Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump offers the best policies to solve the economic issues of the black community, contends Jay Stephens, a contributor at Vice.
Stephens argues that while police brutality is an important issue for blacks, it is a symptom of a larger problem. The bigger issue for the black community is “economic vulnerability,” which only serves to make police brutality worse, says Stephens.
“We need to remember that economic crises trigger violence around the world, and that falling wages for low-skilled workers in the United States have been directly linked to increases in violent crime,” Stephens writes. “Our economic vulnerabilities decrease our standard of living and increase our chances of having negative interactions with the police.”
Because poverty is one of the root causes of the issues blacks face, they deserve a candidate who offers practical solutions for it, according to Stephens. Donald Trump, mainly because of his policies on illegal immigration, represents the best chance for blacks to have better economic stability.
“Despite the popular liberal myth that undocumented immigrants only take jobs Americans don’t want, they really are displacing African Americans from employment opportunities,” Stephens reasons. “In 2008, the United States Commission on Civil Rights found black men to be disproportionately employed in low-skilled labor jobs and in direct competition with undocumented immigrants.”
Stephens maintains that blacks need to look past the “absurdist racist caricature” of Trump and be prepared to talk about how illegal immigration negatively affects black success.
“Trump’s rhetoric is divisive, but some divisive policy-driven rhetoric is exactly what African Americans need right now,” Stephens says.
Stephens says the best way for blacks to start fixing their “historical disparities” is to focus on becoming economically established.
“Economic vitality—not police brutality—should be the primary political concern for African Americans this election cycle. Establishing economic stability is a gateway for us to begin effectively addressing the plethora of other historical disparities that disrupt our pursuit of happiness,” Stephen says towards the end.
