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The State Against Blacks
Examines federal, state, and local laws that hinder the employment and economic progress of Blacks and, often, deny their right to work
183 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1982
4 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Walter E. Williams
30 books256 followersBorn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Walter E. Williams holds a B.A. in economics from California State University, Los Angeles, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from UCLA. He also holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Union University and Grove City College, Doctor of Laws from Washington and Jefferson College and Doctor Honoris Causa en Ciencias Sociales from Universidad Francisco Marroquin, in Guatemala, where he is also Professor Honorario.
Dr. Williams has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, since 1980; from 1995 to 2001, he served as department chairman. He has also served on the faculties of Los Angeles City College, California State University Los Angeles, and Temple University in Philadelphia, and Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.
Dr. Williams is the author of over 150 publications which have appeared in scholarly journals such as Economic Inquiry, American Economic Review, Georgia Law Review, Journal of Labor Economics, Social Science Quarterly, and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and popular publications such as Newsweek, Ideas on Liberty, National Review, Reader's Digest, Cato Journal, and Policy Review. He has authored six books: America: A Minority Viewpoint, The State Against Blacks, which was later made into the PBS documentary "Good Intentions," All It Takes Is Guts, South Africa's War Against Capitalism, which was later revised for South African publication, Do the Right Thing: The People's Economist Speaks, and More Liberty Means Less Government.
He has made scores of radio and television appearances which include "Nightline," "Firing Line," "Face the Nation," Milton Friedman's "Free To Choose," "Crossfire," "MacNeil/Lehrer," "Wall Street Week" and was a regular commentator for "Nightly Business Report." He is also occasional substitute host for the "Rush Limbaugh" show. In addition Dr. Williams writes a nationally syndicated weekly column that is carried by approximately 140 newspapers and several web sites.
Dr. Williams serves on several boards of directors: Grove City College, Reason Foundation and Hoover Institution. He serves on numerous advisory boards including: Cato Institute, Landmark Legal Foundation, Institute of Economic Affairs, and Heritage Foundation.
Dr. Williams has received numerous fellowships and awards including: Foundation for Economic Education Adam Smith Award, Hoover Institution National Fellow, Ford Foundation Fellow, Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation George Washington Medal of Honor, Veterans of Foreign Wars U.S. News Media Award, Adam Smith Award, California State University Distinguished Alumnus Award, George Mason University Faculty Member of the Year, and Alpha Kappa Psi Award.
Dr. Williams has participated in numerous debates, conferences and lectures in the United States and abroad. He has frequently given expert testimony before Congressional committees on public policy issues ranging from labor policy to taxation and spending. He is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, and the American Economic Association.
Dr. Williams has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, since 1980; from 1995 to 2001, he served as department chairman. He has also served on the faculties of Los Angeles City College, California State University Los Angeles, and Temple University in Philadelphia, and Grove City College, Grove City, Pa.
Dr. Williams is the author of over 150 publications which have appeared in scholarly journals such as Economic Inquiry, American Economic Review, Georgia Law Review, Journal of Labor Economics, Social Science Quarterly, and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and popular publications such as Newsweek, Ideas on Liberty, National Review, Reader's Digest, Cato Journal, and Policy Review. He has authored six books: America: A Minority Viewpoint, The State Against Blacks, which was later made into the PBS documentary "Good Intentions," All It Takes Is Guts, South Africa's War Against Capitalism, which was later revised for South African publication, Do the Right Thing: The People's Economist Speaks, and More Liberty Means Less Government.
He has made scores of radio and television appearances which include "Nightline," "Firing Line," "Face the Nation," Milton Friedman's "Free To Choose," "Crossfire," "MacNeil/Lehrer," "Wall Street Week" and was a regular commentator for "Nightly Business Report." He is also occasional substitute host for the "Rush Limbaugh" show. In addition Dr. Williams writes a nationally syndicated weekly column that is carried by approximately 140 newspapers and several web sites.
Dr. Williams serves on several boards of directors: Grove City College, Reason Foundation and Hoover Institution. He serves on numerous advisory boards including: Cato Institute, Landmark Legal Foundation, Institute of Economic Affairs, and Heritage Foundation.
Dr. Williams has received numerous fellowships and awards including: Foundation for Economic Education Adam Smith Award, Hoover Institution National Fellow, Ford Foundation Fellow, Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation George Washington Medal of Honor, Veterans of Foreign Wars U.S. News Media Award, Adam Smith Award, California State University Distinguished Alumnus Award, George Mason University Faculty Member of the Year, and Alpha Kappa Psi Award.
Dr. Williams has participated in numerous debates, conferences and lectures in the United States and abroad. He has frequently given expert testimony before Congressional committees on public policy issues ranging from labor policy to taxation and spending. He is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, and the American Economic Association.
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June 16, 2024
A BOOK FOCUSING ON GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS HARMING MINORITIES
Walter Edward Williams (born 1936) is Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1982 book, “for the last twenty years race has been a major focus of public debate and public policy. What is reducible to racism, bigotry, and callousness on the behalf of whites is most often featured as the cause of the current condition of many blacks… the fight to promote equality and opportunity is portrayed as a struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil… The problems with explaining the plight of black people in terms of good and evil are: (1) that approach does not yield testable hypotheses… and (2) finding and punishing evil people cannot explain the economic progress of minorities in the United States or any place else… West Indian blacks did not have to wait for racism to end to earn a median income, in the U.S., that is just slightly below that for the nation as a whole… the basic premise of this book is that racial bigotry is neither a complete nor a satisfactory explanation for the CURRENT condition or many blacks in America. We will see that instead of racial discrimination and bigotry, it is the ‘rules of the game’ that account for many of the economic handicaps faced by blacks. The rules of the game are the many federal, state, and local laws that regulate economic activity… The major difference is that when other ethnics became urbanized, markets were freer and less regulated.”
He suggests that “The history of ethnic minorities in the United States, and elsewhere, seriously calls into question those premises that argue that disadvantaged minorities in the United States MUST acquire political power and undertake programs to ‘end racism’ in order for socioeconomic growth to occur.” (Pg. 6)
He observes, “It appears that middle-class black families will resist federally-subsidized low-income housing just as middle-class white families will, in spite of the fact that the occupants of the low-income housing may be fellow blacks… These findings suggest that what may appear to be a racial phenomenon… may instead be an economic or social class phenomenon. But ever more importantly… the findings point up the danger of equating white with high incomes and black with low incomes. Today, in light of unprecedented economic gains being made by blacks, such an equation increasingly does not apply.” (Pg. 12-13)
He argues, “the term racial segregation means one thing when applied to water fountains, libraries, and theaters. Racial segregation means quite another thing when applied to schools, jobs and housing. In the case of water fountains, desegregation means that if a black is at a water fountain and desires to drink, he is free to do so. In the case of public schools, desegregation ‘means’ that the number of blacks in attendance is some preconceived percentage, say 12 percent, of those in attendance. If the preconceived numerical figure is not realized, then remedial measures are proposed or legislated.” (Pg. 19-20)
He acknowledges, “Prices [are] indeed higher in ghetto areas… But to view the merchants’ behavior as exploitative or racist ignores the fact that ghettos tend to present a high-cost business environment. Losses from business-related crime are higher there than elsewhere as a percentage of total sales… insurance premiums are also higher; and extension of credit is riskier… Much of the behavior that critics have condemned is merely an economic response to an environment that raises the cost of doing business. If products and services are to be provided in the ghetto, prices must reflect their higher costs.” (Pg. 31)
He asserts, “Who bears the burden of the minimum wage? … those [workers] that are the most marginal… In the U.S. there are at least two segments of the labor force that share the marginal worker characteristics to a greater extent than do other segments of the labor force. The first group consists of youths in general… because of their … immaturity and lack of work experience. The second group… are racial minorities such as Negroes and Hispanics, who … are disproportionately represented among low-skilled workers. These workers are not only made unemployable by the minimum wage, but their opportunities to upgrade their skills through on-the-job training are also severely limited.” (Pg. 34-35)
He contends, “What the do-gooders forgot to ask before they enacted their [minimum wage law] … is why would anyone work … for the paltry sum of a dollar or two an hour? Would he have selected such a job if he had a better opportunity? Therefore, the ‘sweatshop; job was his best-known opportunity… is he helped by … the do-gooder offering him no replacement other than the dole?” (Pg. 51)
He points out, “there are at least three important questions that are inadequately answered in the racial discrimination literature: (1) Why do black/white female income ratios rise with increased education while the opposite is the case with black/white median income ratio; (2) Why is it that black/white female income differences are virtually nonexistent, as a group, while there are significant differences between black and white males; and (3) What can possibly explain why he median income of the black female professional is 25 percent higher than that of the white female professional?” (Pg. 58)
He analyzes the taxicab industry: “Taxicab … operations … lie within the capital and skills limitations of many urban poor. Initial costs are modest when compared to other businesses… The personal business skills necessary to become a taxi owner-operator are similarly minimal… [But] there are significant, and for many insurmountable, politically erected barriers to entry… in the form of local regulations that specify entry conditions. In all major American cities except three, the taxicab industry is a highly restricted government monopoly… the municipal government of New York City requires a medallion for each taxicab operating in the city… The selling price for a medallion … is now approximately $60,000 [$159,000 in 2019 money].” (Pg. 75-77)
He recounts, “One of the most remarkable stories to be told about the early history of Negroes in the railroad industry is their success despite white worker hostility. As such this story demonstrates that racial discrimination, in and of itself, cannot generally explain Negro unemployment. But it may explain lower wages… The high rate of employment for Negroes in the railroad industry was not at all a result of benevolence on behalf of white owners… It existed because Negroes would work for wages that were often just two-thirds of the wages paid to white firemen for doing the same job.” (Pg. 102-103)
He notes, “So the moral question has to be asked: If we are going to retain various laws and regulations that systematically discriminate against black opportunities, what do we do? If we keep the laws, then hard and fast racial quotas, in some areas, may constitute a ‘second-best’ solution. The first-best solution, in terms of equity and efficiency, is to eliminate the regulations and eliminate the quotas.” (Pg. 123)
He summarizes, “The thesis of this book is that black handicaps resulting from centuries of slavery, followed by years of gross denial of constitutional rights, have been reinforced by government laws. The government laws that have proven most devastating, for many blacks, are those that govern economic activity. The laws are not discriminatory in the sense that they are aimed specifically at blacks. But they are discriminatory in the sense that they deny full opportunity for the most disadvantaged Americans, among whom blacks are disproportionately represented.” (Pg. 125) Later, he adds, “racial antipathy and discrimination do not explain all that they are purported to explain. The fact that a person LIKES one race over another does not tell us what that person will find to be in his interests.” (Pg. 141)
He asks, “Why is it that poor blacks did not inundate suburban areas to the extent they did the cities? The answer is easy: The power of the state subverted the operation of the market. Suburban areas, to a greater extant then cities, have highly restrictive zoning ordinances…. The combined effect of these laws… is to deny poor people the chance to outbid nonpoor people… Herein lies the power of the market. People can offset some of their handicaps by offering a higher price for what they buy or a lower price for what they sell… [But] is handicapped people are not permitted to use price as a bargaining tool, they may very well end up with none of what they want as opposed to some.” (Pg. 143)
This book will be “must reading” for conservatives interested in the question of racial/ethnic economic issues.
Walter Edward Williams (born 1936) is Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1982 book, “for the last twenty years race has been a major focus of public debate and public policy. What is reducible to racism, bigotry, and callousness on the behalf of whites is most often featured as the cause of the current condition of many blacks… the fight to promote equality and opportunity is portrayed as a struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil… The problems with explaining the plight of black people in terms of good and evil are: (1) that approach does not yield testable hypotheses… and (2) finding and punishing evil people cannot explain the economic progress of minorities in the United States or any place else… West Indian blacks did not have to wait for racism to end to earn a median income, in the U.S., that is just slightly below that for the nation as a whole… the basic premise of this book is that racial bigotry is neither a complete nor a satisfactory explanation for the CURRENT condition or many blacks in America. We will see that instead of racial discrimination and bigotry, it is the ‘rules of the game’ that account for many of the economic handicaps faced by blacks. The rules of the game are the many federal, state, and local laws that regulate economic activity… The major difference is that when other ethnics became urbanized, markets were freer and less regulated.”
He suggests that “The history of ethnic minorities in the United States, and elsewhere, seriously calls into question those premises that argue that disadvantaged minorities in the United States MUST acquire political power and undertake programs to ‘end racism’ in order for socioeconomic growth to occur.” (Pg. 6)
He observes, “It appears that middle-class black families will resist federally-subsidized low-income housing just as middle-class white families will, in spite of the fact that the occupants of the low-income housing may be fellow blacks… These findings suggest that what may appear to be a racial phenomenon… may instead be an economic or social class phenomenon. But ever more importantly… the findings point up the danger of equating white with high incomes and black with low incomes. Today, in light of unprecedented economic gains being made by blacks, such an equation increasingly does not apply.” (Pg. 12-13)
He argues, “the term racial segregation means one thing when applied to water fountains, libraries, and theaters. Racial segregation means quite another thing when applied to schools, jobs and housing. In the case of water fountains, desegregation means that if a black is at a water fountain and desires to drink, he is free to do so. In the case of public schools, desegregation ‘means’ that the number of blacks in attendance is some preconceived percentage, say 12 percent, of those in attendance. If the preconceived numerical figure is not realized, then remedial measures are proposed or legislated.” (Pg. 19-20)
He acknowledges, “Prices [are] indeed higher in ghetto areas… But to view the merchants’ behavior as exploitative or racist ignores the fact that ghettos tend to present a high-cost business environment. Losses from business-related crime are higher there than elsewhere as a percentage of total sales… insurance premiums are also higher; and extension of credit is riskier… Much of the behavior that critics have condemned is merely an economic response to an environment that raises the cost of doing business. If products and services are to be provided in the ghetto, prices must reflect their higher costs.” (Pg. 31)
He asserts, “Who bears the burden of the minimum wage? … those [workers] that are the most marginal… In the U.S. there are at least two segments of the labor force that share the marginal worker characteristics to a greater extent than do other segments of the labor force. The first group consists of youths in general… because of their … immaturity and lack of work experience. The second group… are racial minorities such as Negroes and Hispanics, who … are disproportionately represented among low-skilled workers. These workers are not only made unemployable by the minimum wage, but their opportunities to upgrade their skills through on-the-job training are also severely limited.” (Pg. 34-35)
He contends, “What the do-gooders forgot to ask before they enacted their [minimum wage law] … is why would anyone work … for the paltry sum of a dollar or two an hour? Would he have selected such a job if he had a better opportunity? Therefore, the ‘sweatshop; job was his best-known opportunity… is he helped by … the do-gooder offering him no replacement other than the dole?” (Pg. 51)
He points out, “there are at least three important questions that are inadequately answered in the racial discrimination literature: (1) Why do black/white female income ratios rise with increased education while the opposite is the case with black/white median income ratio; (2) Why is it that black/white female income differences are virtually nonexistent, as a group, while there are significant differences between black and white males; and (3) What can possibly explain why he median income of the black female professional is 25 percent higher than that of the white female professional?” (Pg. 58)
He analyzes the taxicab industry: “Taxicab … operations … lie within the capital and skills limitations of many urban poor. Initial costs are modest when compared to other businesses… The personal business skills necessary to become a taxi owner-operator are similarly minimal… [But] there are significant, and for many insurmountable, politically erected barriers to entry… in the form of local regulations that specify entry conditions. In all major American cities except three, the taxicab industry is a highly restricted government monopoly… the municipal government of New York City requires a medallion for each taxicab operating in the city… The selling price for a medallion … is now approximately $60,000 [$159,000 in 2019 money].” (Pg. 75-77)
He recounts, “One of the most remarkable stories to be told about the early history of Negroes in the railroad industry is their success despite white worker hostility. As such this story demonstrates that racial discrimination, in and of itself, cannot generally explain Negro unemployment. But it may explain lower wages… The high rate of employment for Negroes in the railroad industry was not at all a result of benevolence on behalf of white owners… It existed because Negroes would work for wages that were often just two-thirds of the wages paid to white firemen for doing the same job.” (Pg. 102-103)
He notes, “So the moral question has to be asked: If we are going to retain various laws and regulations that systematically discriminate against black opportunities, what do we do? If we keep the laws, then hard and fast racial quotas, in some areas, may constitute a ‘second-best’ solution. The first-best solution, in terms of equity and efficiency, is to eliminate the regulations and eliminate the quotas.” (Pg. 123)
He summarizes, “The thesis of this book is that black handicaps resulting from centuries of slavery, followed by years of gross denial of constitutional rights, have been reinforced by government laws. The government laws that have proven most devastating, for many blacks, are those that govern economic activity. The laws are not discriminatory in the sense that they are aimed specifically at blacks. But they are discriminatory in the sense that they deny full opportunity for the most disadvantaged Americans, among whom blacks are disproportionately represented.” (Pg. 125) Later, he adds, “racial antipathy and discrimination do not explain all that they are purported to explain. The fact that a person LIKES one race over another does not tell us what that person will find to be in his interests.” (Pg. 141)
He asks, “Why is it that poor blacks did not inundate suburban areas to the extent they did the cities? The answer is easy: The power of the state subverted the operation of the market. Suburban areas, to a greater extant then cities, have highly restrictive zoning ordinances…. The combined effect of these laws… is to deny poor people the chance to outbid nonpoor people… Herein lies the power of the market. People can offset some of their handicaps by offering a higher price for what they buy or a lower price for what they sell… [But] is handicapped people are not permitted to use price as a bargaining tool, they may very well end up with none of what they want as opposed to some.” (Pg. 143)
This book will be “must reading” for conservatives interested in the question of racial/ethnic economic issues.
June 7, 2020
Read this as part of a Free Enterprise summer institute for educators. I probably would not have picked it up if hadn't been assigned reading. It was an interesting view on the economic impact of government institutions and laws on the ability of African Americans to succeed in our capitalist society. Williams postulates that bigotry and racism are not the only reasons blacks "are behind" when it comes to economic progress. It was eye opening but definitely geared toward the student of economics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews