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Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Thomas Sowell :: Townhall.com Columnist
An Investment in Failure
by Thomas Sowell
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Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


If they refused to be pawns in his ideological game, then they were "nothing."

No one on the left would say such things so plainly today, even to themselves. But their actions speak louder than words.

Blacks are to the left today what the working class were to Marx in the 19th century -- pawns in an ideological game.

Blacks who rise out of poverty are of no great interest to the left, unless the way they do so is by attacking society.

The poverty rate among black married couples has been in single digits since 1994 but the left has shown no more interest in why that is so than they have shown in why many millions of people have risen out of poverty in Latin America or in China and India.

Where progress can be plausibly claimed to be a result of policies favored by the left, then such claims are made.

A whole mythology has grown up that the advancement of minorities and women in America is a result of policies promoted by the left in the 1960s. Such claims are often based on nothing more substantial than ignoring the history of the progress made prior to 1960.

Retrogressions in the wake of the policies of the 1960s are studiously ignored -- the runaway crime rates, the disintegration of black families, and the ghetto riots of the 1960s that have left many black communities still barren more than 40 years later.

Whatever does not advance the left agenda is "nothing."

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About The Author
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of The Housing Boom and Bust.
 
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btw
I am not for money being tossed freely at the poor or blacks. In some circumstances though, it helps. Everyone who accesses welfare, federal loans or whatever gov't program isn't a liberal, stupid, lazy, etc. For many people, the "benevolence" of the conservatives never reached them. I can see both sides of the fence having pulled myself up by my bootstraps the gov’t helped me get into a position I could never have reached had I paid for it all myself!

P.S. Many of my friends who were so against student loans and worked didn't have the extracurricular experience to be considered for well-paying jobs! Go figure!

wait a minute
T writes: Tuesday, August, 21, 2007 11:35 AM
Phylo - You are a scream -

Liberals care about the poor like Col. Sanders cares about chickens. They are nothing more than bought and paid for, modern day slaves. And yes, they ARE that dumb and lazy - else wise they would be getting a job, losing the substance abuse thing and getting OUT of poverty. Call me all the names ya like - been there, done that.

Comments like this are why African-Americans dislike conservatives. Someone explain to me why anyone would want to link up with people who think they are dumb and lazy and are waiting for them to fail so they can say they were right? I am not interested in "proving" my worth to anyone so working with you to prove I am not lazy and dumb is out of the question. I am an African-American and I do believe that many times (ok, most times) the NAACP and democratic organizations are out of order. However, I'd rather deal with them then join with others who disparage the very people they claim their way helps. Not everything that the government has given was squandered and wasted and not appreciated by the recipient. I weighed the economic outcomes of my actions and maximized everything I had access to. To say that because of someone's family wealth and social circumstances in EVERY situation should disqualify them from reaching higher than their economic realities will allow presently (one can only make so much not having a degree! It's not sufficient for school and living) is tantamount to placing people in an economic caste system.
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