Who Left the Nuthouse Door Unlocked?

Hey! It's Friday and time for another lunatic article from Bill Minor! Those of you who know Bill should remember to keep your hoods pressed and help him to keep his costume clean, because he is not competent enough to take care of his own Klan garb. Help an old geezer out, y'all.

Guess what this article is about? Yep. Racism and wealth distribution. Imagine, that makes 678 articles in a damn row. He's starting to piss me off. Article HERE. Get it quick because it's on the Clarion-Ledger's website that actually loads in fourteen minutes for me. Don't worry, I am pasting it here with my comments.

Let the lunacy begin! Remember, Bill has been crazy like this since 1947 when he first starting writing for the Times-Picayune. As usual, I blame Gnutcase for Bill being able to get his hands on a crayon, because Gnut lives in New Orleans and Bill's paper is in New Orleans. Coincidence? Hell, no. It's Gnutcase's fault.

Improving racial economic disparity in Miss. would aid state (Let's start with the title. It's gotta be missing a comma in there somewhere. And I have a solution. "Improving Racial disparity in economics in Mississippi would aid state." See, if we taught economics, maybe EVERYONE would know that Bill is a nut.)

We have in Mississippi the highest percentage - 37 percent - of African-American population of any state. (We loooooove the chocolate and I just bet, that Bill is going to say something like, "Since Blacks make up 37% of the population, they should have 37% of the money. Betcha.)

But you hear very little - virtually nothing, in fact - from Mississippi white political leaders about reducing the economic gaps between the state's white and black population, the chief roadblock to getting the state off the bottom of the nation's economic ladder. (Whew, boy, there's so much wrong here, it will take a minute. Mississippi leads the country in Black elected officials, but Bill wants the White guys to do something about the money thing. Could it be that Bill has no idea that Blacks in the State House could certainly open their pieholes about that? Also, Mississippi was the first state to require a balanced budget, so honestly, Mississippi is doing much, much better than California. Thanks, Captain Kirk, I hope you're happy in Heaven! So, maybe Bill is just talking about the Reps simply taking the money away from individuals and giving it to other individuals? If that's it, that's called "stealing." He lost me.)

Marianne Hill, senior analyst at the state's Center for Policy Research and Planning, in the December issue of Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook, provides a snapshot of the economic status of the state's African Americans that in some respects does not surprise but in others reveals some shocking news. (Be prepared to be SHOCKED!)

First off, it's startling to see how poorly black women are paid in Mississippi, not only relative to their white counterparts in the state, but compared with African-American women nationally. (Let me address this in the way that it is written. Mississippi Black women are doing poorly compared to Mississippi white black women. This in itself makes no damn sense. Maybe Black women do not possess a money-making gene. Nope, Bean has a money-maker. And just why would Bill compare Black women in our state with African-American women nationally? That is just confusing as Hell.)

Black women employed full time in Mississippi in 2006 had median earnings of only $21,049, compared to the state's median of $31,107. That figure for Mississippi black women was only 69 percent of what African-American women earned nationally. (This statement is beyond ridiculous. Bill thinks that just because someone has a job, they make the same thing that everyone else makes. I bet Bill will be SHOCKED to find out that he makes more than a guy that digs ditches. Remember that we just now crawled out from under a complete Democrat dictatorship in Mississippi. I guess Bill is going to turn this on Haley. Betcha.)

At the same time, white males in Mississippi were paid a somewhat impressive 88 percent of what their national counterparts received and Mississippi white women earned 80 percent for white females nationally. (The fact that people still compare wages state-to-state, and try to average wages nationally dumbfounds the shit outta me. Mississippi doesn't even have ONE professional sports team. You think that our average wages are going to be lower than New York City that has over eleventy-seven sports teams? Damn skippy. To compare men and women also means that you have never lifted your wife's dress before. Here's a shocker, Bill. Men and women are different. If you want to pay WNBA players the same as NBA players, you should crawl off in the desert right now, by yourself, and put us out of our misery.)

Hill points out that while the income gap for Mississippians of both races narrowed between 1989 and 1999, since then the median progress of blacks has stalled, partly due to an increased percentage of Hispanics in the work place. Thirty-eight percent of black women in the state live below the poverty line, compared to only 14 percent of white women and 11 percent of white men. (It's the damn Wetbacks, we told you it was the Wetbacks!!!!! They are doing jobs that Americans WANT and WILL DO!!!!! By the way, Bill is for legalizing all the criminal aliens in this country, it doesn't have an impact on people that are here legally, according to a prior article of his. I'll see if I can dredge that one up and link it. Also, do you find it odd that Bill doesn't blame Whites for having the jobs that Blacks wants, just the criminal aliens. He doesn't wants Blacks to have good jobs, just jobs that raise the average income. That's kinda racist to me, but what do I know?)

Substantial as is the income gap between Mississippi whites and blacks, Hill points out that the wealth gap is even greater. Only 26 percent of black-owned homes were valued at over $70,000, while 60 percent of white homes were valued over $70,000. (I would like to see a comparison of median car costs White-Black. Imma gonna scream for my damn Escalade, paid for with someone else's money.)

The fact that more than half of black-owned homes in Mississippi are valued at less than $50,000 relates directly to recent findings of the non-profit Mississippi Economic Policy Center showing that the percentage of sub-prime home mortgages in this state is the highest in the nation. (Yes, you have already pointed out that we should run the Mexicans back home so Black folks can make more money and have nicer houses. Can we move on?)

Sub-prime lending, defined as lending to borrowers with "elevated credit risks" such as weak credit history or low down payment capacity, increases proportionately to the minority population in a census tract, said the MEPC report. Therefore, in Mississippi counties with as much as 80 percent black population, six out of every 10 loans are sub-prime, according to the report. (You do know that all the White bankers search high and low so they could find high risk people to give money to so they can repo cheaper houses that White people won't live in? Bill, do you even contemplate exactly what you are writing or are all of your columns satire?)

Figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association delinquency section, said Ed Sivak, director of MEPC, showed 23 percent of sub-prime mortgages in Mississippi in the third quarter of 2007 were delinquent and subject to foreclosure. The city of Jackson, now with a predominately black population, ranked 4th highest in the nation in foreclosures. (You are not making a point here. You are simply proving that you have no clue what you are saying and that they should always leave your straightjacket on so there is no possibility that you can get a crayon in your grubbies.)

Since the sub-prime mortgage crisis nationally is being blamed by economists as the major cause of recession fears, its impact on Mississippi's economy could very well put this state at the front of the line on the road to recession. Translated, that means state tax revenues this year could be in for a very big hit. (Yes, Mississippi is in a recession. We have not had a down quarter since 1996. Not one quarter, including the months immediately after Katrina hit. Yes, there was no money on the coast, but Jackson, Meridian, and Tupelo housed the biggest workforce that they have in eons. You know, it could put this state on the frontline to be shot into outer space, too. That is just as likely. With Toyota starting construction on the largest continuous manufacturing plant in the world, right outside of Tupelo, I'm guessing that employment will shoot through the roof. Much to Bill's dismay. And I bet some of the people that get employed there will be Black.)

Consider this: The number of African Americans in Mississippi is greater than the total population of Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota or Delaware and is equal to that of Rhode Island. (Wait, let's go forward. SO?)

And while Mississippi has the highest percentage of black state legislators of any state, black lawmakers have not been able to generate enough support from their white colleagues to deliver meaningful policy initiatives that can reduce the economic gap between the two races in the state. (Yeah, those Black legislators have no damn pull at all. You know they did get Billy McCoy reelected as Lead Thief of the House, just last week. Moron. And I am curious, how do you achieve that equality of income, because you have yet to address that at all. Thesis: State the problem, define the problem, produce a theory to solve problem, refine that theory, formulate conclusion.)

If that ever happens, it could move Mississippi a long way toward closing the economic gap between all if its citizens and the rest of the United States. (I have a better idea to get those money things in line. Everyone in the state should get all their money and property together, come to Jackson, bring all their stuff to Memorial Stadium, and we will divvy it up evenly. Who do you think will bitch the most about this idea, Bill?)

Write Bill Minor at Box 1243, Jackson MS 39215. (I would write him directly, but I refuse waste the money on a stamp. Damn guy doesn't have e-mail? William F. Buckley has e-mail.)

Man, was that not a trip? I'll say this one more time. Take all the population and their respectives salaries, knock out the top ten percent and the bottom ten percent, then get your average. You have to understand also, that money is not simply in one big pool and it gets divided evenly between people. You EARN your living. I know that concept is really hard to understand, but that is just the way that life is.

I would certainly like to get together with Bill Gates, Prince, Russell Simmons, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet, and others, throw all our money in a pile and divide it evenly. Wow, three of the five that came to mind FIRST were Black.