Thread: Minorities Urge Obama to Tackle Jobless Rate in Their Commun

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FOXNews.com

The unemployment rate for blacks is a whopping 15.7 percent and 13.1 percent for Latinos compared to 9.5 percent for whites.

When the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October, it captured national attention, but little has been said about the racial disparities among job seekers.

The unemployment rate for blacks is a whopping 15.7 percent and 13.1 percent for Latinos compared to 9.5 percent for whites.

When the recession started two years ago, the black unemployment rate was 8.9 percent compared to the national rate of 4.9 percent.

Influential black leaders have now begun pressuring President Obama, the country's first black president, to take action, saying they want him "to move forward" because in some communities, the male black unemployment rate hit 50 percent.

"Our country needs to move to create new jobs," Hilary Shelton, senior vice president of the NAACP, told Fox News.

A rising jobless rate in minority communities could pose a serious problem for Obama if voter enthusiasm begins to wane among these groups whose support helped sweep him into power last year.

Even though Obama is two months shy of his first year in office, some minority leaders have maintained support for his economic policies, including his $787 billion stimulus package and the jobs summit planned for next month.

"The administration has taken the steps to make sure that we can solidify our economy," Shelton said, adding that Obama "inherited eight years of bad economic planning and has stepped into an initiative in which we find our country losing jobs at an astronomical rate."

When Obama was asked in June to address the issue of higher unemployment rates among blacks, he said, "The best thing that I can do for the African-American community or the Latino community or the Asian community, whatever community, is to get the economy as a whole moving. If I don't do that then I'm not going to be able to help anybody. So that's priority number one."

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Employment Policy at the Hudson Institute, attributed the difference in jobless rates mostly to the fact that unskilled work is typically the first to vanish in a recession.

"The biggest job losses are in the manufacturing, construction sector and a disproportionately high percentage of minorities are employed in construction," she said.

Furchtgott-Roth said Obama should make a special effort to help unskilled workers.

"I think we should of course be helping the economy as a whole but we should also be focusing on unskilled workers because they're having the hardest time finding jobs," she said.

Last week, Obama announced a December jobs summit aimed at synching job growth with the stimulus package. Obama said the White House forum will gather CEOs, small business owners, economists, financial experts and representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups "to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again."

Shelton said the idea behind the jobs summit that Obama is to build coordination to create new jobs.

"We need the kind of coordination that not only comes from the White House and Congress, but also from both the public and private sectors of our society. If we are going to create sustainable, long range living wage jobs, we all have to work together to do it."

Shelton said a smart comprehensive approach is needed to break the back of the recession.

"If we invest our money into infrastructure development, it means we are fixing our bridges and creating jobs. It means we are repairing our schools and creating jobs and the economic underpinnings to sustain those schools.

Fox News' James Rosen contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11 ... mmunities/

Blacks and Latinos have to resort to begging Obama for Jobs, you know they all would have them if Obama just forced ALL employers to verify citizenship!! I don't think one group in our country has been more adversely affected then the Black community at the hands of Illegals!! I hope to see more outrage out of everyone in this country that want their country back from the Illegals.

Influential black leaders have now begun pressuring President Obama, the country's first black president, to take action, saying they want him "to move forward" because in some communities, the male black unemployment rate hit 50 percent.

Obama's plan "to take action?"Push to legalize 20 million illegal invaders (probably triple that once chain migration is completed) who will directly compete for jobs with those already struggling within the black communities for those same jobs!

That's how Obama intends to "move forward and take action!"

I really wonder about the government sometimes -- like what kind of toxins are in the DC drinking water.
This makes no sense. Even under Bushy, Americans were losing jobs left and right, while we were borrowing billions from China so the consumer nation of the world could keep buying their poisoned products. Fighting two wars, with troops deployed five or six times and billions being spent daily. Meanwhile, Boeing and other companies have managed to outsource a lot of elements of our armaments.
We have been diverted by this whole healthcare mess in Congress, Palin's new book, which star got pregnant or is divorcing...and so many do not realize what is happening to their lives.
And too many have been diverted from what is happening here by worrying how to hang onto the home and put food on the table.

Vortex wrote:

I really wonder about the government sometimes -- like what kind of toxins are in the DC drinking water. This makes no sense. Even under Bushy, Americans were losing jobs left and right, while we were borrowing billions from China so the consumer nation of the world could keep buying their poisoned products. Fighting two wars, with troops deployed five or six times and billions being spent daily. Meanwhile, Boeing and other companies have managed to outsource a lot of elements of our armaments.

Well said, Vortex. It is SO insane. But as you point out, some of this insanity has been going on for a while now. Under Bush also.

I also could swear something, something really sick or sinister, happens to them when they go to Washington. Once they get a taste of power, maintaining it becomes their priority over all else. And for some reason, what they believe they have to do to stay in power, is usually the direct opposite of what the American people want. I think it all goes back to the lobbyists, whose interests are usually in opposition to what the American people want. Thats why they have to lobby for it. It is some kind of phenomenon that at times seems intractable.

I think there are a few exceptions to this. A few good representatives who are not as swayed by the lobbyists. Who are honest, and genuine, and principled. And who value and try to adhere to the Constitution.

But then the evil ones keep elected anyway. Look at McCain! It is SO frustrating. Hopefully things will actually really change in the next election......