, and unrelenting march, that has not been affected by time. If Donald Trump wants to see an en masse shift of blacks to the Republican Party, which will put him and his party in power, he should champion a job creation plan that Black America and the country as a whole can readily see is in their best interest. Black America, however, has to be convinced the Republican Party will then see that plan to its logical end, just as President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, in 1960’s did, when it came to the Civil Rights and Voter Rights Acts, as these Acts became law.
If Mr. Trump were able to accomplish that task in a convincing fashion, you will a hear “a swooshing sound” as Black America leaves the Democratic Party in droves, in spite of many in black leadership saying otherwise. You see, black support of majority white parties has never been about the parties themselves and the political personalities, with all due respect to Secretary Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, but it has been about Black America and its unrelenting march to freedom, both politically and economically. It’s just that simple! Black Americans are not idiots, and like any other people, tend to work in their own best interest.
Finally, ask yourselves; if established politicians had solutions, would they have embarked on a campaign of planting the bitter seeds of misinformation and deceit which to a large degree yielded the bitter crop which is the presidential challenge of Donald Trump? What’s being rejected today by many voters are traditional politicians in both parties and personalities who to some extent have good intentions but who have nurtured these bitter seeds of deceit and misinformation while presenting no real solutions. The trajectory of America’s economic future can be changed by you embracing a crop of new and honest ideas and solutions. The book, “The Fix This Time ,” which answers the question of how to create consumer demand, which is at the heart of the problem that’s causing our sputtering economy to under perform, is such a crop. It details how these bitter seeds were planted and nurtured by establishment politicians of both parties. You will not want to miss a single word. For those who are looking for a revolution, I am here to tell you, it will not be televised, as it will take place in the hearts and minds of each one of us as we embrace a new way of thinking politically that’s, built on the platforms of true honesty, integrity and righteousness.
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).