Black unemployment is at 16.7%. White unemployment is at 8%.

[phantom power]

Black unemployment is at 16.7%.

Black male unemployment is at 18%.

White unemployment is at 8%.

Unemployment for those 25+ with bachelor's degree or more education is at 4.3%.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2011/09/where-we-are.html

[Broderick]

1. racist fucking country

fuck this country

[virgogal]

6. It's not just the U.S.

[cwydro]

16. Simplistic thinking. nt

[one_voice]

2. It's Obama's fault...

he hates black people

and white people

and Hispanics

and Asians

and Jewish people

and democrats

and liberals

and progressives

and republicans

he eats baby bunnies for breakfast

and kittens for dinner

an so on...

[DontTreadOnMe]

4. It's Obama's fault... reality check

Because the buck stops at the President's Desk.

Create jobs or step aside. Where is the PLAN that no one can refuse?

[one_voice]

5. As long as we have the Congrss we have...

there will ALWAYS be a plan that can be refused unless it's their plan. Which we all know won't do a damn thing for average Americans.

[DontTreadOnMe]

8. Stop blaming Congress for a weak President

It's called a bully pulpit for a reason.

If you can't get your message out the the American Voter,
who IN TURN FORCE CONGRESS TO ACT, then you are a failure at leadership.

Stop using "it's the other guy's fault" for not getting it done. We are three years into Obama's term.

[one_voice]

9. I wasn't using...

it's the other guy's fault. But you CANNOT put the entire blame on him. He cannot do this without Congress. Could he be more forceful and tell the American people what goes on...sure and he should but UNLESS Congress cooperates NOTHING will get done.

The majority in congress wasn't voted in by us...so what we want doesn't mean jack shit to them. The teabaggers run Congress...how do you think we're gonna get them to move?

[NYC Liberal]

18. So you think Obama can just make Congress and the Republicans do whatever he wants?

When Obama speaks out on issues and calls for action, it gets excoriated here for being "just words." Obama cannot "force" Congress to act and to believe he can is an exercise in delusion.

The Republicans in office today are pig headed and insane, and they are acting even worse because there is a black man in the White House. Not even Bill Clinton was as disrespected or hated by them as Obama is.

So stop using the "Obama could do anything if he just...did it" excuse for not putting the blame where it should be: on Republicans.

[These Eyes]

15. Reality check...

High unemployment among African Americans did not start with Obama and won't end with him either. Institutionalized racism is the reason that the unemployment rates for blacks is more than double that of whites. When things are bad, they're worse for African Americans. You cannot lay this at Obama's feet. Even with laws on the books that prohibit discrimination, it still takes place. Applicants are easily weeded out by 'ethnic-sounding' names, schools attended, and place of residence. Black women are able to find employment easier than black men-- they're seen as less of a threat. And yet, they are paid less than their white female counterparts. If discrimination could be erased by the stroke of a pen, unemployment rates would be equal across the board.

I know that these black unemployment rates statistics keep popping up all over DU as an indictment of the black president, but it simply won't work. The reason he still has the support he has in the African American community is, as frustrated and angry as they may be, they know the real source of the problem -- and it existed long before Obama became president.

[upi402]

12. Except that he is also responsible

sorry if it hurts, but it's so true. He has continued BushCo policies and not supported workers while making enemies of labor.

[PSPS]

3. And those are the cooked numbers. The real numbers are much worse.

"The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers.

"The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment."

[ZombieHorde]

7. Wow. That is really high. Recommended. nt

[Ilsa]

10. I think I heard that the unemployment rate for African American men is

23%, and I saw it on tv, but I don't remember if it was CBS or MSNBC. I think it was CBS, two nights ago.

[NNN0LHI]

11. Yet 86% of blacks approve of President Obama while only 39% of whites do

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/support-obama-2012-continues-fade

<snip>The poll found that Americans of both sexes disapprove of the president. Only 39 percent of the men surveyed and 44 percent of the women surveyed approved of Obama. While 86 percent of blacks and 56 percent of Hispanics approved of the president, 61 percent of whites disapproved of him. Obama was upside down with all voters in the poll save those younger than 35.

"Men, whites and independent voters were the president's weak spots when his job approval was positive and those groups have progressed from being weak spots to being serious problems," said Brown. "Of course, the way to improve his standing among those voters is the same recipe for success among the entire electorate -- an improving economy."

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. Guess what I heard on the news?

Someone in a black community in Tampa figured out how to steal identities from ancestry.com and figured out a system to apply for on-line tax refunds. The system caught on and everybody began doing it. They got caught because of the high number of refunds that were going to one area, and because of the number of expensive cars like Bentleys.

Just made me think, the more and more intelligent people get unemployed, the more you'll see these kinds of things pop up all over the country.

[lunasun]

17. Actually the news said it was a network of street gangs . Not a recent unemployed

group or person who started it. Unless you call losing your drug buying customers to the recession recent unemployment.............

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2011/sep/01/11/police-tampa-street-criminals-steal-millions-filin-ar-254724/

[searchingforlight]

14. Black unemployment is a national shame.

I do have one question though. Could some of it be location?