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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAmerica Has Locked Up So Many Black People It Has Warped Our Sense of Reality
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/35434-america-has-locked-up-so-many-black-people-it-has-warped-our-sense-of-realityThe hitch: A lot of black men aren't living at home and cant look for jobs because theyre behind bars.
Though there are nearly 1.6 million Americans in state or federal prison, their absence is not accounted for in the figures that politicians and policymakers use to make decisions. As a result, we operate under a distorted picture of the nation's economic health.
There's no simple way to estimate the impact of mass incarceration on the jobs market. But here's a simple thought experiment. Imagine how the white and black unemployment rates would change if all the people in prison were added to the unemployment rolls.
According to a Wonkblog analysis of government statistics, about 1.6 percent of prime-age white men (25 to 54 years old) are institutionalized. If all those 590,000 people were recognized as unemployed, the unemployment rate for prime-age white men would increase from about 5 percent to 6.4 percent.
For prime-age black men, though, the unemployment rate would jump from 11 percent to 19 percent. That's because a far higher fraction of black men 7.7 percent, or 580,000 people are institutionalized.
Now, the racial gap starts to look like a racial chasm. (When you take into account local jails, which are not included in these statistics, the situation could be even worse.)
highprincipleswork
(3,111 posts)eridani
(51,907 posts)Simply eliminating the War on Some Drugs would end the disparate sentencing. I also think he should propose reopening ALL convictions for possession and small-scale dealing. (Which he might have done--haven't checked the platform lately.)
highprincipleswork
(3,111 posts)Really is sad the way a wedge is being created between White Liberals and Progressive and simply Democratic Blacks.
Very unfortunate alliance going on, which doesn't bode well for true Social Activism or Progressive progress in any direction, in my opinion.
pinqy
(596 posts)But why would you want to include prisoners? Let's say 5 million jobs opened up tomorrow. How many could people in prison take? So the fact that those in prison (or those just not looking for work) are not working tells us nothing about the jobs market.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)pinqy
(596 posts)The unemployment rate is meant to measure how much available labor is not being used. Prisoners and people in institutions are not available. Military and children under 16 are also excluded because they have strong limitations on participation.
If there are 10 job openings and 100 people apply...that tells you something. The number of people not applying doesn't tell you anything.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)The fact that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world does have a lowering effect on the official unemployment rate since as you point out prisoners are off the normal labor market.
Bring the US incarceration rate within the norms of the rest of the developed world and the unemployment rate would be considerably higher all else being equal.
pinqy
(596 posts)Implied is that all prisoners would seek work without success (be unemployed). But many would go back to crime, remaining outside the labor force, and many would get jobs as part of probation/parole or just because they're not career criminals.
Next week is the reference week for the Current Population Survey, which is the source of the Labor Force Data. Let's release 1 million prisoners today. By next Saturday, March 12, how many will have died or left the country? How many will have found work? How many will have looked for work? Arbitrarily adding prisoners as unemployed artificially increases the rate.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Not just making license plates, either. Best Western routes at least some of its incoming reservation calls to prisons. 30 percent of the firefighters this past wildfire season in California were prisoners. And so on.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)The numbers reveal the true face of racism in this country.