Life is not fair… Does Affirmative Action and Welfare Really Work?

By Thornton Crowe

One could argue for things like Welfare and Affirmative Action under the premise of leveling the playing field for underprivileged; however, do these mindsets really inspire people to succeed or does it hide the perpetuation of the continuum of inequality under a veil of feel-good verb?

There can be no true equality in life or a country. Economists like Thomas Sowell disagree that legislative tampering like Affirmative Action and Welfare has done anything positive for minority communities. In fact, he rebukes both, stating it makes it harder for the economic challenged to get ahead and stifles their creativity in making their mark in society and assured self-preservation. Affirmative Action has become a quota-filling apparatus based on a person’s race rather than their character, integrity and ability. Not only does this marginalize the success of said worker, it also breeds apathy in other workers. Meaning, workers not subject to Affirmative Action, lose incentive to improve work performance because the competitive stratum has been disturbed by enforced governmental sanctioned compliance.

Welfare, on the other hand, creates an unhealthy dependence on systems and programs rather than allowing a person to use his/her own ingenuity, to guarantee survival and security. It’s a ripping away of personal responsibility that robs the person to provide their security, yet many Liberals have argued that it’s a hand up and a responsibility of those whom took risks and gained success to help those less fortunate. Is it really a hand up or a way of maintenance in human collateral? Sounds cold, doesn’t it? Human collateral. But think about it, there is no warm and fuzzy when it comes to being dependent.

Today, more than ever, people seek government assistance for food, shelter and job relief. The numbers are staggering and rally that of the Great Depression. Homelessness is at an all-time high and shelters are hard-pressed to meet the continual demand for resources to assist those who are enslaved to society’s political welfare state. The lack of financial autonomy is by and large dashed due to the encouragement to purchase on credit rather than saving up for purchases other than big-ticket items like homes. In a true sense, the Liberal motto may be benign on a political podium, but it has resulted in a malignancy and financial drain on the country’s resources.

In 1983, Sowell, a scholar at the Hoover Institute (of Economics), participated in a series of William F. Buckley interviews where he defends his stance on how the Affirmative Action-Welfare mentality has further damned lower income families and black communities to poverty rather than give them any advantage. Not only has it embolden legislators more than the people its meant to help, Welfare and Affirmative Action (forced altruism) has empowered a sense of entitlement and malaise; thus, deterring a drive to succeed using one’s own resource.

Furthermore, through happenstance, Sowell’s video clips also educate viewers on economics and the inner workings of capitalism verses socialism. While many are surprised to find a black man from a low-income background would encourage a presumed white-male establishment creed, his arguments and evidentiary support comes from his knowledge base, gathered by studying many global cultures in addition to what takes place in America.

Bear in mind before nay-saying, Thomas Sowell went to Harvard before Johnson’s Civil Rights law was signed, and worked his way up through school after his tour in Korea. He went on to earn his degrees from prominent universities, many of whom were accused of racism by the black community. He obtained his achievements by using his own prowess and ingenuity in academic environments, long before Affirmative Action came into vogue.

Check out the wealth of information Sowell’s wisdom has to impart, (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=thomas+sowell). You will find his insights quite pointed, well spoken and thought provoking for all Americans regardless of socioeconomic and political backgrounds. His views contain a common sense methodology that answers many legislative issues -- something sorely lacking in today’s government on all levels – local, state and federal.

How say you?