So why does inequality in the U.S. continue to have a racial dimension almost 150 years after the end of slavery? First, it has only been about 50 years since the end of Jim Crow laws that harshly discriminated against blacks throughout much of the country, and many victims of those laws are still alive. Second, certain government policies reinforce the initial inequality created by slavery and segregation. Exclusionary zoning laws and public school monopolies combine to exclude low-income Americans, especially minorities, from high-quality schools. Occupational licensing prevents ordinary Americans from starting their own service businesses, especially in poorer areas. Benefit eligibility “cliffs” entrap poor people into bad or no jobs, because getting better work could mean losing benefits. And finally, let us not forget the role of the prison-industrial complex in incarcerating one in three black men at some point in their lives, resulting in permanently lower income. Inequality in the U.S. is a symptom of some real problems, to which libertarians have answers.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 02:00:53 +0000
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