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Here are some recent survey data on the makeup of the immigrant population in the US.

A lot of interesting material here we might discuss.  I’ll just limit myself to pointing out one fact, which is discussed by Borjas as well:  immigrants are, as a group, less likely than non-immigrants to have some college or a college degree (63% non-immigrants vs. 50% immigrants) and they are much more likely than non-immigrants to have less than a high school education (27% immigrants vs. 9% non-immigrants).  The latter point is true for every single regional group of immigrants Pew provides.  In other words, no matter where immigrants come from, whether Asia, or the Middle East, or Sub-Saharan Africa, or Europe, or Central and South America, they are more likely than non-immigrant Americans to have less than a high school education.

What do you think the likely long-term consequences of such demographic facts might be?  Do those or any other facts in these data seem to you convincing parts of an argument against current immigration policy in the US?  Do any facts here seem to you convincing parts of an argument for current immigration policy in the US?

In “Hoop Dreams,” two boys named Arthur Agee and William Gates from the inner-city of Chicago strive to earn college scholarships and become professional basketball players in the NBA. We watch as the two players fight to rise to the top through as they endure the hardships of coming from the inner-city. They must face the realities of their financial struggles as well as the hardships of injuries. We watch Arthur’s family struggle due to his father’s drug addiction and watch as his water and power are both shut off. Arthur’s mother makes only $268 a month. William’s father is not present as he has not been around for several years. This leaves both families relying heavily on the support of their extended families

Arthur and William both attend St. Josephs’s high school, a school well known for producing collegiate and professional athletes, especially in comparison to that of their inner-city public schools. They both are recruited and receive scholarships to play there because of their talent. They commute an hour and a half every day, both to and from school. Unfortunately, Arthur does not play as well as expected and loses his scholarship and therefore can not afford to play at the school, although he was recruited with the school’s intention to cover his tuition. His tuition money goes to further fund William, who made the varsity team as a freshman and shows greater potential than Arthur. William attends elite basketball camps, further fostering his talent and potential, while Arthur stays home over the summer and works a low salary job. William becomes injured which impairs his ability to play and did not perform well enough on his ACTs. This deteriorates his chances of playing at many top colleges for basketball. Fortunately, both boys end up attending college due to their success in basketball, unlike many of the other kids from their inner-city neighborhood. 

In the reading, ‘Race, Wrongs, and Remedies’ written by Amy Wax, there is much controversy presented. Issues beyond school, work, and families are presented within the African American community. Racism affects blacks in many other sectors including, but not limited to lending and consumer credit, housing, health care, policing, criminal justice, and law enforcement. It is inferred that there is a relative contribution of biased treatments in favor of the dominant races present in American society. Observed disparities are best addressed through reform of the victim’s own actions and strategies. Temptations to devote attention to finding elusive research of bias are challenging to avoid.

I was very interested in the parable of the pedestrian, and was wondering how well that applies to the real life dilemma of the treatment of minority groups in America. The parable of the pedestrian is a parable that is connected to the law of remedies. By the law of remedies, someone who does wrong to someone innocent is legally obligated to make things right restore the innocent person back to where they were before. If the innocent person is not brought back to their original state, then they are not considered remedied. However, sometimes it is impossible to bring someone back to their original state, which is where the parable of the pedestrian comes in.

The parable of the pedestrian is a parable in which an innocent pedestrian is hit by a car, and it is not their fault in any way. The pedestrian loses their ability to walk, and they can possibly get it back with lots of hard work and physical therapy. The driver is morally obligated to pay for the therapy, and anything else the pedestrian needs to recover. However, sometimes in this situation, the pedestrian loses hope, as physical therapy isn’t working, and the are angry at the fact that they have to go through this even though they are innocent. Sadly, the driver cannot do anything more to help. Though it is understandable why the pedestrian loses some hope, recovery is within the pedestrian’s control now.

This parable is applied to the real life situation of the treatment of minority groups in America, specifically African American communities. America clearly hurt African Americans by enslaving them against their will, and even today, effects of slavery can still be felt. There are large disparities between communities of different races in the United States, and many believe this is because of racism and hundreds of years of poor treatment. I think applying the parable of the pedestrian to this situation is oversimplifying things a little, even though the parable has many complex layers. In the parable of the pedestrian, it is clear to tell when the driver has done all they could, but it is not clear when the American government has done their part. Though I do believe there are negative effects of mentally assigning all responsibility for helping a group to an outside party, Wax seems to tend to overestimate how much a group of disadvantage is fully able to help themselves. One example of this is when Wax talks about how another theorist thinks that getting a better education system and schools in inner city communities could improve said communities in the long term. Wax says that this will not guarantee people in these communities will care or study. I don’t think Wax’s argument here is valid, because without sufficient schools, kids growing up in some of these areas barely even have a chance to care or study. It seems extremely unlikely that no one in these communities would want to make the most out of their education given a better chance. I understand that some effort must come from within, but a healthy mixture of efforts from within and the outside of these communities seems like a better solution than either or.

In this section of the book I focused on the idea that Wax put forth that it is no longer a cultural problem of race it is a personal problem. She says “without radical change in black’s own approach to their continuing dilemma the problem of racial inequality will continue to resist policy based solution” (36). I find it interesting that she does not find there to be an issue in the country as a whole, but it is up to one race to change their attitude and ways in order to get what they want. I do not agree with the statements she has made. There is still systematic oppression of black Americans in this country. Just in the sense of voting it is statistically harder for black Americans to get out and vote. This is because the times that are allotted for voting in neighbor hoods predominantly black are during times which are not convent. Most people cannot leave work to vote on voting days, so polls in mostly white neighborhoods are open long after the workday has opened. But in black neighborhoods they are open mostly just during the workday. If this were the case in all neighborhoods, then the voting turn out would dramatically decrease. There are many other examples of this oppression like profiling of the police and recruiters for jobs. It is not just up to black Americans but also white Americans. The ones who can change the outcome are the ones who think it is someone else’s job to do so, and that is why the system keeps failing black Americans.