US Politics Mega-thread - Page 352

On July 24 2013 13:23 Danglars wrote:
So it's the mean old rich guys in their country clubs stopping what should be quick integration. That's quite an indictment of the Ellis Island days, where foreigners coming with just their suitcases were earning profits and integrated in a generation. It wasn't an era of free English lessons and nice housing. That had to be worked for.

Those welfare programs, the housing projects, and the rest have been a hindrance. I mean the free English lessons are available in a generation, known as public schools (though much can be done to free those from mediocrity and worse). Open borders and the principal of giving immigrants legit jobs and nice housing? Who's doing the giving and how? Heck, with unemployment being what it is, you can't even give American citizens legit jobs and nice housing, let alone open up the border to give others it too.

On July 24 2013 12:48 cLutZ wrote:
My concern with this immigration push, is that Hispanics and African Americans (whom I think it is fair to treat similarly to 1st generation immigrants until after the passage and full implementation of the Civil Rights Act) have failed to assimilate in 1, 2, or even 3 generations and have failed to climb in any appreciable ways.

Of course there are success stories, and of course the Hispanic population is more of a moving average because more are constantly coming in, but the Post-1970s immigrants have not followed the traditional American model of being "Average Americans" after 2-3 generations. I think the implementation of welfare programs has a lot to do with that. Sadly, these things are impossible to tease out.

Being In The Minority Can Cost You And Your Company

The racial wage gap in the United States — the gap in salary between whites and blacks with similar levels of education and experience — is shaped by geography, according to new social science research.

The larger the city, the larger the racial wage gap, according to researchers Elizabeth Ananat, Shihe Fu and Stephen L. Ross, whose findings were recently published by the National Bureau of Esconomic Research.

"The average racial gap in metropolitan areas of around 1 million people — and you can think of a place like Tulsa, Okla. — is about 20 percent smaller than the gap in the nation's largest metro areas of Chicago, L.A. and New York," Ananat says.

Ananat's research suggests that the racial gap is not directly the result of prejudice or, at least, prejudice conventionally defined. Rather, it has to do with patterns of social interactions that are shaped by race — and a phenomenon that economists call spillovers.

Economists have long noted that multiple companies in an industry often congregate in an area — think of movie companies in Hollywood or investment bankers on Wall Street — and observed that these firms become more profitable. Indeed, this may be one reason why an up-and-coming tech company would want to locate in Silicon Valley, rather than in Tennessee, where costs are far cheaper.

But why do companies that congregate become more profitable? It has to do, Ananat says, with the fact that when a number of companies involved in similar work are concentrated in one area, they effectively create an ecosystem where ideas and refinements can spread easily from one company to the next, and increase productivity overall. ...

Ananat explains the findings with a hypothetical example: "Say there are 1,000 black engineers in Silicon Valley, compared to 20 in Topeka, and there are 10,000 total engineers in Silicon Valley, compared to 500 in Topeka. Then blacks make up 10 percent of engineers in Silicon Valley, compared to 4 percent in Topeka."

"A black engineer in Silicon Valley has 980 more black engineers to get spillovers from than does a black engineer in Topeka," she writes in an email. "Meanwhile, a white engineer in Silicon Valley has 8,500 more white engineers to benefit from than a white engineer in Topeka. Thus, while both white and black engineers' wages will be higher in Silicon Valley than in Topeka, the white engineer's wages will increase more than the black engineer's do — in effect, the white engineer is living in a much bigger city (of engineers) than the black engineer is, if only people within one's own race matter for urban spillovers." ...

Companies that want to take full advantage of spillover effects would do well to find ways to encourage employees to share information, set up mentoring programs and generally encourage employees to connect informally and socially, Ananat says. ...

Barney Frank dismisses calls for Glass-Steagall redux

Retired Rep. Barney Frank on Monday dismissed calls to bring back the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, a Depression-era law that divided commercial and investment banking, arguing that it fails to regulate derivatives trading or prevent risky loans and mortgages. ...

On July 24 2013 22:30 Klondikebar wrote:


What does assimilate even mean?

As long as they aren't committing crimes who cares how they behave? They can speak whatever language, eat whatever food, and celebrate whatever holidays they want.

If you honestly think immigrants should make a concerted effort to act like "us" (whoever "us" is) then you clearly don't understand even the most basic principles of diversity.

On July 25 2013 00:20 Stratos_speAr wrote:


Or it could be due to the well-documented cases of institutionalized discrimination and racism, coupled with the fact that whenever the economy takes a dive, minorities are hit disproportionately hard when compared to whites.

On July 25 2013 04:04 cLutZ wrote:


I understand perfectly. Being part of the culture is more than just not committing crimes. They do need to speak English, but it is fine if they know another language. But most of all, they need to spread themselves across the income/class spectrum like normal Americans.

There is a real problem wherein even the grandchildren of hispanics who migrated here, and the grandchildren of African-ameircans who walked in the civil rights marches and live in New York or California still reside disproportionately at the lower end of the spectrum. And if you don't think that is a problem worth discussing, you are part of the problem.



That is because they are poor and uneducated, not because of their race. All poor and uneducated people do badly in recessions, its just that those communities have continued, as a block, down those paths.

On July 25 2013 04:11 farvacola wrote:

Are you suggesting that being poor and uneducated has nothing to do with race?

Take two Senate seats, then repeal Obamacare

Two primary care physicians are so concerned about the future of health care in the United States that they've written a prescription for repealing Obamacare: Run for the Senate.

Dr. Annette Bosworth, who operates a private practice in Sioux Falls, S.D., announced last week that she is seeking the Republican Party's nomination for the Senate in 2014 with the intent of helping to eliminate the controversial law.

"As a physician, I understand in a real way the damage Obamacare will to do medicine in South Dakota and the entire country," Bosworth said, as she announced her candidacy from her family farm in Plankinton.

Bosworth, 41, is the second medical doctor to seek a Senate seat in upcoming congressional races.

The first was Dr. Alieta Eck, also a physician in private practice, who is running for the Republican nomination in New Jersey, which will hold a special election this fall to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank Lautenberg. Like Bosworth, Eck has no political experience but was motivated to run for public office to repeal Obamacare, which she called a "disaster waiting to happen." ...

On July 25 2013 04:17 cLutZ wrote:


No, I am saying that part of the argument as to why modern immigrants are not catching up as quickly as immigrants of the past is moot.

There are unique problems with the Hispanic immigrants that people do not seem to want to discuss. They go beyond race, and IMO have a lot to do with how America itself has changed since the Ellis Island days in how we treat the poor and immigrants, and that has contributed a lot to the continuing problems.

Liberals, here's your chance to do the right thing and attack doctors

On July 25 2013 06:23 Shiori wrote:


There exist doctors who are opposed to ObamaCare ergo we must attack doctors.

To be honest, I think ObamaCare is poorly put together, and that it'll probably cause a lot of problems as it's being implemented. That said, I absolutely think America's eventual transition into a more publicly-funded, government subsidized health care system would be tonnes easier with the ObamaCare infrastructure already in place, since at least you would have something build off of.

On July 25 2013 06:04 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

Link

Liberals, here's your chance to do the right thing and attack doctors

On July 25 2013 06:08 Paljas wrote:

what are these unique problems you are talking about?

On July 25 2013 06:31 Gorsameth wrote:


Is Obamacare a good version of universal healthcare? Hell no.
Is it better then nothing? Hell yes.

Just wonder what reasoning they have for opposing it.

On July 25 2013 06:39 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

I don't know their reasons. I'd guess that they'd take issue with the "better than nothing" statement.

On July 25 2013 06:44 Klondikebar wrote:


It creates really bad incentives for treating a patient as a team. Basically, Obamacare is just gonna hand a pile of money to the hospitals per patient and that gets distributed to the doctors that treat said patient. So...the more consults you get, the less you get paid. Doctor's now have the incentive to rely completely on their own knowledge and skillset and not ever get help or other opinions in order to maximize their pay.

"Well Klondikebar, doctors just shouldn't be so greedy!"

They're human! They respond to incentives just the same as us. A system that gives them bad incentives isn't their fault. Especially when they see those bad incentives coming and oppose them.

It also outright murders funding for residency programs. Most residency spots are funded by medicare. As that funding gets cut, you get fewer residents, and fewer doctors. We already have a severe doctor shortage in many areas of the country. If those funding cuts go through it's going to get even worse.

On July 25 2013 06:44 Klondikebar wrote:


It creates really bad incentives for treating a patient as a team. Basically, Obamacare is just gonna hand a pile of money to the hospitals per patient and that gets distributed to the doctors that treat said patient. So...the more consults you get, the less you get paid. Doctor's now have the incentive to rely completely on their own knowledge and skillset and not ever get help or other opinions in order to maximize their pay.

"Well Klondikebar, doctors just shouldn't be so greedy!"

They're human! They respond to incentives just the same as us. A system that gives them bad incentives isn't their fault. Especially when they see those bad incentives coming and oppose them.

It also outright murders funding for residency programs. Most residency spots are funded by medicare. As that funding gets cut, you get fewer residents, and fewer doctors. We already have a severe doctor shortage in many areas of the country. If those funding cuts go through it's going to get even worse.