Gary Becker makes sense?

[michael <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

After trashing affirmative action, Becker  makes some sensible points.


Becker, Gary S. 2003. ?How to Level the Playing Field for Young Black
Men.? Business Week (4 August): p. 24.
?Moreover, in two disturbing respects the difference between the races
has widened during the past few decades.  Black families were quite
stable until the '60s, if not quite as stable as those of whites.
Although divorce and unmarried motherhood have increased throughout
American society, they have exploded among blacks.  Well under half of
black children are in two-parent families, sharply down from about 75%
in 1950, although there has been a little improvement since the
mid-1990s.?
?The second concern is the huge increase in the number of black men in
prison.  They make up more than 40% of male prisoners, compared with
about 12% of the overall population.  For those incarcerated on
drug-related charges, the black share is almost 60%.  Only a slim
majority of young black men are not in prison, on parole, bail, or
probation, or have not been arrested at least once.?
?There's reason to believe this shortage of desirable male companions
discourages black women from marrying or staying married for long.  The
downward spiral is self-perpetuating. Studies suggest that the decline
in the presence of fathers in black families harms sons more than
daughters.  As a result, the rapid growth in the number of black men in
prisons impairs the following generation of black males as well.?
?A longer-run reform would be to improve the schooling of young blacks,
since their earnings still trail those of whites, partly because of the
growing economic advantage of a good education.  That improvement will
not be easy while so many black families are without two parents, but an
expanded Head Start program and greater competition among schools in the
inner city through vouchers and charter schools would help.  Among other
things, competition would produce more schools that cater to the special
needs of black males.?
?Finally, the time has come to decriminalize drugs. Trafficking in drugs
attracts young blacks mainly because it offers much better pay (provided
they don't get caught) than do the legal alternatives, which tend to be
low-wage jobs.  Even conservatives and liberals who are reluctant to
make drugs legal have to recognize that the present system does enormous
damage to the black community, especially to the many black men who
spend years in prison on drug charges.?

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Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901