Economic stimulus packages typically bring a lack of concern for Americans who struggle the most to the forefront of the conversation. That’s because stimulus packages typically contain more gains for the wealthy and offering nearly nothing for those who grapple with getting by on a daily basis; who are negatively impacted by economic downturns more than anyone else.
It’s no secret that poverty disproportionately impacts communities of color in America. I could argue, with great success, that the effects of poverty are not by accident. Taking a look at what conservatives bring to the table easily explains why things are the way they are. What the economy has become since Ronald Reagan was president is one of corporate socialism. For the last four decades, people who earn the least have benefitted the least.
There’s a reason for that.
Like most Americans, politicians are keenly aware of Census Data from 2018 showing the highest poverty rate by race is as follows: 25.4% of Native Americans; 20.8% of Black folks; 17.6% of Latinos; 10.1% of White folks; 10.1% of Asians, yet conservative policies have consistently hurt the poorest Americans thus disproportionately targeting and adversely affecting communities of color.
While white folks make up nearly 43% of the 39.7 million people living in poverty, it’s worth noting that they make up only 10% of the white population in America. Conservatives often point to that 43% number while claiming adverse governmental policies similarly affect them as a whole. However, their claim does not reflect the much larger percentages of minorities who are negatively impacted by poverty due to the bipartisan trickle-down economics that are the basis for conservative politics.
Even worse than all of that, 5.3% of the population — 17.3 million people — live in deep poverty (incomes below 50% of their poverty thresholds) and 29.9% of the population — 93.6 million — live close to poverty (incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds). Whenever conservative politics put corporate interests before the people, as it usually does, these are the people they are knowingly and willingly leaving behind.
Considering the support hardline conservatives have given a bigoted Donald Trump, the Republican Southern Strategy, and the overwhelmingly white support conservatives enjoy, it appears that the disdain for poor folks of color has them willing to sacrifice the 10% of white Americans who suffer under the weight of poverty. To put it simply, they don’t care about poor folks and they care even less for minorities. That’s the platform they’ve run on since the 1970s.
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