[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

You make some interesting points, however, I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. Just because some folks take race politics to various hypocritical extremes, doesn't negate its value or aptness. I loath sycophants within contemporary politics as well, trust that. Further, I've heard the minimum wage debate, but I think that analysts who argue that reducing the minimum wage increases employment aren't looking at the bigger picture, because at what cost? Sure. There have always been exploitative jobs, but as progressive policies in the work place increase, that is canceled out in the long arc. The pro-Walmartization crowd also argue that Walmart does more to benefit the poor than anything else. True, but poor people only benefit from cheap goods at Walmart because they work at Walmart wages and can't afford to pay more. If wages increase, so does purchasing power and business improves. Cut-throat capitalism is too short sighted. It doesn't examine the long-arc. Neither does those analyses which minimize or negate the effect and impact of race on our society, our politics, and our economy. Racism is deeply embedded in our mutual history, and simply put, 40 years isn't long enough to suddenly negate the legacy and impact of the 350 years that preceded it.