Ezra Klein: Graph of the Day: George Bush Doesn't Care About Black, Brown, White, etc, People Edition

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August 31, 2007

Graph of the Day: George Bush Doesn't Care About Black, Brown, White, etc, People Edition

From EPI's analysis of the Census data:

The Bush years have been really bad if you're black. But they've been pretty weak if you're white, Hispanic, or simply living in this country.

August 31, 2007 in Charts | Permalink

Comments

Is there are chart for change in median household income for CEOs for the same period?

Posted by: Carl the Big Fool | Aug 31, 2007 11:18:27 AM

I remember in October 2000, about two weeks before the election, I was giving blood. The tech, a young black woman, cautiously asked me who I wanted to win the election. I said Gore. She said she wanted Gore to win as well because, "I am a poor person." I think she understood the situation.

Posted by: Jose Padilla | Aug 31, 2007 12:33:17 PM

That's unbelievable. Median real black household income decreased by 8 percent from 2000 to 2006? That's totally outrageous. And what are we supposed to blame this on, according to conservatives? Oh, yeah -- illegal immigrants driving down wages. I forgot.

Posted by: brooksfoe | Aug 31, 2007 1:08:21 PM

Asians? Does their absence from this chart suggest that they've fared better?

Posted by: Joe Williams | Aug 31, 2007 2:16:28 PM

Well, you could blame it on immigration, but you'd be wrong. It'd be better to say, simply, that there was a recession during those six years, which is why everyone was worse off. The recession had literally nothing to do with anything that George Bush did, since it began in 2001, before any of his policies took effect. Indeed, it may have already begun before he took office.

During recessions, pretty much everybody does badly. But recessions are harder on less educated, less skilled workers. On average, blacks have less education than whites in this country. So blacks did worse than whites, who are more educated as a group.

Plus, Clinton's welfare reform package -- which was passed on 1996 -- had a five-year limit for welfare coverage. 2001 is five years after 1996, so welfare benefits decreased or disappeared for a lot of people. And blacks as a group are more dependent on welfare programs than whites. Again... this had nothing at all to do with anything that George Bush did.

*Everything* isn't George W. Bush's fault. Or, if you think it is, you've got to do better than innuendo. What, precisely, did George W. Bush do to specifically make black people poorer?

Posted by: wkw | Aug 31, 2007 11:07:09 PM

Well, you could blame it on immigration, but you'd be wrong... But recessions are harder on less educated, less skilled workers

So, what you're saying is that importing massive amounts of less educated, less skilled workers hasn't had an impact on what the chart shows? And, that's not my wallet in your hand? Why is my wallet missing? If it's not my wallet, why does it have my DL in it? Are you sure it's not my wallet?

Posted by: TLB | Sep 1, 2007 4:02:40 PM

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