Affirmative Action What Is It And How — страница 3

America. As a society it is nice to know that our government would establish something like Affirmative Action in order to help the general public in the U.S. This plan has affected our country in good and bad ways. Depending on whom one considers a source, each opinion is slightly different. Statistics from the White House Staff Report show that Affirmative Action’s role in America peaked out in 1977 when the ratio of black to white graduates of high school that went on to attend college was 1:1. This is no longer the case today. About twenty-five percent fewer blacks go on to college after high school than whites. This statistic is a generalization taken for the United States as a whole. Since education is very important, some political scientists think the blacks feel

underestimated or do not want to take the heat from classmates because of relations with Affirmative Action. Because of these reasons some Americans want to abolish this plan. On the other side of the coin, many politicians argue that we are providing help for the economically unstable. Minorities, in some cases, compose a high percentage of the poverty level. This is disturbing to some people and they feel that Affirmative Action gives these poor people a chance to get a decent education and to deprive them of this option would be morally wrong and unjust. Although the law is unbiased, most politicians agree that Affirmative Action does not guarantee decent education to every minority group simply for those ethical reasons. Being given this information one might wonder what our

government thinks about this policy and whether or not we really need it. According to the White House Staff Report submitted to President Clinton in 1995 it is imperative that the United States keeps Affirmative Action due to the ever-increasing progress in many areas of a multitude of society’s problems. The problems below are those “seeking to be addressed” by Affirmative Action: “Minorities and women remain economically disadvantaged: the black unemploy- ment rate remains over twice the white unemployment rate; 97 percent of senior managers in Fortune 1000 corporations are white males; in 1992, 33.3 percent of blacks and 29.3 percent of Hispanics lived in poverty, compared to 11.6 percent of whites. In 1993, Hispanic men were half as likely as white men to be managers

or professionals; only 0.4 percent of senior management positions in Fortune 1000 industrial and Fortune 500 service industries are Hispanic”(White?p.4). Although Affirmative Action has helped there are still some companies that refuse to abide by the government equal opportunity policy. “These studies often find that employers are less likely to interview or offer a job to minority applicants and to female applicants”(White?p.4). Money is a widespread problem in America including earning wages through equal opportunity. “The average income for Hispanic women with college degrees is less than the average for white men with high school degrees”(White?p.4). These examples show how our government intends to gear Affirmative action within the next few years and how they

react to the need for this plan. Affirmative Action is needed because it is an assurance that our government still has the ability to help the American public. Without this plan, more and more women and minority groups would be taken advantage of for their skills and abilities. It ensures the citizens that they still have a chance to make something of their selves and be the best U.S. citizen they can be. Affirmative Action was born in 1954, and is still very alive today in modern society. The dream of a utopia in terms of balance is still unrealized, but the government as well as the citizens of the United States have a better understanding of what the U.S. can accomplish in order to benefit its well-being. Can a perfect society exist without a plan like Affirmative Action? One

must judge for themselves whether or not the U.S. actually needs Affirmative Action. Bibliography “Affirmative Action in Focus.” “Policy.com.” 1998. (20 Oct. 1999) Cook, Jerry. “Being the Right Race Triples Your Chance of Admission.” “UC Admissions Analysis.” August 1998. (21 Oct. 1999) Froomkin, Dan. “Affirmative Action Under Attack.” “Washington Post.com.” 1998. (20 Oct. 1999) Pasour, Ernest. “Affirmative Action: A Counter-Productive Policy.” 1996. (19 Oct. 1999) “The White House Staff Report.” “Affirmative Action Review, Report to the President.” 1998. (15 Oct. 1999) Wit, Maarten. “Affirmative Action.” 1995 (21 Oct. 1999)