My President is BLACK? (c)
“The Real” Jeff Stewart
Let’s get one thing straight. Barrack H. Obama is the President of the United States of America. He’s NOT the President of African America. Don’t get it twisted. Of course I think race relations in the United States will improve under his administration. Hopefully just his presence as our Nations leader will cause some people to revisit there way of thinking. At least I hope so, especially in the south where I live now.
I was born in Washington DC in the late 50’s. I lived in Southeast Washington with both parents until I was 17, when my parents moved to the suburbs of Prince Georges County. I went to college, and in 1990 I got married and remained in P.G. County until 2005, when my wife and I move to her hometown of Savannah, GA. There were several reasons why we moved “down south”. Mostly the stereotypical want of a better lifestyle; lower cost of living, less crime and stress. You know the deal. Well we’re still looking for that, and we may have to move back to DC to find it! Go figure. Anyway I’m not really into politics, but of course I was thrilled with the idea of having a legitimate African American candidate for President. I voted for the first time in my life, and I actually felt like my vote counted. Do I need to say I’m African American? Okay, I am African American.
So When Barrack H. Obama was elected the 44th President of The United States of America I texted several friends, associates, family members, etc asking how they felt about our new President. I got several responses, all positive. Everyone I texted was Black. However the response that was the motivation for this article was “I’m gonna get my grind on now. “ It was from a young lady, African American, unemployed and living at home in the suburbs of Washington DC with her mom and siblings. Now even at “fiddy” years old I understand urban slang, Ebonics, etc. But I thought to myself, what the hell does that mean? Is she going to look for a job now? Maybe be motivated to go to college? Get her own place? Get out of bed before noon? I mean, how does being Black, and having a Black President motivate someone who was unmotivated to be a contributing member of society? What, she didn’t want to work because ”W” was President? If John McCain had won would she not work for the next four years, or God forbid the next 8 years?
Listen up Black people. President Obama is not going to pass a law giving every African American a high paying job, good credit, a home, or 40 acres and a mule. Will non-blacks be more open minded to giving people of Color opportunities that they might not of in the past? I think so. But I don’t think anybody from the government is going to knock on your door and say “would you like one of them high paying jobs we giving out to Black people today?” You feel me homie? Hey but thanks Uncle Sam for the stimulus checks. Oh, forgot; you had to have a job and pay taxes and stuff to qualify for that and that came from “W” (George Bush) anyway. My bad. By the way, the Obama administration did knock on an associate’s of mine door and offered him one of those high paying government jobs. Wait a minute. My associate has a college degree, several, in fact, had been a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, and can pass a background and drug test. Hmm, details, details.
Here’s where it get’s interesting. I think Barrack Obama will benefit White America more than Black America as a whole. What? Let me explain. I think that the housing market and the stock will rebound under the current administration. Although I don’t think the turnaround will be strictly because of a Black or Democratic President. But Obama will get the credit for at least the start of the recovery. Companies are doing the things now they should have been doing all along. Streamlining their various operations, reducing staff through attrition and buyouts, closing or selling unprofitable businesses, and so on. Of course they are outright laying people off too. Since the housing market crash seemed to be the catalyst for this economic downturn, it will probably lead the recovery. So people buying homes now at the deflated prices, as well as those who maintained equity in their current homes will benefit. Also as the stock market rebounds, those participating in retirement plans such as 401k plans will benefit from the markets rebound as well. I know many retirement plans lost money, but I think only the most speculative accounts lost everything. Also many employers provide matching contributions, so you would have had to lose a whole hellava lot to lose yours and your employers match as well. Personally my 401k is down 18%; however my employer matches my contribution dollar for dollar so do the math. Okay I do it for you – I haven’t lost a dime of my own money.
So how can the African American community directly benefit from having an African American President? YOU CAN’T!! But you can benefit from the rebound in the economy when it happens. So the obvious question is how? Thought you’d never ask. First of all some business’s that will BE in business probably went overboard in cutting staffing. So as the economy rebounds, these same businesses will need to hire people. So the trick is to be hireable (is that a word? – spell check says not). Go back to school, take classes, or even just ask for more responsibility on your current job. Build that resume! If your employer offers a 401k plan, get in it. Everybody loves a bargain, and right now stocks and mutual funds are at rock bottom lows. There are many companies whose stock is 50% or more lower than a year ago. Do your homework because there are companies that are not only profitable but also flush with cash and when things turns around so will there stock prices. And by all means if you in the market for a home now is the time. There are some communities hit really hard by the depressed housing market. In Atlanta for example, there is a community of 4000 plus sq foot homes that 2 years ago were selling for between 400,000 and 500,000 thousand dollars. A house in that same community today can be had for a little over 200,000. I doubt that in five to ten years those houses will still be in that price range.
Now let’s look at some statistics. According to Infoplease.com, 72% of Whites own their own home versus 49.7% of Blacks and 49.7% for Hispanics. Also, 68% of Whites participate in 401k plans versus 53% of Blacks, according an analysis done by G. R. Springstead and T. M. Wilson. So what does that mean? It means you weren’t paying attention! Let me put it this way; when that train of economic prosperity starts to roll out from the station, a lot of “us” aint gonna be on it, you dig.
Of course, this is all just one man’s opinion, mine. I am not recommending or even suggesting that anyone do any of the things I’ve written here. I’m just giving everyone something to think about. Anyway, I gotta go cuz I gotta get my grind on! Peace.
This copywrited material, its content and pictures are the sole property of The Real Times Publications (TRT) and may not be used without its consent. For information, to comment or permission to reprint this article please contact “The Real” Jeff Stewart at trtpub@gmail.com
Let’s get one thing straight. Barrack H. Obama is the President of the United States of America. He’s NOT the President of African America. Don’t get it twisted. Of course I think race relations in the United States will improve under his administration. Hopefully just his presence as our Nations leader will cause some people to revisit there way of thinking. At least I hope so, especially in the south where I live now.
I was born in Washington DC in the late 50’s. I lived in Southeast Washington with both parents until I was 17, when my parents moved to the suburbs of Prince Georges County. I went to college, and in 1990 I got married and remained in P.G. County until 2005, when my wife and I move to her hometown of Savannah, GA. There were several reasons why we moved “down south”. Mostly the stereotypical want of a better lifestyle; lower cost of living, less crime and stress. You know the deal. Well we’re still looking for that, and we may have to move back to DC to find it! Go figure. Anyway I’m not really into politics, but of course I was thrilled with the idea of having a legitimate African American candidate for President. I voted for the first time in my life, and I actually felt like my vote counted. Do I need to say I’m African American? Okay, I am African American.
So When Barrack H. Obama was elected the 44th President of The United States of America I texted several friends, associates, family members, etc asking how they felt about our new President. I got several responses, all positive. Everyone I texted was Black. However the response that was the motivation for this article was “I’m gonna get my grind on now. “ It was from a young lady, African American, unemployed and living at home in the suburbs of Washington DC with her mom and siblings. Now even at “fiddy” years old I understand urban slang, Ebonics, etc. But I thought to myself, what the hell does that mean? Is she going to look for a job now? Maybe be motivated to go to college? Get her own place? Get out of bed before noon? I mean, how does being Black, and having a Black President motivate someone who was unmotivated to be a contributing member of society? What, she didn’t want to work because ”W” was President? If John McCain had won would she not work for the next four years, or God forbid the next 8 years?
Listen up Black people. President Obama is not going to pass a law giving every African American a high paying job, good credit, a home, or 40 acres and a mule. Will non-blacks be more open minded to giving people of Color opportunities that they might not of in the past? I think so. But I don’t think anybody from the government is going to knock on your door and say “would you like one of them high paying jobs we giving out to Black people today?” You feel me homie? Hey but thanks Uncle Sam for the stimulus checks. Oh, forgot; you had to have a job and pay taxes and stuff to qualify for that and that came from “W” (George Bush) anyway. My bad. By the way, the Obama administration did knock on an associate’s of mine door and offered him one of those high paying government jobs. Wait a minute. My associate has a college degree, several, in fact, had been a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, and can pass a background and drug test. Hmm, details, details.
Here’s where it get’s interesting. I think Barrack Obama will benefit White America more than Black America as a whole. What? Let me explain. I think that the housing market and the stock will rebound under the current administration. Although I don’t think the turnaround will be strictly because of a Black or Democratic President. But Obama will get the credit for at least the start of the recovery. Companies are doing the things now they should have been doing all along. Streamlining their various operations, reducing staff through attrition and buyouts, closing or selling unprofitable businesses, and so on. Of course they are outright laying people off too. Since the housing market crash seemed to be the catalyst for this economic downturn, it will probably lead the recovery. So people buying homes now at the deflated prices, as well as those who maintained equity in their current homes will benefit. Also as the stock market rebounds, those participating in retirement plans such as 401k plans will benefit from the markets rebound as well. I know many retirement plans lost money, but I think only the most speculative accounts lost everything. Also many employers provide matching contributions, so you would have had to lose a whole hellava lot to lose yours and your employers match as well. Personally my 401k is down 18%; however my employer matches my contribution dollar for dollar so do the math. Okay I do it for you – I haven’t lost a dime of my own money.
So how can the African American community directly benefit from having an African American President? YOU CAN’T!! But you can benefit from the rebound in the economy when it happens. So the obvious question is how? Thought you’d never ask. First of all some business’s that will BE in business probably went overboard in cutting staffing. So as the economy rebounds, these same businesses will need to hire people. So the trick is to be hireable (is that a word? – spell check says not). Go back to school, take classes, or even just ask for more responsibility on your current job. Build that resume! If your employer offers a 401k plan, get in it. Everybody loves a bargain, and right now stocks and mutual funds are at rock bottom lows. There are many companies whose stock is 50% or more lower than a year ago. Do your homework because there are companies that are not only profitable but also flush with cash and when things turns around so will there stock prices. And by all means if you in the market for a home now is the time. There are some communities hit really hard by the depressed housing market. In Atlanta for example, there is a community of 4000 plus sq foot homes that 2 years ago were selling for between 400,000 and 500,000 thousand dollars. A house in that same community today can be had for a little over 200,000. I doubt that in five to ten years those houses will still be in that price range.
Now let’s look at some statistics. According to Infoplease.com, 72% of Whites own their own home versus 49.7% of Blacks and 49.7% for Hispanics. Also, 68% of Whites participate in 401k plans versus 53% of Blacks, according an analysis done by G. R. Springstead and T. M. Wilson. So what does that mean? It means you weren’t paying attention! Let me put it this way; when that train of economic prosperity starts to roll out from the station, a lot of “us” aint gonna be on it, you dig.
Of course, this is all just one man’s opinion, mine. I am not recommending or even suggesting that anyone do any of the things I’ve written here. I’m just giving everyone something to think about. Anyway, I gotta go cuz I gotta get my grind on! Peace.
This copywrited material, its content and pictures are the sole property of The Real Times Publications (TRT) and may not be used without its consent. For information, to comment or permission to reprint this article please contact “The Real” Jeff Stewart at trtpub@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment