On a recent trip to Chicago I was flipping the dial on the satellite radio in the car and came across one of the comedy channels.
At least that’s what I thought it was because I laughed all the way from West Lafayette to Merrillville. However, it turns out it was political pundit Tavis Smiley. He was going on about folks who were supposed to be sympathetic to the Democratic-progressive cause, but weren’t really helping make life better for Black folks.
He railed against former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for “stop and frisk,” which helped lower the crime rate in some of the most dangerous parts of the city. He then made me nearly drive off the road when he blasted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for closing down failing schools in some neighborhoods. All I could think of listening to Smiley was that on two of the biggest issues that impact urban communities, crime and education, this guy was complaining about efforts to make life better for the folks who need it the most.
And that is the ultimate problem with the “progressive” movement. It’s those policies that fundamentally do the people who need the most help the most harm. Take for example the proposed increases in the minimum wage. My friends who favor increasing the minimum wage say people need it to raise a family. I’ve done stand-up comedy for years and could never write something so laughable on the best day of my life. The minimum wage was never made to raise a family.
In fact, according the Bureau of Labor statistics more than half the people getting minimum wage are from age 16 to 24. And the occupations where people are most likely to make minimum wage are what you would expect – cashiers, fast food workers, servers, retail salespeople.
Here’s a dirty little secret, the more education you have – either a two-year, four-year or technical training – the less likely you are to make minimum wage.
This brings me to my next point – education. Will someone please tell me why “progressives” are still fighting vouchers and school choice? What’s progressive about leaving children in a failing or deplorable school system? I agree with the saying that the quality of a child’s education should not be determined by his or her zip code. Even efforts to improve traditional public education get met with scorn and dissent.
When Black Democrats at the Statehouse tell the new superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools that he is making a mistake by partnering with charter schools, and the so-called “concerned clergy” looks at running candidates against some of the current members of the IPS Board because they don’t like the way Dr. Ferebee is running the district (i.e. accountability, transparency, putting children first) and the group thinks the school board should challenge him more.
But why would anyone want to get an education to achieve a better paying job when “progressives” would rather hand out more food stamps and unemployment without any sort of restriction or accountability.
At what point do we do more harm than good. I have always been for a social safety net, but when it turns into a hammock, we have a serious problem on our hands.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is an attorney, political commentator and radio talk show host at 93.1, WIBC-FM. You can email comments to abdul@indypolitics.org.
