Overview:
Today’s podcast is based on The New York Times opinion article by Heather C. McGhee, “The Way Out of America’s Zero-Sum Thinking on Race and Wealth.” The content covers disputable evidence that racism exists; that white America receives more income, better healthcare, and better schools. That Conservatives from The Tea Party, in particular, want smaller government which downsizes public programs. That raising the minimum wage goes a long way toward closing the economic gap between races. McGhee writes, ”The anti-government stinginess of traditional conservatism, along with the fear of losing social status held by many white people, now broadly associated with Trumpism, have long been connected. Both have sapped American society’s strength for generations, causing a majority of white Americans to rally behind the draining of public resources and investments.” (Par 8). Is McGhee intimmating here that the so-called “Trump's America” is largely to blame? The article doesn’t elaborate further. Midway through the article, McGhee adds somewhat irrelevant, unnecessary information to prove her point, by talking about her travels across America, stating, “To understand what stops us from uniting for our mutual benefit, I’ve spent the past three years traveling the country from California to Mississippi to Maine, visiting churches and worker centers and city halls, in search of on-the-ground answers.” (Par. 9) Implying that her travel experiences further prove her vast understanding of cultural racism and inequality.
Works Cited: McGhee, Heather. “The Way Out of America’s Zero-Sum Thinking on Race and Wealth.” The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2021, nytimes.com/2021/02/13/opinion/race-economy-inequality-civil-rights.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.