Do Blacks with Degrees Achieve the American Dream In Macomb County?

A NATIONAL STUDY BEGS TO DIFFER


Study: High jobless rate for blacks with degrees

Russell Contreras/ Associated Press

Boston — The economic downturn has erased the gains made by the black middle class over the past 30 years as the unemployment rate of blacks with a four-year college degree has skyrocketed, according to a new study by the National Urban League Policy Institute released Wednesday.

The study said that the unemployment rate for blacks with a four-year college degree has tripled from 1992 while overall black unemployment levels are nearing 1982 levels when it was close to 20 percent.

The unemployment rate for blacks with a four-year college degree was 6.5 percent in 2010 compared to 2.9 percent of whites with college degrees, the study said.

The report, released just as the National Urban League begins its annual conference in Boston, mirrors similar studies by the Economic Policy Institute and the Pew Research Center, which says the economic meltdown in recent years has hit black households hard. Like the previous studies, the Urban League report said black home ownership fell sharply in recent years due to the mortgage crisis and affected overall black median income.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said the report showed that the recession affected the middle class, not just poor and working class African Americans as some might assume. The National Urban League Policy Institute used U.S. Census and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"These are people who played by the rules. They built wealth, went to college and had good jobs," Morial said. "But in a short period of time, they've fallen back."

We want to know....Is there a recession within the recession?  Or is it a case of every man for himself?  How does this play out in Macomb County?  

We will ask John Bierbusse and get back to you.

Burgers, Beer, and Burps

"I'll Take a Cold One With Those Fries!"

Florida has notched up the fast food game with its recent approval of the sale of beer at Burger King!

Lower than expected national sales has prompted the fast food giant to think so outside of the box that it has turned to beer to up the ante on its competitors.

There are a few BKs selling beer already, mostly in a few other countries. Select Starbucks sell beer here, but don't look for this new BK menu item to be offered nationally for a while.

 Burger King is looking for at a new market; 30 to 50 year-olds are the targeted demographics.  Just wait until some 15 year old, looking like 15 going on 30, scores some suds illegally....training will be a key issue.

You know the world has turned upside down when you get carded at Burger King.

"Have It Your Way" will take on a totally new meaning soon.

Michigan will have to wait for a minute, but I predict this will spread like wildfire.

Would you suds up at the fast food window?  Let us know.

Can Obama Be Trusted By His Own Base?

This is an excellent assessment by Paul Krugman of what others are calling President Obama's capitulation to the economic folly of the Republican Party.

The author of this article is a Pulitzer Prize economist who has been on point for years with his insightful analysis of the state of the country's economics.

However, supportive of Obama he may have been, this article marks a sharp diversion from supportive to critical breakdown of Obama's breaking down....here's the link...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08krugman.html?_r=2

Affirmative Action Challenge and Public Act 4...Two Sides of the Same Coin?

IS THIS A CASE OF WHAT GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER?

The state of Michigan has decided to appeal the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the ban on affirmative action, adopted through a vote of the people, is a violation of the 14th Amendment.

Look deeper and you will see a classic example of a two-faced approach to public policy.

How can the state maintain that the voters have the last word on affirmative action and then turn around and negate the voters' decisions regarding who should represent them when Public Act 4, the emergency financial manager law, strips the voters of their right to elect local officials by giving the emergency financial manager the power to overrule and to effectively "fire" elected officials?

No matter where you stand on the principles of affirmative action, there is a constitutional question as to the state's right to nullify the outcome of the people's right to vote while at the same time saying that right to vote should be respected.

So, the questions remains...should Michigan argue that the vote of the people should be respected as it relates to affirmative action while at the same time, through Public Act 4. the state negates the vote of the people as to who the people vote to represent them in the municipalities where financial managers have been imposed on the people in those cities by the the state?

Can anyone make since of this schizophrenic public policy?

Affirmative Action---Back by Legal Command?

The next phase of the fight for and against Affirmative Action begins today with a federal appeals court's overturning of a lower court's decision affirming the ban voted for by Michigan's voters. The federal judges ruled by a 2-1 vote that the ban violates the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

What is not so clear is what happens in the interim, but one thing is a certainty. This latest ruling will probably be appealed to the full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals bench or be moved up to the US Supreme Court.

Some will say they thought this issue was settled by the vote of the people, while others will maintain the the Constitution allows for remedies for past discrimination.

What do you think?