Something that has been lost in our current cultural climate is the ability to distinguish between statistics and what the statistics mean. The numbers can be perfectly accurate, but the words used to describe them can be misleading. When understanding why there are differences between groups the default assumption is often that only one factor accounts for the differences, bias of others. That single factor may be the explanation or there may be multiple reasons why groups are different. One cannot know without first doing the work of looking into the numerous factors and examining which ones best explain what we see in the statistics. To Illustrate how misleading the words and statistics can be, try determining how you would equalize outcomes for the following groups. Based on the numbers and the verbal presentation can you tell who deserves social justice?
Scenario 1: This group has the highest average wealth in the US. Those who are in this group have 15 times the average wealth of those who are not part of this privileged elite. Who are these elites and who are the rest? Will you take money from one and give it to the others?
Answer 1: Congratulations you have taken money from the elderly, age 65 and older (the elites), and have given their life savings to those who are 35 and under (the rest). You have taken the life savings of grandma and grandpa and handed them to individuals that are just beginning their career[1]. To talk about the wealth of people who are at different stages of life is to ignore an important factor, time. Those young people will one day grow old themselves. The 35-year-old when they are 65 will have had 30 years of work experience, larger paychecks as they rise through the ranks, and the chance to earn money on investments in the stock market. So those 35-year-olds are essentially being envious of the wealth that they one day too would have. Someone who is 35 would be as wealthy as their grandparents after 30 years of earning income if they had not pushed to confiscate the wealth of those elites.
Scenario 2: This group of business owners have more total revenue than some nations. How can we create social justice out of this inequality?
Answer 2: Great job, you have taken money not from the oil companies but from Cuban Americans (business owners) who fled Cuba (some nations) when the communist government of Fidel Castro took over. Cuban Americans arrived in the US in 1959 at which time, they had nothing. However, by the late 1990’s this small group of Cuban exiles had businesses with total revenue exceeding the entire Communist nation of Cuba. It should also be noted that Cuban Americans had incomes of $50,000 or more twice as often as white Americans in 1990. Those Cuban refugees are not unique worldwide. In 1994 there were 57 million Chinese living in countries outside of China. Those 57 million produced more wealth than the 1 billion people living under the Chinese Communist regime[2]. Keep in mind that in both examples from Cuba and China that the people who left their country were just like their fellow countrymen. Yet the different governments and economic systems that they lived under yielded drastically different results.
Statistical differences between countries are similarly frequent. Even amongst whites, the boogey men of so much modern discourse, there can be profound statistical differences in economic outcomes. Norway for example has five times the GDP of Albania, Serbia and Ukraine. Norway has a higher GDP even when compared with Switzerland, Denmark or Germany. There are numerous factors for why these economic differences exist and one should search out and weigh the reasons for these differences before assuming they know the cause. Humility about what we know helps us to not hastily make judgements or support political policies that may prove to be incorrect.
Scenario 3: This group has a poverty rate that has been under ten percent every year since 1994. Some years, their poverty rate has been less than blacks and whites as a whole. What group or characteristic could account for this disparity? How will you take away their privilege?
Answer 3: Congratulations, you are taking the privilege of being married away from black couples. Black married couples have had a poverty rate under 10 percent every year since 1994. The tendency of our time is to see statistical differences between groups and assume that there would be equality in all aspects if it were not for racism or bias. But again, you have to consider numerous explanations before assuming racism is the cause. Racism may be the explanation, but you cannot assume that without looking at other factors. Racism could be a factor, nonfactor, or major factor. The truth is you cannot say for sure just based on statistical differences. You might think that racism is the key explanation for all poverty among blacks today, but consider this, racists or systemic racism would not care if you are black and married or black and unmarried. So, while blacks as a whole have a high poverty rate, married blacks have had a poverty rate less than ten percent every year since 1994. In 2016, black married couples had a poverty rate that was lower than the white poverty rate.
Steven Lansburg once said, “a few lines of reasoning can change the way we see the world”. We are in need of good facts and reasoning to make the right decisions about politics and economics. We need to see the world more clearly. Many today offer single explanations for the numerous differences between groups without fully exploring the facts and other possible explanations. Anyone who makes a claim about how the world works should be met with questions and careful consideration to see if their claims are true or false. Too many people are ready to rush to conclusions and make decisions that could have significant ramifications for all Americans without fully assessing all the data. I highly recommend two books by Thomas Sowell, Discrimination and Disparities as well as Wealth, Poverty, and Politics to explore some of the many factors that go into statistical and economic differences between groups of people.
[1] See Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell [2] See Wealth Poverty and Politics by Thomas Sowell
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