Civil Rights News – Few Jobs for Working Men, Medicaid Protest, Increase in Minority Entrepreneurship

Decline of the working man: Why ever fewer low-skilled American men have jobs
The Economist

Globalization and recent financial struggles, among other things, have had a great impact on employment opportunities in America. However, The United States has been struggling to keep men between the ages of 25 and 54 employed for some time.

“Of all the big, rich Group of Seven economies, America has the lowest share of “prime age” males in work: just over 80% of those aged between 25 and 54 have a job,” The Economist writes. “In the late 1960s 95% worked.” Another concern is that we might not be doing enough for a large sector of our population: “The decline of the working American man has been most marked among the less educated and blacks.”

89 arrested in Medicaid plan protest
Politico

Protesters representing the disability rights group ADAPT took a stand on Monday afternoon at “the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building in a demonstration against Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicaid plan, which they said would force people with disabilities to live in nursing homes rather than in their own homes… [Paul] Ryan’s chief of staff, Andy Speth, met with the protesters Monday afternoon and asked questions about their concerns.”

Minority-Owned Firms on the Rise
The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released interesting reports concerning the developing entrepreneurial spirit among minority communities.

“Between 2002 and 2007, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 44%, to 2.3 million, according to the Census data. They generated $345.2 billion in sales in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of black-owned businesses increased by 60%, to 1.9 million, and pulled in $137.5 billion. Asian businesses pack a punch when it comes to hiring, too. They employed 2.8 million workers in 2007 – the same as Hispanic-owned and black-owned businesses combined.”

Compiled by Sergio Azcona, a spring intern