Disturbing news

[dagwud]

I saw on NBC news recently where only 47% of black male high school students graduate from high school compared to 78% of over all graduation rates.  In New York and Philadelphia only 28% of black males graduated from high school.   The news story went on to report on the Urban Black Academy in Chicago a fairly new all Black male charter school that has a 100% graduation rate with all of its student going on to college which should help encourage black families.  I was curious however while watching the news report just who was attending the Urban Black Academy school.  Was it students mainly from well educated black families that are better off then the average inner city family or was it made up mostly of inner city youths?  

If people think we have race issues now what will happen down the road after many years of such low graduation rates for black males who will then find it hard to find good paying employment or even any employment at all?  I give Obama credit for going against his party on education reform and backing teacher merit pay and threatening to close down schools that are continually poor performing schools.  However we can not just blame the schools as parents are most likely more responsible for poor student performance then the schools.  Single parent families and parents that worry more about drugs and alcohol also play a big factor in this growing disaster.  It does not matter if the child is black, white or any other race if the parents are not doing their jobs then the children suffer. 

This is not met to be a racist post but clearly these graduation rates for black males is simply unacceptable and will only lead to bigger problems down the road.  Bill Cosby has been one of the few leaders in the black community that has publicly challenged fellow blacks to try harder for the sake of their children but I think we need even more encouragement.  Who better then our first black president who is bright, articulate and an inspirational speaker?  Parents of all races need to be encouraged to do what is best for their children and especially in their important younger years of development.  If we believe that our government's spending on entitlement programs is quickly becoming unsustainable then we must also be able to see that we simply can not allow so many young people to fall through the cracks and become stuck in a second class poverty life style. 

[cropdoc5]

Clear evidence that all the money that has been spent on welfare and other social programs has been an utter waste of money.  Responsible for the destruction of the black families of America along with those of other races as well.  Just had 28 citizens of the state of Maine leave town after living here 2 years being supported by the state of Iowa, while never working a day here before they got on state assistance.  I suppose they are eligible to go back on the state payroll of Maine again.  Iowa paid for one of them who has an artificial leg 2 new legs at a price of $7,000 each, the second one days before they moved away.  Glad to see them go, but really have to wonder WHY anyone feels the need to keep people on the public dole. 

Why do we pay for single mothers to have babies???  The wrong incentives are there for them to continue to produce more, get paid more, from multiple fathers and incidently pay them more if they stay single. Oh, and then when the children are abused the state takes them away and places them in foster care.  It is insane policy to continue failed policies that have obviously failed miserably.  Parents should have the right to enroll their children in schools that are producing good students, but the current system does not allow them that freedom.

Don't get me wrong that there are many individuals and families that truely need help and we as a society should be there in their time of need, but having said that the level of abuse of the current system calls for a huge and radical rethinking of what works.  For certain, more money is NOT the solution.

Cropdoc

[cotman03]

The low graduation rates for young black men is an old problem.  Have you seen the incarceration rates for young black men?  It is high.  The post below mentions welfare and the problems of the system paying women when they have kids.  The welfare system and problems with young black men are tied together.  I live in an area of high welfare and extremely low graduation rates of young black men.  I coached baseball for years, white and black kids.  As those kids grew older and they started to make news in the local paper I was always struck by the fact that most of the white kids I coached were mentioned for academic and athletic achievements while the black kids were mentioned more for their  legal problems, at least one already in jail for life and he is  now only 21.  That system needs radical change for any of the people in it to learn how to take care of themselves.   

[r3020]

Now we can see why democratics are so desperate to get voting rights for convicted felons.

[kraft-t]

Yes. It would have been better to let them starve to death in the first place. Right?

[r3020]

No, it is better to let them kill each other over drugs. Right?

[cropdoc5]

What your party has been doing CERTAINLY is not working now.  So are you proposing that we continue to spend more money on an obviously failed policy??  What is YOUR solution??

Cropdoc

[cotman03]

His response to you is the line of thinking that has lead to this situation.  Destroying a class of people is what it has lead to. 

[Kraftedbydemocrats]

You know, the Don Kraft's of the world did not raise their kids this way. When one of Don's kids made a poor choice he did not reward them with a higher allowance pay. But, when it comes to other peoples money he changes. Just throw money at it and it makes him feel better. Interesting how they think.

[kraft-t]

Don Krafts kids had the benefit of better parenting. Their father had a decent  job and their mother was a superb mother and still is today.

Don Kraft pays taxes, lots of them. At least part of the money I am allegedly throwing is my own. I prefer that to using it to kill innocents in Iraq.

As near as i can tell, you folks think that working people are over paid and people that can't get a job are lazy and non productive and a welfare family prefers it that way.  Don't you ever question that mindset? Don't you think there are millions on unemployment that would like a job? I don't think you can build much of a future on welfare unless you are a farmer.

How many welfare recipients do youknow that have taken 1,2,3,4,500K out of the government trough since 1995/ Go to ewg.com and see how many welfare farmers have cut ahog that fat..

I get a kick out of you chaps that think you exclusively are paying taxes. You must think that or you would not suggest that I am throwing your money. You are paying any tax any way. You buy your johnedeere toys and the real working folks subsidize it. Both in farm subsidies and benefits from the tax code. Thus if you have spent $400 k on farm machinery, you have saved $100K or more in taxes. A hundred k that is added to the deficit or to tax bill of some working stiffs. What's more you think you deserve that "special" deal while workers are paying taxes year after year.