Toward a new world; Abolition of economic exploitation, part two

This is what an African will tell you when you arrive to any of those countries and they maintain the theory their economies must be transformed. They must produce a greater amount. Of their own production for their own consumption and not to rely to the terrible extent you do for virtually all their products. An importation from abroad but obviously these countries are primarily primary producers. Nothing could be worse for them than to the not to expand the primary production of these materials to process them further to obtain the necessary foreign exchange to be able to buy the technical expertise the equipment etc. to help them develop. But a very important kind of discrimination against them still exists.

It is of two forms. One Western countries buy their primary products. Either a nondiscriminatory rights or when there is discrimination it's discrimination in reverse. They're paid subsidies by friends to help by the United Kingdom. But unfortunately as soon as those countries process those products they face higher Tyrus and practically every industrial country of the world. This is a form of commercial discrimination that every Western country practice is against them.

It's virtually incredible to look at the list of the primary product these countries produce that we permit free and clean nondiscrimination and soon as they process that product one stage further as a process as a manufactured item. They have to. We have to pay tariffs to bring them into the country that prices higher their imports are therefore reduced. There is another form of discrimination. A legacy that was left to us for example by France in Indochina. I'll just spend the world on it. The financial structure the banking system particularly used by friends were such. They established

the value of money in former French territories to be about twice the value that it really had. This still holds. For example in West Africa. There is what is known as the CFP plank. Prices in West Africa prices in Paris and Marseille are about the same but. With one West African franc you can buy two metropolitan French right. Need I tell you what you would do if the prices were the same West Africa and Paris. If a one West African franc you can buy two metropolitan price clearly you would buy the goods in Marseilles Paris not in Dakar Senegal. By the use of this kind of overvalued exchange rate.

So you know out West Africa to the metropolitan area. It is too expensive to invest invest back there for virtually no investment is made except in those cases such as the Ivory Coast where for special reasons profits are high and their own manufactures and others have gone in. But elsewhere this financial system is used to maintain former French West Africa as a French preserve and the independence of the facade. And every African knows it. But as alternatives are not good he can't throw those raw products anywhere else. And therefore he sticks to France. But every official to whom you speak and buys back tells you that the issue is primarily humane not

economic. They would wish that I wrote government and Western governments would assist them during a period of transition because France now get the flow of savings to private account and therefore since no funds come in to invest. The French government sends in funds through public accounts. That is why France advertises everywhere that you provide the greatest amount of aid to West Africa per capita anybody else. But he tells you if it were possible for the rest of the world to help them through this transition what they wish most is an avenue for social contact with the rest of mankind.

Not only with friends and certainly not only of the United Kingdom only with us. How does this kind of discrimination apply in our own country. Let me use the same three criteria. Discrimination Employment discrimination in the education discrimination housing. These subjects are beyond the domain of a mere economist. And I have therefore invested quite a bit of time to see what does the evidence look like. Because my profession is not done as much work on this issue.

I should be God. There is good reason for that. The topic of discrimination is a nasty topic. People would much rather. Shove it under the rug. Employment. At present the average amount of unemployment in the United States is less than 4 percent. For the colored population it's approximately 10 percent. If you include what's known as sub unemployment namely having not found a job having been on leave but no longer so and not registered the percentage of unemployment of a colored people is 35 percent.

Who is doing the right. As you know unfortunately much of it has been done by people within the age group of 15 to 19. And I looked at the evidence. What is the proportion of nonwhite unemployment rate as a percentage of white within different age groups. And you can guess the result. Comparing 1950 with 1964 I found that between the ages of 14 and 19 the nonwhite unemployment rate as a percentage of white rose from 1 26 to 174 in that category. In other words the category of nonwhite

which had been angered many and in rage also those whose unemployment is increasing. Then I looked at some figurative further data. How do the various classifications of employment compare. Professional right down the line. Let me give you the data from 1959 to 64. This is depicts the percentage change needed in 1964 to reach proportionality and the professions they have color to their population as compared to white to white population. In the professions the Negro people would have to have an increase of 91 percent.

Farmers 85 percent these are proprietors managers. Three hundred forty three percent clerical. 100 percent sales workers would need an increase of two hundred fifty eight percent craftsman and Foreman 88 percent. Operators of heavy heavy machinery such as structure etc. they can be reduced by 11 percent proportionately to many of their service domestics. They could be reduced by 63 percent unskilled laborers. They could be reduced by 66 percent. I therefore raise the following up. Is there a social contact us in the United States. By a social contact bias.

I mean this. That when a person is employed merely producing a service or a contact service or a product where there is no real social contact. And therefore his contribution to the economy can readily be measured per se that there is a minimal amount of discrimination such as unskilled work. Once the person begins to produce a product. Plus. Genuine social contact being involved that's where the discrimination begins to appear. Regrettably this hypothesis came true with a vengeance. Wherever the social contacts increased such as in medicine etc. that's where the discrimination was most acute. I checked the data with regard to apprenticeship.

The consumer in the United States is the least discriminatory with regard to the negro. There was also a minimum amount of discrimination in large corporations where the executive didn't have to be in social contact. The greatest amount of discrimination came on the part of the unions and on the part of the con workers themselves or social contacts were inevitable. For example insofar as the unions were concerned over and again they raised minimum wages apply pressure to raise minimum wages and at the skill of Negroes was less. The negro was passed out of his job. That amount of discrimination has been

rampant. With regard to promotions with regard to cracked membership in the unions we were told over and again that no negro had a plan. Both the poor and rich are equal in free to sleep on park benches. When you're found why they hadn't applied it is quite clear. Unfortunately their part in the case of employment the aggregate figures the breakdown of these figures show much more discrimination in this country than you and I would wish to see the tables go on and on publish. And I don't want to bore you with regard to education.

The same processes that work. Unfortunately I had mentioned before as an Africa that I've Ferran landed aristocracy does not lend itself to equality of treatment but nowhere has a landed aristocracy renowned for its progress in surprise economic performances concerning a distinguished scholar of the South has recently decisively shown that in shaping the southern tradition it has been most unprogressive and even callous and deliver value that is placed upon public schools its social rigidity undemocratic political structure

and weak social responsibility has been responsible historically holding down the economic progress of the negro under South and recently I think has greatly thwarted the political and social advance in our country. I am convinced that in the last two or three years we have been sliding backwards. And the southern tradition plus others have come by and through every form of discrimination to reduce disadvantage. The evidence shows for example if we compare three schools I grew cultural schools. Say 16 negro colleges.

With an enrichment of 35000 with through our southern white land grant institutions. Also with an enrollment of 35000 and the University of Illinois with the same enrollment the figures show that the income available for education in general purposes and millions of dollars was 32 million. And the colored schools. Seventy two million in the poor white. 98 million in Illinois. Funds obtained from the federal government for research one by one were one point clear R and the negro colleges eighteen point seven and the poor white twenty point eight million oi to be sure.

University of Illinois distinguished institution and funds went there. But in the process of providing funds for education the most dangerous thing has been done a lack of investment in the past. And those citizens that needed it most. I spent because the situation might very well get worse before it gets better. My reasoning is as follows. In order to reach an equilibrium for income in the United States the negroes in the south. Will have to move further north. That's where the jobs are. That's where the best opportunities bring Come rest. Those are their own values but unfortunately. Their movement now is that much more rapid rate

than industry can absorb them. Consequently for the next decade there is going to be a continuous migration of negroes from the south to the north. And if the southern tradition is not greatly improved then the impetus for our movement is accelerating the greater the extent to which the opportunities of Negroes. I made comparatively equal in the south of the north. The greater would be the extent to which the load would be dampened and that would of course greatly ease the adjustment both for the sorest south and the north. Because as I mentioned the case of Africa it's much easier to deal with the problem of discrimination when there are few.

And you and I as northerners. I am sure I do not appreciate sufficiently the kind of problem that people in the south given their tradition encounter. Right across the board the president's commission on education has shown not only are we discriminating against the Negro people with regard to education but we believe the evidence shows that the situation is becoming worse rather than better in the last 10 years. It has become worse. Just like the legislation that has been passed but it has become worse precisely because the movement Negro people to the north has been greater than the advance that we've been able to make to absorb them.

Would training help with regard to higher education employment. I thought that's not a bad hypothesis. For a teacher. I had hoped I would buy that as Negroes obtain a high school education and college trainee that their problems would be. I was shocked to find that this is not so. In absolute terms it is true that with high school training and with college training they enter the labor force to a much greater extent than without it. But. If you compare the percentage difficulty of a negro with a high school education or a college education as compared with a white person with comparable

UK Asian negroes difficulty in finding a job was twice that of the white man. A shocking phenomenon but I'm back to my hypothesis. There is an anti social contact bias in the United States. Some might call it apartheid. What about housing. As an economist I checked the following up. As the population grows of Negro people in area and if they're not permitted or cannot move them. The demand for housing increases the supply does not

increase much more slowly. I with their poor expected rent paid by negroes of the higher than rent paid by white. Unfortunately the economics was burnt out with a vengeance. The average monthly income for non-whites in 1960 was two hundred fifty five dollars for whites the figure was four hundred fifty two dollars. But the median rent for non-whites was fifty eight dollars and the median rent for whites $71 rent as a percentage of income for whites and non-whites. Was fifteen point nine percent for whites 24 percent for Negro negroes paid higher rents. The table in the

publication also shows that for owner occupied for rentals the conditions of the housing was incomparably worse by Negroes than it is for white. I must therefore conclude that Africa is not alone that suffers from discrimination. But there's another theory which is somewhat optimistic. It would state that to the extent to which a country has suffered from discrimination to that extent it's reduction benefits not only to the one discriminated but to the rest of the nation.

In that regard we face a tremendous opportunity and I think it would be most regrettable if that opportunity were not met. Or to quote again in his playing no exit. Open the door open last you all and your anything your red hot molten lead you and all your gadgets everything that burns in flames and I'll put up with any torture you impose. Anything anything would be better than this agony of mind. It's creeping pain that humble caresses

one and never hurts quite enough. Well let's get on with it. Which was. Steve. You have been listening to the Institute on world affairs a series of lectures and discussions held each year on the San Diego State College campus. At this session the principal speaker was Dr. John let each of the Department of Economics University of California at Berkeley the institute brings together noted leaders from all walks of life who address themselves to the perplexing problems that face mankind since its founding on the San Diego State campus in

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