Not every child of poor immigrants becomes a governor before their 40th birthday. But there is a reason more people from all over the world want to immigrate to the United States than we're willing to let in. They come here for opportunity. Children of poor immigrants getting educated and moving in one generation into the middle class is the story of America.

Why, then, when poor immigrant families readily move in one generation into the middle class, does one fourth of black America remain poor, generation after generation?

Racism? I don't think so. Black poverty is overwhelmingly a phenomenon of single mother homes. The incidence of poverty in black homes with married parents is around 10 percent, well below the national average.

It's what happens when lives get politicized and people are instructed to be helpless. In the case of blacks, it's being taught that America is inherently racist and that their only hope is political protection from white exploitation.

Our politicians tell us now that we need to turn the whole country over to them because capitalism has supposedly failed and we need protection from exploitation by the wealthy.

Has anyone noticed that the only markets that have failed in America are the ones distorted with major government controls, regulations, subsidies, or taxpayer guarantees?

University of Michigan economist Mark Perry recently listed on his blog 16 typical household items -- furniture, kitchen appliances, electronics -- showing how many hours of work, at the average wage, it would take to purchase these items today, compared to 1950. The whole basket of goods takes one fifth the amount of hours of work today to purchase compared to 59 years ago. This is markets and innovation at work.

Anyone who is curious where the current left-wing takeover of our economy will lead, with government soon taking 40 cents out of every dollar we produce, should tour through any of America's inner cities.

If we have any luck, some of the better instincts of blacks today will also set trends. Blacks attend church more than any other group in the country. And most blacks reject the debasement of the definition of marriage.