Robert Reich Excludes White Male Construction Workers from Obama Stimulus Plan
Jim Crow Laws for Stimulus Help?
On his blog, Robert Reich reasoned "if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate the construction trades, many people who need jobs the most -- women, minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed -- will be shut out."
While it is comforting that in the audio clip Mr. Reich is quick to disclose that he has "nothing against while male construction workers," the fact that he does not want stimulus generated jobs to go to "white male construction workers" is gravely disconcerting. Even more alarming is the fact that Barack Obama has remained mum about the opinions expressed by his economic adviser.
Would there have been an outcry has Mr. Reich suggested keeping the stimulus funds from being spent on "black male construction workers" or "undocumented alien construction workers?" Maybe it would have made waves had he opined on "Jewish construction workers" or "female construction workers?" As it stands, it would appear that Robert Reich has declared open season on white males.
Of course, it is also quite evident that Robert Reich has not walked by a construction site in California. As the USA Today reported as far back as 2007, the influx of Hispanic workers in Los Angeles and surrounding areas has led to a shift in construction job allocation, and now "67% of construction workers are Hispanic."
This brings up a number of disturbing questions. First and foremost, should affirmative action be instituted when saving American residents who are suffering economically? Is a Hispanic family who loses a home more in need than a Caucasian family in the same situation? Is an African American construction worker without a job more in need of work than an unemployed Caucasian construction worker with the same skills?
Moreover, if Robert Reich has a house built, does he care about the skin color of the construction workers or does he worry more about their skill level? That said, if he were to follow his own suggestion, his home should be built by unskilled labor derived from a minority population. Is this the "hope" and "change" we were promised?
Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opxuUj6vFa4; http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulus-how-to-create-jobs-without.html; http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-29-construction_N.htm
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61 Comments
Post a CommentThanks for the youtube video! I would always go with Obama!
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Hold on, methinks thou doth protest a little too much over the top. There is not a person on the planet who hasn't said something which, if taken completely out of the context of a wider perspective, seems to portray him or her as standing for the complete opposite of what he/she really stands for. Robert Reich has been a tireless advocate for any and all getting the short end of the stick in the way we have things set up. You have to be ignorant in the extreme to believe that he stands for some sort of reverse discrimination that sticks it to white guys in construction - of which, I might add, I happen to be one.
What he means, for those of us who are more interested in sense than semantics, is that there are tens of millions of Americans making less than the average $19.50/hr of people in the construction industry (the majority of whom are indeed white guys like me) and that directing more of the stimulus money at that group would provide a greater lifting of misery than if the
Thank you MR. Rich, now least a White man has help
I loved your article, very educational that's all I'm saying :)
Welcome to the Politics of Revenge, everyone! You see, someone who kinda looked like you a long time ago did something really, really bad. It's too late to punish him, so we'll just screw you over instead, in the name of 'fairness'.
You know what is so sad about this? I have asked 5 people if they had heard about this, they all said no. Kind of like the united states senator who is calling people "idiots." Great, now my kids get to see that the leaders of our country are using terms I have taught them are not nice. WAY TO GO!
Mouths are so easy to use. Those building the houses skill & sweat. If you look on the jobs, a real foreman lets performance, not mouth, decide who works. Politics should be so true.
The US Census Bureau categorized most Latinos as White for race, and Hispanic for ethnicity, so in fact, Latinos would not necessarily be excluded.
Would be nice if people would not be so trigger happy and actually read/listen to the whole statement. He never said he wanted to exclude white males more that he wanted to include non white males.
This sucks. I am sending this link to my congress peps and all my whited male friends Wow. I am going to not work and cash in on all that fat from team Obama and that witch Nancy P.
I am declaring bankruptcy and living off the fat of the land!!! why work when th Dems are going to pay for everything.
Section 8 rental-you pay 100.00 the gov pays the rest!!