More than any other group American blacks are tied to and depend on what Walter Russell Mead calls the "Blue" (liberal, big government) social and political model for advancement. Blacks have disproportionately benefitted from an activist and big spending federal government. The black middleclass has been able to grow so significantly thanks to this old model.
But now that it is about to be jettisoned because we can no longer afford it, it will be middle-class blacks, as a group, who suffer the most.
Mead says a way must be figured out to include blacks into the new opportunity growth model of government. He is quite right about this. To ignore the social and political upheavel that will come of leaving blacks behind is not only wrong, it is stupid. The politicians who get this will be the best ones to lead the country in the future.
Mead's essay can be read here. It's long but thoughtful, well-reasoned and worth the time.
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