What a load of crap. IQ tests measure only a small area of human capability and it's probably one of the most useless useless areas. There are so many things it doesn't measure that are better predictors of achievement

>>>>>>>>>.

The needs of the masses are starting to out-weigh the production of our society overall. This LEADS to poverty.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<br />
The socalled needs of the masses is the reason we have government and the nation state. What do you think it exists for? To serve the oligarchy?

And you solutions don't sound harsh, they just sound wrong and uniformed. You've got yourself a "Me first" ethic, a major culprit IMHO for the trouble in the world right now. Uprisings in Israel, Libya, UK rioting, that's the backlash against your attitude.

> Generally, war had been result of the accumulated problems and it had been arranged and used as solution.

My stars VK. You've got yourself a great big conspiracy bug up your butt. Heard it before from many angles. And you know what- basically I agree. But

In such issues, as else where, it's all about the power struggles. I'm sure we've all experienced that in our own lives…having to deal with the boss who loves being the boss…and telling everyone what to do and how to do it, with much implied: kiss my ass or you're fired/not on the next show, etc...

War is the result of intolerable situations getting out of control. Some just say-" bomb the fuckers" ...while others may think they're the ones that are out of control.

It's very easy to see this as a racial issue. The numbers present it as such. But there's more going on than just old school crap about "Power" struggles and blame... as the rich get richer and the rest get screwed. We get mangled by distractions that they've produced…and we've helped them in our own deception.

"We don't need no stinkin' badges" because LEFT or RIGHT is the game we're playing against us all.

There's no single way or philosophy or govt. that works for everyone everywhere.

DIVERSITY IS DELICIOUS!

@Vitaliy and bwhitz

You guys make good points. I guess when it comes to reading stats like these I tend to look at "why" it is like it is. I always say that we should look at the root of the problem.

Vitaliy, that reality you described is true for a lot of people (no matter what color). Historically though if a black, white, Asian or Hispanic person in those situations tried to compete guess who would typically come out on top/bottom? It's not impossible for black folks....it just means he/she has to work twice as hard as their white (etc.) counterpart. This basically describes my wife's situation growing up. Her story is very impressive. To make a long story short just think about every possible barrier black folks in this country has gone through she has been there. Yet...she decided to set the example in her family and managed to reach Suma Kum Lati from UCONN graduate school. She, to me, is a shining example of one who can make it. In the end however...she still struggled to get that "position" on the job. I can't get into how unfair she was treated along the way. But...because of her persistence wouldn't settle for less than what she deserves. Not everyone that was in her situation had the same type of drive. Some are more broken than others.

Not sure if I understand your last point though.

>"race-x" commits the most crimes, BECAUSE they're "race-x", is racist.

This is also not racist. Simple logic.
Saying that 1 year old blacks commit the most crimes - this is :-)

I think most people confuse life reality with racism.

Racism is if you believe that someone if better or worse because he is born black (white, etc).
I won't go here, just cite that all people are different by their abilities, they are not the same. It depends from parents, food, alcohol, narcotics etc.

Reality is what "all have equal possibilities" is not true.
It is not racism. It is simple reality. If you born in quite poor black family with not so high education, you'll have less chances to compete, get good education, make proper connections, etc.

@cbrandin

Well, my point was... that it could have been an race in that position. The cards were just delt black people in that hand and point in time. Could have been whites, hispanics, asains, whatever. It just HAPPEND to be black people, it isn't BECAUSE of them. That's the racism line...

@Ian_T

Yea I can see how it seemed racist... could have been a poor choice of wording. I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt at first. If they continue... then you tear them apart. ;)

Crap, made an edit and deleted that last part of my post. Basically... the point was, that there is no shortage of un-employed dumb white people in the south. ;)

@bwhitz

People who don't get jobs are largely lazy. Let's say 50% of them.

White people are 8% unemployed. Therefore only 4% of whites are lazy.

46% of young blacks are unemployed. Therefore 24% of young blacks are lazy.

How do you expect Ian_T to come to a different conclusion about what people believe? He can't forget basic arithmetic, and some statements simply can't escape the consequences of doing the math.

This is an interesting debate. I have to go out for a while now. I just mention this so that nobody will conclude anything from my absence for a few hours. I like debating.

@Ian_T "People see what they want to see and turn a blind eye to truth. Nothing can be further from the truth. "

Ah ha! See, even you! KCG said "lazy people". You connected your own dots and assumed he meant "lazy black people". Race has nothing to do with this!

"Things have not changed. We still have more black men incarcerated at a rate six and a half times higher than white men in the good old USA."

Again, race doesn't have anything to do with this. Any race could have been committing more crimes than another at the time these statistics were taken. At the rate things are going it'll probably be white people committing more crimes in the future, as black people seem to be more entrepreneurial, especially with entertainment industries. In 100 years, it could be all black CEO's running companies and white people being discriminated against. Or we'll all be one mixed race or something... who knows.

Reagan-Bush era information.

Basically, welfare (AFDC) and food-stamps at $25 billion apiece added up to $50 billion dollars out of $2.5 trillion dollars in federal and state budgets, or 2%.

Out of a ten trillion dollar economy that's roughly 1/2 of 1% of America's GDP for welfare and food-stamps.

With Clinton era economic expansion, Clinton-Gingrich welfare cuts, and now Bush Jr. of course, it is no doubt even smaller as a percentage.

"All I can say is "Ugggh". Too Ayn Rand-ish for me. I guess compassion (which is supposed to be unconditional) has become a vice. guess if you develop Alzheimers some day we'll dump you in a wood chipper because you have nothing left to contribute."

I didn't realize we were talking about what is "nice" for everyone. I though we were having a logical, scientific, and objective discussion on what the problems of our world are, and what will be the best course of action to solve them. I haven't though once about what would happen to me if I got Alzheimer's, or what I would expect people to to for me... that would be extremely self-centered of me when we're talking about "society of a whole".

Everyone is equal. The government should give us $20 million dollars a year. Doctor's should cure every disease. ... see those SOUND good and WOULD be good. But they are not solutions, or even plausible on any level right now. We've got to look at objective facts. We need solutions that work for people regardless of their personal emotions and experiences... that is the only way we'll get to solutions that will benefit humanity as a whole in the end.

I'm sorry but if you (this means anyone) don't think racism has anything to do with the numbers then that's your ignorance. CBRandin's initial post was spot on. Things have not changed. We still have more black men incarcerated at a rate six and a half times higher than white men in the good old USA. For a people who make up only 12.3% of the country's total population (down from 14.8 % in 2000) your telling me statistics still show young black unemployment at 46 percent? Out of those numbers people (like one of our posters here) can determine that represents "lazy" people "suckling taxpayer's tits?" What a "lazy" remark. That's the problem with this country. People see what they want to see and turn a blind eye to truth. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Let's look at some OTHER stats (from 2008):

GENDER

We are more women than men. (What the heck happened to all of the black men?)


MONEY

The annual median income of black households in 2008 is $34,218, a decline of 2.8 percent (in 2008 constant dollars) from 2007. It’s the lowest in the United States.


Black median family income was just over $41,000 in 2008, the lowest in the United States of any racial group. That's a dam shame. A single black woman with children earned a median annual income of $25,958. How, in an economy like we have today, can they expect people to pull through with numbers like this.

No surprise then that one out of five black families lives in poverty. More than 40 percent of black families headed by a single mom are poor.

IMMIGRANTS

Only 3 million African Americans are immigrants. Of that number, nearly two-thirds were born in Latin America, the other one-third of the immigrants were born in Africa. My family emigrated here when I was young. My parents busted their &$$ just to make ends meet.

Only 7 percent of us speak a language other than English.

MILITARY

Number of black military veterans in the United States in 2008: 2.3 million. More military veterans are black than any other minority group. And yes...I'm also a vet.

What's wrong with this picture? Some of the greatest minds in our history and in our present are/were black folks. Yet the country can't even embrace the black president they put in office. All respect went out the door once he was placed in office. I've spent a few years out in Europe some years back and couldn't believe how they thought about black people (in this country mind you) as being the same "lazy" (fill in the blank:______________) shiftless people that some here thinks. And guess what...they (Europeans) admitted that they got this impression off of....you guessed it...the media.

I'll ask again...what the hell is wrong with this picture?

US racism/slavery is alive and kicking in the 21st century. If you didn't know....you better ask somebody.

"Are you implying with the IQ issue that welfare should go to intelligent people, or stupid people?"

Well, obviously intelligent people... that's pretty easy. There are allot of poor smart people, regardless of race, gender, ect.. Don't you think they deserve more of a chance than a dumb person that won't even be capable of helping other people in the future?

It's in everyone's best interest to reward intelligence... smart people are going to be the ones to take us from a type-0 civilization, to a type-1. And then we won't have to worry about energy and resources any more... at least in theory. This transition is also the most dangerous ones a planetary-wide species can make... we need to make decisions very carefully.

This is a good watch...