Sam Fulwood III at the Center for American Progress (CAP) writes—Race and Beyond: Continuing Inequalities Blur the American Dream:
As far back as 2013, CAP’s Progress 2050 project released All-In Nation: An America that Works for All, a book that estimated that racial gaps in income cost the U.S. gross domestic product $1.2 trillion in 2011 and that ending these racial gaps would lift some 13 million Americans out of poverty. That’s old news.
But just because something is old news doesn’t make a refreshed version of it any less significant. While still alarming and shockingly disappointing, a series of new economic reports demonstrates that the nation’s improving economy isn’t yet the rising tide to lift all boats—especially for the poor, women, or people of color.
According to findings contained in a recently released economic survey of the nation’s economy by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, seven years after the global financial crisis, the United States has had one of the strongest rebounds of the OECD’s 34 member countries. “Many private-sector jobs have been created, pushing unemployment down to its pre-crisis level, thereby providing consumers with higher income and improving their confidence,” the report stated.
Yet, the OECD report highlighted how sexism and racism impedes economic progress. The report noted, for example, that women, African Americans, and people with criminal records are less likely to see returns on the nation’s recovery. For example, regarding women, the OECD noted, “Women’s participation in the labour force and employment rates remain well below those of men’s and have been falling back recently such that they are now below those of Germany and Japan.”
Additionally, the OECD suggests that a federal paid maternity leave policy would greatly benefit women’s labor force rate.
The OECD also drew attention to “substantial gaps” in the earnings of full-time workers across racial demographics.
“Black and African American and Hispanic and Latino male workers earn a bit less than three quarters of that earned by white males,” the report said, noting that people with criminal records face even higher hurdles in the workplace. “Given the over-representation of blacks in the prison populations, black males, particularly young males, have much higher unemployment rates and lower employment rates.”
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2006—Oops:
So Senate and the House Republicans seem pretty united that a time table for withdrawal of our men and women from Bush's Iraqi quagmire would be a bad idea. Why, it would be a sell out, bordering on treasonous assistance to the terrorists and an insult to the casualties of Bush's war. Bully for them, and as the traditional media reports in breathless glowing detail, that's a sign of strength. By golly those Republicans are going to turn a major liability into a political advantage under the exceptional tutelage of Master Karl Rove:
The U.S. House has voted in favor of not setting a timetable for troops to be removed from Iraq. After the vote, West Michigan Congressman, Pete Hoekstra, appeared on Fox News Channel to talk about the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans in their views on the war.
And the DoD has signed right on the dotted line:
Rumsfeld: Iraq Timetable wouldn't 'do any good': As for a timetable for troop withdrawal, Rumsfeld said that timetables are often wrong. "Once you start doing that, then you are stuck with a number and a date, and it just doesn't do any good," he said.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, the House sit-in continues. Greg Dworkin reminds us these things don’t just spring up from nowhere. Donald Trump is still a developer at heart, by which we mean a grubby cheater. Red flags raised on Patrick Murphy. Jane Kleeb wins the NE Dem Chair.
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