July 31, 2011
July 29, 2011
Dr. Wilmer Leon: Debt Compromise on the Backs of African Americans is Really an Historical Trend
By
Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III
During this debt and deficit debate President Obama has been very clear in stating, “Not only is it not fair if all this is done on the backs of middle-class families,” Obama said, “it doesn’t make sense. … That’s why people from both parties have said the best way to take on our deficit is with a balanced approach … one where wealthy Americans and corporations pay their share, too.” It appeared as though closing tax loopholes and increased revenues coming from the “…oil company or a corporate jet owner that’s doing so well …” was not a point of compromise.
Men May Soon Be Taking Birth Control Pills Too
By JasmineHughes
To date, “the pill” has represented a sort of victory for women’s rights, but the realities of taking a daily medication that is sometimes accompanied by an expense and unpleasant side effects may make it more of a burden for women than a reproductive equalizer. And so comes male birth control, which, researchers say, might finally help men and women to take on life’s responsibilities together in about 10 years.
July 26, 2011
New Study: Racial Wealth Gap Worst in 25 Years
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
A new study presented some disturbing, yet expected news about the sad state of economic affairs within the African American community. According to the study, the wealth gap between white and black Americans has become the widest that it’s been in the last 25 years. As it stands, whites have a wealth level that is 20 times greater than blacks, and 18 times greater than Hispanics.
Much of the drop in black family wealth is due primarily to the decline in home values and heightened unemployment during the great recession of the last three years. African Americans currently have the highest unemployment rates in America, with the most recent data listing the rate at 16.2 percent.
July 25, 2011
Dr. Boyce: The Debt Ceiling Battle is a Symptom of Much Greater Economic Troubles
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
In early 2001, America’s economic future was rosy: Our government was sitting on a massive budget surplus, and the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the next 10 years would carry our nation down the path of seemingly endless prosperity. This was a good time for President George W. Bush to push through a set of massive tax cuts, significantly reducing government revenue at a time when we didn’t quite seem to need the money.
July 23, 2011
July 11, 2011
Beware of Media and Politicians Seeking to Control Your Mind
Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action
I saw a headline today involving Pastor Jeremiah Wright. The headline stated the following: "Jeremiah Wright’s Church Denomination Banishes ‘God the Father’ for Gay Inclusion.” The headline was interesting in that it almost seemed to imply that Jeremiah Wright had made the decision himself.
What was most peculiar about this article is that it was dead wrong. First, Pastor Wright has not been the head of The Trinity United Church of Christ for at least two years. Therefore, he doesn’t make the church’s decisions. Secondly, the United Church of Christ is a national body, meaning that even Trinity itself cannot make such a decision. So, the goal of getting Pastor Wright’s name into a juicy headline played a dominant role in how this article was written.
July 8, 2011
July 7, 2011
July 5, 2011
Julianne Malveaux: New IMF Leadership Ignores Real World Realities
by Julianne Malveaux, President – Bennett College for Women
Part of me is delighted that France’s Finance Minister Christine Lagarde will replace the accused rapist Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She will be the first woman to hold this position, and her background makes her a good pick for this important position. That she is a Frenchwoman replacing another French national suggests no loss of power or influence for France after the national soul-searching on gender attitudes that the DSK imbroglio sparked. While gender is not likely to shape the ways that Lagarde approaches IMF business, interest in her gender and her background may motivate more women to consider international finance as a career path.
While the woman that I am is cheering at the selection of Christine Lagarde, the woman of color in me wonders when the United States and Europe will loosen their lock on key global finance position. Customarily, someone from the United States leads the World Bank, and someone from Europe the International Monetary Fund. Last year, at the G20 Summit in Seoul, representatives from China, Brazil, and other countries balked that their economies are not only influential, but also growing. When they argued that they, too, should be considered for leadership positions, there was concurrence. The selection of Christine Lagarde suggests that concurrence was only lip service.
When one considers the growing role that China plays in the world economy, including its recent bet on the euro, it is beyond myopic that China should have such a minimal role in international finance. One might argue, too, that leadership of the IMF or the World Bank should not simply be reflective of the size of a national economy, or a regional one. What about the African continent or Latin America? How would perspective change if financiers from these countries had the opportunity to provide global financial leadership?
To be sure, neither gender nor nationality will shape an approach to the faltering economy in Greece, nor to the world economic slowdown. Except the whole world really isn’t slowing down. While Western economies are relatively stagnant, economies in developing countries are showing much more robust growth. Leaders from these countries may have different perspective on bailouts and other ways to induce world financial stability.
The world GDP is roughly $78 trillion; the US GDP is $14 trillion, or about 17 percent of that. The GDP of the European Union is a bit higher, at $16 trillion. The US and the EU have about 38 percent of world GDP. While the Chines economy is growing rapidly, its GDP was just $5,8 trillion in 2009. Though China and India’s have more people than the United States, they have much smaller GDPs, with India’s hovering at just $1.5 trillion. Still, if the US and the EU argue that size is the only thing that matters, then we had better enjoy our hegemony while we can. Certainly at the pace it is growing, and with the currency reserves it has on hand, China is poised to topple the United States within the next two to three decades.
(By the way I am aware that the larger economies pay a larger share of the operating funds of the IMF and the World Bank, and one might argue that she who pays the band calls the tune. She might find herself at a rather unruly party if no one gets the beat).
Instead of the "might matters" argument, we might look at other things that matter in terms of international financial leadership. What about growth rate? Educational development? Energy efficiency? These are all metrics that could be considered when leadership is being selected. Of course, the United States might not fare well when different metrics are used, which is why we’ve held fast to the notion that size is the most important things.
China’s presence at the world financial table is bound to push the envelope of western hegemony in coming years. As the Chinese economy gets larger, and as China claims a larger role in the development of other countries, including those on the African continent, it is likely that many will make the case that non-Western countries deserve more of a voice in world economic matters. Even as Christine Lagarde was being selected to lead the IMF there were rumblings from Brazil, especially, that there ought to be alternatives. When these rumblings become a roar, and they will, then the United States had better watch out.
As we struggle to lift the debt ceiling, we might also ask who holds our debt. Are we beholden to some of the countries that we refuse to treat fairly? This isn’t a question that will be resolved this year or next, but as world demographics shift, it is a question that will have to be answered. We in the United States must examine the advantages we enjoy from our "might is right" posture, and ask what we are prepared to give up in the interest of fairness.
Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for Women. Her most recent book, Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History is available at www.lastwordprod.com.
