affirmative action
...ndones the idea of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Affirmative action supporters make one large assumption when defending the policy. They assume that minority groups want help. This, however, may not always be the case. They fought to attain equality, not special treatment. To some of them, the acceptance of special treatment is an admission of inferiority. They ask, “Why can’t I become successful on my own? Why do I need laws to help me get a job?” These African Americans want to be treated as equals, not as incompetents. In a statement released in 1981 by the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Jack P. Hartog, who directed the project, said: “Only if discrimination were nothing more than the misguided acts of a few prejudiced individuals would affirmative action plans be “reverse discrimination.” Only if today’s society were operating fairly toward minorities and women would measures that take race, sex, and national origin into account be “preferential treatment.” Only if discrimination were securely placed in a well distant past would affirmative action be an unneeded and drastic remedy.” What the commission failed to realize that there are thousands of white males who are not discriminating; yet are being punished because of those who do. For example, the Northern Natural Gas Company of Omaha, Nebraska, was forced by the government to release sixty-five white male workers to make room for minority employees in 1977 (Nebraska Advisory Committee 40). Five major Omaha corporations reported that the number of white managers fell twenty-five percent in 1969 due to restrictions put on them when Affirmative Action was adopted (p.27). This is contrary to the goals of an average business. An average business executive has one goal: maximize profits. In order to reach this goal, a business executive would naturally hire the most competent man or woman to do a fair job, whether they were black or white or any other race. Why would a business man intentionally cause his business to lose money by hiring a poorly qualified worker? Affirmative action forces an employer who needs to meet a quota that is established by the government, to hire the minority without any regard to who is more qualified. In order to explain why Affirmative Action policies fail, one must examine what other sister programs should have done to further minority advancement. Should Affirmative action programs force people to hire unqualified minorities? The credentials, character, and qualifications of a minority has always been a question. Does a business hire an unqualified individual for a position? Definitely not, but Affirmative action programs should cause the American society to re-evaluate how it accesses qualifications and how it measures merit. Then after the white male has been fired, he has to go out and find a new job to support his family that depended on the company to provide health care and a retirement plan in return for years of hard work. Now, because of affirmative action, this white male, and the thousands like him, require more skills to get the same job that a lesser qualified black man needs. This is, for all intents and purposes, discrimination, and it is a law that our government strictly enforces. Affirmative action is not only unfair for the working man; it is extremely discrimination toward the executive, as well. The average business executive has one goal in mind, and that is to maximize profits. To reach his goal, this executive would naturally hire the most competent man or woman for the job, whether they are black or white or any other race. Why would a business man intentionally cause his business to lose money by hiring a poorly qualified worker? Most wouldn’t. With this in mind, it seems unnecessary to employ any policy that would cause him to do otherwise. But, that is exactly what affirmative action does. It forces an employer, who needs to meet a quota established by the government, to hire the minority, no matter who is more qualified. Another way that affirmative action deducts form a company’s profit is by forcing them to create jobs for minorities. This occurs when a company does not meet its quota with existing employees and has to find places to put minorities. These jobs are often unnecessary, and force a company to pay for workers that they do not need. Affirmative action is still necessary because of lack of equality. White males typically earn significantly more than women and minorities. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, women overall make 71 cents as compared to a man's dollar. While minority men make more than non-minority and minority women, non-minority males make about $ 9,000 more than minority men, $ 14,000 more than non-minority women and $ 17,000 more than minority women in white collar occupations, according to the Federal Civilian Workforce. Without the aid of affirmative action, women and minorities will continue to fall behind in the workforce. Affirmative action is still necessary in order to insure equality among white men, women, and minorities. By using affirmative action, that is race-neutral and gender-neutral assurance against discrimination, we can live up to our country's statement that “all men are created equal" and have diversity throughout America. Affirmative action is not only present in the work place. It is also very powerful in education. Just as a white male employee needs more credentials to get a job than his minority opponent, a white male student needs more or better skills to get accepted at a prestigious university than a minority student. There are complete sections on college applications dedicated to race and ethnic background. Colleges must now have a completely diverse student body, even if that means some more qualified students must be turned away. A perfect example of this can be found at the University of California at Berkeley. A 1995 report released by the university said that 9.7 % of all accepted applicants were African American. Only 0.8% of these African American students were accepted by academic criteria alone. 36.8% of the accepted applicants were white. Of these accepted white students, 47.9% were accepted on academic criteria alone. That means that approximately sixty times more African Americans students were accepted due to non-academic influences than white students. Another interesting fact included in the 1995 report said that the average grade point average for a rejected white student was 3.66 with an average SAT score of 1142. The average grade point average for an accepted African American student was 3.66 with a 1030 average SAT score. These stunning facts show just how many competent, if not gifted students fall between the cracks as...