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RACE GAP

NAACP Leader: Black People Are Worse Off Under Obama

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: Outside the Beltway

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous admitted on Tuesday that black people are worse off under Obama.

"The country's back to pretty much where it was when this president started," said Jealous on MSNBC. "White people in this country are doing a bit better. Black people are doing far worse."

Jealous may have had in mind the sharply higher black unemployment rate. It was 12.7% when Obama became president, and reached 14% in Dec 2012 – at the same time that the national jobless rate fell to 8%.

However, that statistic doesn't necessarily mean Obama has done badly by black jobseekers. The black unemployment rate is always higher than the white unemployment rate since 1980, as the graph above shows. During recessions, the gap widens – as it did under Reagan, and again under Obama since 2009. However, the graph doesn't show 2012, when an even wider gulf opened up.

Via the Washington Times. Story idea from Politix user OhWiseOne.
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Are black people worse off under Obama than they would have been otherwise?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • u
    seedtick
    !
    Barack Husssein Obama takes black people for granted. He knows that they will vote race everytime. It's time for them to wake up.
  • Roco
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    @seedtick Why do you just say President Obama is the only one that takes Blacks for granted? I am a 55 year old Black man and I say all politicians take Blacks for granted. It's the American way.
  • u
    seedtick
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    @Roco I really believe that he does. There always seems to be some rift with Black Ministers, NAACP, or someone about what he is not doing for the Black community.
    I am not talking about that "bring home the bacon" comment from an incompetent and failed city government in Detroit. And, he still gets 95% of the Black vote. Why would he not take that for granted? I can tell you that White politicians do not take the Black community for granted when a Black candidate is running. And, they are right to feel that way because the Black candidate can count on 60% or better of the Black vote going in. It would take a bad screw up in the campaign to lose that.
  • View all 13 replies >
  • o
    NTBFW
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    @thatgirl me and many other conservatives. Now even the NAACP agrees. Face it Obama isn't looking out for the people.
  • View all 48 replies >
  • ACTSmom
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    This has been publicized for quite some time but the Obama Media Group whispered it instead of shouting it out. Hmmm....of course that was before the election. What took the NAACP so long? Guess they were satisfied with the status quo.
  • o
    cleverusername
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    @EquinsuOcha umm no. It was being said and it doesn't didn't matter. Low informed voter...skin color eye color...handsome...plays basketball.......owns a ranch....etc etc etc..
  • o
    NTBFW
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    I blame Obamacare. I know I'm not hiring because of it and 79% of all small business owner feel the same way. We can't real numbers on what it's going to cost. So we can't make a budget plan. It's killing jobs.
  • stepped_in_it
    !
    Jobs are the issue and are tough(er) to get. My plant closed down in 6/12. Worked semi-PT for last 5 months beating the streets very hard! Starting my new, full time/full benefits job w/ much better pay come this Monday. It was hard fought, required much effort and not easy. But, so is life (and it ain't gettin' easier)!
  • u
    AceLuby
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    @NTBFW BS. No need to lie about you owning a business, because if you did the only reason you'd ever 'not hire' is because the demand for your business does not warrant it. If it did you'd find a way to hire so as not to lose business.
  • View all 39 replies >
  • o
    WattheTyler
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    Obama turned his back on all of his key voting blocks: women, blacks, Latinos, gays, liberals, civil libertarians, progressives, unions, etc. Obama sold his soul to corporations in order to be in the White House, but than again there is no way you can be a USA politician anymore without being a sell out.
  • u
    AceLuby
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    Precisely, all it shows is that we're still recovering from the recession and desperately need to address the unemployment w/ investments from our govt.
  • u
    Yank
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    What are you talking about? The story is that the black unemployment gap has increased under Obama, and the black unemployment rate has gone up over most of his term (the graph shows the same). They story also says the gap increased in 2012 which is not represented in the graph.
  • u
    Yank
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    @AceLuby because it worked so well for the African-Americans so far? Maybe another 6 trillion and he can lower their unemployment rate?
  • u
    AceLuby
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    @Yank In fact it did work (well 2 trillion at least, the other 4 was due to the GOP recession and reckless spending they do when they get the white house). Notice the spike upwards and then the leveling off, that leveling off happened after the stimulus.
  • View all 6 replies >
  • Tralee
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    They are, there is no way around the facts. They are still among the highest numbers in unemployment and worse than when he took office, they still make well under the median for the country and less now than under Bush. Personally, I think the Dems. just use the black population, promise them the moon and never deliver. All one has to do is look at the cities under Democratic mayors - high poverty, high crime and low education and getting worse all the time. One would think that the Democrat mayors would do all the things they say Conservatives Hate and lift up the poor black family out of poverty, they don't. Dems. just talk a good game.
  • harold_lloyd
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    @ACTSmom
    I concede that black unemployment is higher, but that's been true for a long time.

    I would be amazed if Obama or anyone else could fix that.

    When black unemployment is stastically equal to any other group, it will signify a great improvement in our nation and society.

    Don't hold your breath.
  • u
    Hireman
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    Kennedy said "A rising tide lifts all the boats". The opposite is also true. If you look at the demographics, blacks overall are less-skilled as a group. When the economy is down, employers shed the people that aren't as productive. When the economy soars, you'll see this same demographic have one of the greatest rises in employment. It's just how it works.
  • u
    IMAQT
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    Another politix article breaking us down into nice little groups, whites, blacks, gays, Latinos, etc. I think that some blacks are better off and some are worse off under Obama just like any group you want to break down. But then again some work hard at their goals and others, not so hard.
  • o
    OhWiseOne
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    Of course black folks are worse off under Obama but the MSM won't tell you that. I guess they are too busy getting thrills up their legs and messing their pants to do much reporting. The state of modern day journalism is a joke.
  • u
    lochlomond
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    Black people were duped just like the rest of us, regardless of race or ethnicity. African Americans share all of the same fears that many of the rest of us do. Using my own general area as an example, the young people are especially affected. There is an absence of work for all young people, an increase in crimes such as home invasions, assaults with robbery as the motive, burglaries and so on. Very serious crimes that involve weapons and result in physical harm or murder usually are fueled by the need for drugs. These crimes are not exclusive to the black community but are typical of those who are 35 or under. When Obama was elected in 2008, many of us, regardless of race thought he was heralding a new chapter reminiscent of the ideals espoused by Dr. King. Instead, he has drained our coffers, discouraged entrepreneurship, involved us in even more foreign conflicts and like so many recent presidents, pandered to the native and international elite. Although Obama is of African heritage, he does not share in the heritage of most African-Americans. He may have been a "community organizer" but does not feel empathy for those who have struggled and now see their youth slipping away into the world of gangs, drugs and crime. Obama's presidency is a self-serving step forward for him alone into the venue of international "players." We have all been duped, and twice yet. Shame on us.
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