2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I Would Like To Put A Question Forward... How Does One Legislate Social Justice ??? [View all]Sancho
(9,070 posts)There is less racism today than existed with slavery during the civil war. There is less systematic racism today than there was in the 1950's. There is still racism. If the government, in parallel with other social forces, continue to make changes then we may reach a point where racism is very rare and mostly not tolerated by either the laws or people in general. We obviously haven't reached that point yet, and the BLM movement is a reaction to the fact that things are not good enough yet. It's real, and something that needs attention by our laws along with other institutions in society (churches, corporations, etc.).
There is nothing wrong with economic programming that attempt to correct many issues in society - unemployment, re-education, etc., etc. None of the Democratic candidates would eliminate supports, and most would propose various new programs or increases. Hillary is correct that NO economic support will have a substantial effect on social injustice in America. For example, reparations or minimum wages won't affect 30 million undocumented workers who aren't citizens. Also, free tuition won't do a bit of good for black students at premier state colleges like U. Florida and U. Texas because they admit about 95% white students if you eliminate athletes. Only SOCIAL changes that come as a result of SOCIALLY JUST laws will make a change in systemic injustice.
As to your last point - I happen to be an older person - and more legislation that would target age discrimination would be welcome!!! Then SS would be less important. SS was never intended to allow seniors to survive, but it is VERY important to many working people. In fact, it is one of the most important programs the government has ever enacted. SS was not intended to create economic "equity", but it was intended to provide a safety net for starving older votes. SS does a good job as it was planned to do.