Republican Voter Suppression!

[mrs.b]

One minor pet pieve - women treated differently than men, or vice versa, is not racism. It is sexism, and also a form of discrimination. Racism is also a form of discrimination, but it deals with race. Both are discrimination, but they are very different in definition and application.

No laws anywhere force a hiring manager to hire an applicant with qualifications inferior to another. Affirmative Action is a tie-breaker regulation only, to bring percentages within 20% (not above or even equal to) the average level of similar positions in similar businesses in the same geographic area, and only if two applicants are otherwise equally qualified. If a white male has qualifications superior to a black woman, even if the organization has goals to hire minorities AND females, the white male can and should be hired. The legislation is flawed, but goodness, the layman understanding of it is apparently abysmal. If an employer is not discriminatory in hiring practices, Affirmative Action has little or no impact because the employer will either not have goals to work towards, or will have justifiable and explainable reasons they have not met existing goals (can show evidence of due diligence to recruit the target group with no qualified results).

Still, any reasonably intelligent business owner can hire or fire who they want. Anyone who has worked for any length of time should be aware that any boss who wants someone gone will see it done without much strain. Please take it from someone going on eight years of a 100% defense rate for unemployment hearings for some managers whose decision-making skills make my head hurt.

Discrimination against veterans is a reality. Search "USERRA violation" for an assortment of examples.

Disability discrimination is also quite real. Search "ADA violation" for many examples.

As for Affirmative Action in its theoretical form leading to socialism, I'm amused. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Among employed men, 17 percent of Asians and Whites worked in management, business, and financial operations occupations in 2011, compared with 10 percent of Blacks or African Americans, and 8 percent of Hispanics or Latinos...In 2011, employed Asian and white women were more likely than black or Hispanic or Latino women to work in management, business, and financial operations occupations or in professional and related occupations. These two occupational groups comprised 44 percent of employed Asian women and 42 percent of employed white women. By contrast, 34 percent of employed black women and 25 percent of employed Hispanic or Latino women worked in these occupations." Occupational employment by race and ethnicity, 2011 : The Editor’s Desk : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What is the justification for the separation of achievement among the races? Are black and Hispanic/Latino not trying hard enough to advance? How is it their fault their advancement percentages are so much lower than white and Asian workers?

Is unemployment compensation a pathway to socialism? While most of the would-be workers did nothing to deserve their lack of wage - they wanted to work but lost their jobs for reasons beyond their control - everyone on the program is getting a benefit. These two programs are almost identical in intent in their theoretical forms as far as I'm concerned. Both programs provide temporary support due to a disadvantage that was not deserved. Once unemployed individuals find work, they no longer need assistance. There are plenty of employers that do discriminate against protected groups and know the system well enough to get away with it, so a tie-breaker boost with other employers - only if qualifications are otherwise equal to non-protected applicants and the employer lacks diversification in its workforce as compared to similar nearby businesses - is a reasonably minor helping hand. They must still earn and achieve the equal qualifications for Affirmative Action to come into play, and once they have that work history, will be better-qualified for advancement opportunities later down the line without the need for a boost.