MLK Injustice Index 2011:
Racism, Materialism And Militarism In The US
http://www.countercurrents.org/quigley160111.htm
By Bill Quigley
16 January, 2011
"We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values… when
machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are
considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism,
materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered." Martin
Luther King, Jr. April 4, 1967
--
As we remember the courage and hope of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
we must not forget that he spoke out and worked against the
injustices of our nation, particularly those of racism, materialism
and militarism. Indeed that is what made him so hated and so
dangerous when he was alive.
We have achievements to celebrate: the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell;" the release of San Suu Kyi in Burma; the enactment of the
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights by the NY legislature that extends
important labor rights to 200,000 nannies and housekeepers; the
victories of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; and the exposure of
secret US and other country machinations by Wikileaks, among others.
There has been progress in dismembering the laws of segregation which
divided our country. We must celebrate the successes that many
struggled to achieve. However, as we celebrate those victories let us
not lose sight of the challenges still facing this country.
Here are some of the facts about racism, materialism and militarism
in the US which we should reflect on as we decide how best to carry
on the radical struggle for justice of Dr. King. (For each fact, I
provide a brief cite to the sources which are listed at the end of
the article).
Let us renew our commitment to the radical revolution of values for
which Dr. King gave his life as we turn to the realities of current life.
Racism: Health, Housing, Income and Jobs
Health
Infants born to black women are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to die
than infants born to women of all other races or ethnicities. Black
men and women are much more likely to die of heart disease and stroke
than their white counterparts. Hypertension is by far most prevalent
among non-Hispanic blacks (42% vs. 29% among whites). Uninsured
persons are only about half as likely to have hypertension under
control as those with insurance Source: Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Twenty-five percent of black workers and forty-three percent of
Hispanic workers do not have health insurance, compared to fifteen
percent of white workers. Kaiser Family Foundation
Overall, sixteen percent of all whites, twenty-one percent of blacks
and thirty-two percent of Hispanics do not have health insurance. Census
Housing
In cities with large African American populations, black segregation
looks pretty much the same as it did 40 years ago; Hispanic
segregation is on the rise. Princeton
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the crisis in subprime mortgages in
minority neighborhoods was not the result of riskier lending spurred
by the Community Reinvestment Act or a decline in underwriting
standards. Princeton
Even with similar qualities (credit profiles, down payment ratios,
personal characteristics, and residential locations) African
Americans were more likely to receive subprime loans. Similarly
blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely than whites to
receive loans with unfavorable terms such as prepayment penalties.
The result: from 1993 to 2000, the share of subprime mortgages going
to households in minority neighborhoods rose from 2 to 18 percent. Princeton
Because predatory lenders could efficiently target entire minority
neighborhoods with subprime mortgages, larger numbers of people were
affected than would have had they been more geographically spread
out. In true layman's terms, it was like "shooting fish in a barrel."
Segregated neighborhoods just made it too easy to engage large
numbers of people in this devastating scheme and this multiplied the
effect of the crisis. Princeton
Black middle class families have been stripped of more wealth by the
real estate and foreclosure crisis than any single event in US
history. Due entirely to subprime loans, black borrowers are expected
to lose between $71 billion and $92 billion. Devona Walker
Income and Jobs
Median household income for white families is $51,861, for black
families is $32,584, and for Hispanic is it $38,039. Census
The Immigration and Enforcement Agency is on pace to deport about
400,000 people this fiscal year, more under the current
administration than any before. Slevin
The overall unemployment rate among whites is 8.5% and among blacks
it is 15.8%. For white teenagers the unemployment rate is 22% and
among blacks it is 44%. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Materialism: Inequality and Poverty
The top 25 hedge fund managers were paid on average, more than $1
billion each in 2009. Schwartz, New York Times
Between 2002 and 2007, 65 percent of all income growth in the US went
to the top 1 percent of the population; that top 1 percent also held
a larger share of income than any time since 1928, according to
economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty. Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities
There are 43 million people in the US living under the official
poverty line. While there are more white people living in poverty (30
million) than black (10 million) and Hispanic (12 million) poor
combined, the poverty rate for whites of 12% is significantly less
than the 26% rate for blacks and the 25% rate for Hispanics. Census
The bottom 20% of the US population have negative wealth, they owe
more than the value of all their assets. From 20 to 40th percentile,
the next 20% of the population, average about $5,000 in wealth. The
middle 20%, from the 40 to 60th percentile, own $65,000 in assets.
The next highest 20%, the 60 to 80th percentile, are worth about
$208,000. From 80 to 90th, the average wealth is $477,000. From 90 to
95th, the wealth is $908,000 in assets. From 95 to 99th is $2,734,000
in wealth assets. And the top 1%? $13,977,000 in average wealth.
State of Working America
Since the economic recession started there has been a 25% rise in the
number of people "doubling up" in housing by moving in with others,
there has been a rise in the number of homeless families, and in not
one of the 50 states can a person working full-time at one minimum
wage afford a two bedroom apartment for his or her family. National
Low Income Housing Coalition
Militarism: Troops, Expenditures and Arms Sales
The US reports it has 1.4 million people in active military service
in 143 countries around the world. The top places for US military
are: Afghanistan (105,900), Iraq (96,200), Germany (53,951), and
Japan (34,385). Department of Defense
There are an additional 819,000 people in the Reserve and National
Guard and another 709,000 civilian personnel. 2011 Census Statistical
Abstract, Table 506.
The US spent $774 billion directly on its military budget in 2010.
The Department of Defense budget was over $660 billion, counting the
special expenditures for Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Department of
Veterans Affairs was $114 billion for 2010.
The US spends much more on its military than any other country in the
world. Military spending has increased by 75% since the year 2000 and
represents about $2100 for every person in the US. Excluding
expenditures for veterans the US military budget in 2009 was over
$660 billion. In second place globally was China at about $100
billion. France was third at $63 billion, the UK next with $58
billion and Russia in 5th place spending $53 billion. In fact the US
spends more on military than the rest of the top 10 countries in the
world put together. SIRI
The US also leads the world in the sale of lethal weapons to others,
selling about one of every three weapons worldwide. The USA's major
clients are South Korea, Israel and United Arab Emirates. SIRI
The US continues to hold 174 people in indefinite and illegal
detention in Guantanamo despite global calls for closure. Thirty
eight of those still being held have won their habeas corpus
petitions in front of federal judges but still have not been freed.
Miami Herald.
The US continues to launch remote controlled unmanned predator drones
into Pakistan, a country we are not even at war with. In 2010, US
drones struck Pakistan 118 times killing many civilians. New America Foundation
The number of deaths in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are
difficult to calculate since the US only counts US deaths. The US
reports 1277 US military have died in Afghanistan and 4427 died in
Iraq. The Iraq Body Count estimates between 99,357 and 108,475
civilians have died in violence associated with the war in Iraq.
www.iraqbodycount.org
Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the
total cost of the Iraq war to the US is more than $3 trillion. For
this estimate he calculated the actual military costs, the cost of
treating and compensating disabled veterans, a $10 increase in the
price of oil (the increase in the price of oil went from $25 a barrel
when the US invaded Iraq to as high as $140 a barrel in 2008), the
increase in the federal debt and the borrowing that demanded. Stiglitz
Conclusion
As we celebrate the life of Dr. King, let us realize the challenges
that still face those who seek a world of justice and peace. He
showed us that anger at injustice can be combined with courage to
create real hope for a better world. Let us address the injustices of
continuing racism, materialism and militarism with the courage and
hope that Dr. King displayed in his brief life.
--
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economic News Release, January 7, 2011, Table A-2.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm
Census: US Census, Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in
the US 2009
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb10-144.html#tablec
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Top 1 percent of Americans
Reaped Two Thirds of Income Gains in Last Economic Expansion."
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2908#_ftn1
CDC: Source: Centers for Disease Control Health Disparities and
Inequalities Report, US 2011.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6001.pdf
Department of Defense. Active Military Personnel, September 30, 2010.
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/history/hst1009.pdf
James Glanz, "The Economic Cost of War," NYT, 2-28-09.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/weekinreview/01glanz.html?pagewanted=1
Kaiser: Health Insurance Coverage in America, 2009, Kaiser Family
Foundation. http://facts.kff.org/chart.aspx?cb=60&sctn=174&ch=1911
Miami Herald. Guantanamo by the Numbers. 12-26-10.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2007/11/27/322461/by-the-numbers.html
National Low Income Housing Coalition: Out of Reach 2010.
http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2010/introduction.pdf
New America Foundation. The Year of the Drone: An analysis of US
drone strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2011.
http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones
2010 Princeton study "Racial Segregation and the American Foreclosure
Crisis," Jacob Rugh and Douglass Massey:
http://wws.princeton.edu/news/Massey_Rugh_
Foreclosure/Massey_Rugh_Summary.pdf
Nelson Schwartz and Louise Story, "Pay of Hedge Fund Managers Roared
Back Last year," New York Times, March 31, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/business/01hedge.html
SIRI. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Military
expenditures: News Release June 2, 2010.
http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/
pressreleasetranslations/storypackage_milex
Sale of weapons by US:
http://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2009/05/05A
Peter Slevin, "Deportation of Illegal Immigrants increases under
Obama administration," Washington Post, 7-26-10.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072501790.html
State of Working America. Economic Policy Institute.
http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/
Joseph Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes, "The true cost of the Iraq war:
$3 trillion and beyond," Washington Post, 9-5-10.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090302200.html
Devona Walker, "Foreclosures are destroying the Black Middle Class."
http://brechtforum.org/foreclosures-are-destroying-black-middle-class
--
Bill is Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a
law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He can be reached at
[email protected]
.
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