Should affirmative action be abolished?

Question

US Executive order 11375

The order specifically requires certain organizations accepting federal funds to take affirmative action to increase employment of members of preferred racial or ethnic groups and women. Any organization with fifty or more employees and an aggregate revenue exceeding $50,000 from a single federal contract during a twelve month period must have a written affirmative action plan. This plan must include goals and timetables for achieving full utilization of women and members of racial minorities, in quotas based on an analysis of the current workforce compared to the availability in the general labor pool of women and members of racial minorities.. - Wikipedia

This is ordering to hire people not because they are qualified or not but to hire them because they are a minority. Is this fair to non-minorities who are more qualified? NO, should this order be abolished?

if you prove anything i stated to be wrong go ahead and point it out and give your reason.

Answer 1

Yes, it should be abolished. All affirmative action does nowadays is encourage racism and difficulties between races and sexes. And why should someone get hired simply for being black or a woman when they aren't qualified for the job? Same goes for college entrances... why should someone get accepted over a better qualified candidate simply due to their race, religion, or sex? It is bogus and fosters an atmosphere of suspicion and hatred.

And seriously, what sort of human wants to "cash in" on their race or sexuality just to get a job or be accepted to a university? How crappy one must feel to know that the ONLY reason they got something was because of what they are not WHO they are. I don't want anything given to me just because I am a woman (except respect fellas!).

Answer 2

No. The state should not be encouraging different treatment based on race or gender, even if it is positive treatment.

This is something for the market to decide. If a company doesn't want to aggressively hire and promote the best people, regardless of race, they will suffer for it. Their competitors, who are not concerned with race, will hire all the better-qualified minorities and push the racist company out of the market.

It's common knowlege that big business is only concerned with the bottom line, that they would sacrifice ANYTHING for an extra nickel in profit, right? So why are they going to let something as outmoded and irrational as racial prejudice stand in the way of hiring the most productive people they can? We don't need affirmative action, and affirmative action isn't right.

Answer 3

It's a double-edged sword. If we don't get rid of it, the Reich Wing WASP's won't stop bitching and moaning on how, "it's reverse racism" when all it does is force elitists organizations NOT to throw away resumes or applications when they see that they're either wet-backs or porch monkeys. If we do, then this is the synopsis based on 3 applicants for a University in California:

A black woman from Oakland, CA, holds an average 3.7 GPA. A latin applicant, he's from San Diego, holds an average of 3.3, got on the ball and held a 4.0 throughout his senior year. Finally, a white man, he sends an application that says he has an average 3.45 GPA, from San Fransisco. The way they'll make the choice is picking the 3rd place applicant due to the fact he isn't a "hood rat" nor is he a border hopping beaner. Why not go back to that? It seems so much more efficient.

Answer 4

I am responding from South Africa, where these affirmative action laws came into effect just after the 1994 elections. The law just asked that companies give preference to employing affirmative action candidates, however left the quotas to the companies themselves, due to the skills shortages etc. However about 5 years ago, the government took this further and asked companies to submit reports with similar target for future employment. These "Employment Equity Reports" asked companies to report on staff turnover, so that they could see how quickly the quotas which companies committed to could be filled. Apparently this was not working, because about two years ago the government took it further even still and brought about the Black Economic Empowerment Act, which now takes the discretion away from employers and states that companies must have representative portion of Owners, Managers, Shareholders, etc. of the previously disadvantaged groups (which initially included women of all races, coloured, Asians, and blacks), now as you can see, it only applied to Blacks.

I appreciate what they are trying to do with all these laws, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there are still skills shortages, and it is almost impossible for some companies (eg. family businesses) to obtain these representative targets.

Answer 5

No. Think about it; affirmative action is one of the only things keeping some people in check. There are a whole alot of people out there that don't acknowledge it while it is there. You see, you probably aren't aware of this, but the US is a little racist. But that racism isn't against Caucasian, Christian, hetero males, so naturally, you see no use in it. We, everyone else, on the other hand, do need what you call "reverse racism". The reason is that the WASP's basically have a head start, so affirmative action gives us some extra chance.

Answer 6

It should be abolished because:
1. it only categorizes certain groups as minorities (asians are NOT considered a protected class under affirmative action)
2. It sends the message to certain groups that they are not as good as others and without extra help cannot succeed. All this does is perpetuate feelings of inferiority.

Answer 7

It should be abolished. In this day and age, it is reverse racism. It requires an employer to hire a possibly less qualified person because of their gender or race. It's quite ridiculous.

Answer 8

It should be abolished.

1)As pointed out, it may force companies to hire less-competent employees, based on race or gender alone. Not good

2)Ummm... in this day and age, we say "Race/Gender doesn't matter". So why is it the first thing they ask you when you get a job? Doesn't make sense to me. The very thing we're trying to avoid is the very thing we require.

Answer 9

This is a terribly controversial and emotive issue. You are bound to hear fools from each end of the political spectrum peddling their anecdotal nonsense.
There must be real statistical evidence available somewhere to show whether the order is doing what's intended.
If anybody knows of an unbiased source where this can be gotten please post the address.

Answer 10

Yes, AA is a racist policy. It is discrimination against white people, and it brings the quality of American products down by forcing employers to hire less qualified applicants simply because of the color of their skin or their sex.