Defund Food Stamps!
BLM looks at the fact black communities have a disproportionate police presence to argue they’re “over-policed.”
I’d argue, however, that in communities where if you call 9-11 you can be put on “hold” for hours or where a disproportionate amount of crime goes unsolved or where police are forced to work double or even triple shifts that such communities are actually under-policed!
But it’s interesting to me how BLM doesn’t apply their same line of logic about other areas where the black community gets a disproportionate amount of taxpayer funding.
Defund food stamps?!
But seriously, why don’t they? Both security and food are part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs so I suppose if you can do with less of one you could do with less of the other? And obesity is particularly rampant in poor black neighborhoods, therefore, killing way more black Americans than police brutality.
There IS an argument you could make for defunding the police and food stamps by saying they mask deeper social problems and therefore so long as the bandaid stays on then perhaps the black community will never feel sufficiently forced to address their core problems.
In other words, if you’re going to learn how to swim you have to eventually take off the floaties. If poor black communities are going to become more self-sufficient then perhaps they should throw off their federal assistance?
Sink or swim!
But there are TWO MAIN problems with this.
Number #1, a lot of Americans will die. In cities where police funding was cut we saw an uptick in murders. The truth is if we abolished the police or food stamps then a lot of people will die before things ever potentially got better in those neighborhoods.
Second, BLM isn’t so much interested in fixing the core problems of the black community. Thomas Sowell believes the black community’s problems primarily stem from increased single-motherhood and the government monopolization of virtually everything in their communities from education, housing, food, etc. BLM would exacerbate these problems by taking even more power away from black individuals to give to the white-marbled federal government. BLM also wants more Americans to primarily identify with their race, therefore, increasing racial tensions and divisions.
Using history as our guide, it just doesn’t seem like more racism and more socialism is what the black community needs. Democrat politicians have been running these inner-cities for 50 years with their so-called War on Poverty where they are basically transitioning black neighborhoods into impoverished Indian Reserves. If the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result“ then it must be suicidal to want to do more of a failing strategy and expect a better result!
I agree with BLM though in the usefulness of shifting taxpayer funds, but rather than shifting funds out of police departments, let’s shift them out of failing public schools and into vouchers, charter schools, job training programs, a national test-taking website, and public parks. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2007, national per-pupil spending for white students was roughly $10,800 and for black students it was $11,400. But even if for argument’s sake we flipped those numbers, the U.S. still spends more on education per pupil than virtually any other country on Earth and at any other point in our history! If BLM wants to abolish something then I think they should abolish the Teachers Union for trapping a growing number of black youth in a perpetual state of poverty and victimhood.
And instead of chanting “DEFUND the police,” BLM should chant, “DEREGULATE education, housing, banking, healthcare, business, etc.” Granted, it’s not as catchy. But the evidence is clear that the most innovative parts of our economy are the least regulated. Cheap is better than free! When we reduce red tape and useless “certifications” then we’ll see a boom in opportunity and quality. For example, when Uber deregulated taxi services we saw a massive boom in opportunity and quality in the transportation sector, which disproportionally benefited low-income Americans.
The future should belong to entrepreneurs, not corporatists. Traditionally, black Americans just wanted their freedom. It’s about time America provided it.
Freedom is better than “FREE!”