“A Dichotomy of Epic Proportion”

Not only is Philadelphia ranked as the 16th most corrupt city in the Republic, it ranks 8th in the nation with the highest unemployment among African Americans. In 2010, unemployment among African Americans living in Philadelphia was 14.6% compared to 7% in 2007. The unemployment rate for African American families is also a major dichotomy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, African American adults had the highest unemployment rate in 2009 at 14.9% while Philadelphia’s overall unemployment rate was 6.7%.

From a national perspective, African American unemployment is at a staggering 16.7% compared to 9.1% nationally. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the unemployment rate for African Americans is projected to reach 17.2 % before 2012. So why is African American unemployment consistently high in the Republic year after year and decade after decade? According to a study conducted by the U.C. Berkeley Department of Labor, it’s because there is a lack of public sector jobs available to African Americans. The study concluded that “the public sector is the most important source of employment for African Americans and a key source of high-paying jobs, specifically for African American women.”

From 2008-2010, 21.2% of African Americans workers were employed in the public sector, compared to just 16.3% of non-African American workers. Some financial experts say some of the other factors of consistently high African American unemployment include:

1. A younger workforce.
2. A smaller proportion of college-educated job candidates.
3. A higher population of citizens living in areas that have been most affected by the recession.

What is also deeply troubling is that African American unemployment has always been high in the Republic. For example, in 1933 during the Great Depression, while the general unemployment rate was 25%, unemployment among African Americans was 50%. Further, unemployment among African Americans has been in the double digits under the previous four United States Presidents:


President Reagan: 17.0%

President Bush (I): 12.0%

President Clinton: 10.0%

President Bush (II): 12.6%


Fact is, President Obama inherited a high African American unemployment rate. Thus, under his presidency, “unemployment among African Americans increased by roughly 4.1%".

The past and current presidential hopefuls have all given the same weak, flat dish-watery response that their focus is to create jobs for “every” American. However, from Carter-to-Reagan, Reagan-to-Bush I, Bush I-to-Clinton, Clinton-to-Bush II, and Bush II-to-Obama, judging solely on the high unemployment rate, African Americans appear to not fall into the category of “every” American. Instead of partisan politics and political pandering, perhaps a significant and effective amount of time should be spent on initiatives in reducing African American unemployment that stubbornly hovers year after year in the double-digits. Until then, rhetoric about creating employments opportunities for "every" American rings hollow.



"Progressive will bring balance to the Republic"
Anthony P. Johnson

"Do You Hear the Citizenry?"

You thought you were going to run over the citizenry and we were just going to take it. You thought you could just steal and the people were going to stay silent. Did you really think you were going to get off so easy?

You declared war on every middle class, working poor and poor citizen by speculating prices on gas, wheat, oil and our future--at our expense. Did you expect us to be afraid of you?

You re-ignited this declaration of war on the middle class, working poor and poor American. You wanted to rekindle the dream of your master, J.P. Morgan and his ilk. His vision which was that only a few would possess all the wealth to rule over the majority of the citizenry with an iron fist. However, contrary to your misguided arrogance, there are some citizens that know American History from the financial perspective and now those voices are being heard.

Reform Wall Street! Reform your arrogance, reform your greed, reform your apathetic behavior toward the citizenry and reform your dastardly way of doing business. Do you hear the citizenry? You should, because we are at this very moment standing on your doorsteps. If you refuse to embrace the Reformation of Finance--the people you attempted to trample up will soon be cast as the ones that will bring effective change to Wall Street.

Wall Street, do you hear us now?



"Progressives will bring balance to the Republic"
Anthony P. Johnson