does "welfare programs" suit you better? I wasn't trying to be condescending.
I'm not talking about affirmative action. Welfare (not specific to blacks of course), jobs training, after school programs, etc...
"The urban poor need remedies that judges cannot order: public and private investment to create jobs that pay a living wage, training to help them learn new skills and understand the job market, and most of all a chance to move into racially and economically integrated neighborhoods where there are better opportunities and healthier cultural norms."
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/books/review/Ford-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
and there is the problem. Who wants to put up a hot dog stand in a neoghborhood that is more likely to get vandalized/robbed/ignored/staffed by people who don't care/etc...? I go to the "shittier parts" of Minneapolis (my hometown) more often than not. It's brutal. Everything is broken or really dirty at the very least. Garbage cans and street signs are covered in grafiti, windows are broken on homes and stores, beggars are really aggressive and the gang members are pretty obvious about being there. Then I go to the "normal" parts of town and things are clean, people are pleasant and talk to each other, businesses are running without fear that some random person is going to come in and go nuts and whatnot.
So you ask why don't I do anything? What the hell am I supposed to do? Go down there with a broom and clean broken glass off the sidewalk? Grab some paint and clean the grafiti? Randomly hand out cash? If I do this, how likely do you think it is that I'd get my ass kicked vs. a "hey man, thanks"?
I'm not talking about affirmative action. Welfare (not specific to blacks of course), jobs training, after school programs, etc...
"The urban poor need remedies that judges cannot order: public and private investment to create jobs that pay a living wage, training to help them learn new skills and understand the job market, and most of all a chance to move into racially and economically integrated neighborhoods where there are better opportunities and healthier cultural norms."
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/books/review/Ford-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
and there is the problem. Who wants to put up a hot dog stand in a neoghborhood that is more likely to get vandalized/robbed/ignored/staffed by people who don't care/etc...? I go to the "shittier parts" of Minneapolis (my hometown) more often than not. It's brutal. Everything is broken or really dirty at the very least. Garbage cans and street signs are covered in grafiti, windows are broken on homes and stores, beggars are really aggressive and the gang members are pretty obvious about being there. Then I go to the "normal" parts of town and things are clean, people are pleasant and talk to each other, businesses are running without fear that some random person is going to come in and go nuts and whatnot.
So you ask why don't I do anything? What the hell am I supposed to do? Go down there with a broom and clean broken glass off the sidewalk? Grab some paint and clean the grafiti? Randomly hand out cash? If I do this, how likely do you think it is that I'd get my ass kicked vs. a "hey man, thanks"?