Saturday, June 20, 2020

Expect increased racial disparities?

Recent protests have been all about reducing racism yet what will be the practical result? It seems likely that "racism", defined as avoiding hiring or associating with some racial groups, might increase.

First, after the riots over the death of George Floyd, inner cities are going to see a recession. Jobs have been lost at local businesses which have been damaged or destroyed. Many businesses will leave the area rather than re-open in the same location. And businesses will think twice before locating within the city.

Why? We are starting to see violent protest after every new viral event (e.g. Atlanta this last weekend). There is also an election in November and if Donald Trump is reelected there is a good chance of a new round of violent protest. There were protests and some violence after Trump's initial election, it will be much worse if he's reelected.

There is also an emphasis on unintentional racist statements. These can be as simple as asking somebody "how was your weekend". If this is racist I can argue ANY general conversation or small talk might be considered racist by somebody. Will people want to hire minorities if there's a chance employees will be called racist for statements they consider normal conversation?

We also see a number of colleges and schools grading minorities on a more lenient scale. There is already a problem (due to affirmative action and quotas) that a minority hire for a job may be less qualified. Add the fact their GPA might be inflated relative to non-minorities and companies are left wondering if the candidate is really qualified. Better to hire the non-minority you know did the work.

Unfortunately this will result in another round of people being told all whites are racist.

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