What President Biden Inherits
As President Joe Biden takes office, he inherits:
The worst disease outbreak in over a century, which is spreading faster and killing more people in the U.S. than at any time since it began one year ago.
Highly effective vaccines that so far have reached only 4% of the public.
An economy struggling with 10 million jobless and millions more out of the workforce.
A rising tide of murders up nearly 36% last year in major cities.
Federal debt the highest since World War II, as a percentage of the U.S. economy, and an annual deficit running at $2.3 trillion this year even before Biden asks for a $1.9 trillion aid package.
Why So Few Black Skiers and Ballet Dancers? Racial Discrimination at Heart of African Americans’ Low Participation Rates in Range of Recreation, Cultural Activities, Says New Book
That African Americans are underrepresented in outdoor activities like golf and skiing and in arts endeavors like classical music and ballet would come as no surprise to most Americans.
A new book is the first to show with statistical rigor how deep and extensive the underrepresentation is and to demonstrate its root cause: systemic racism.
“Socioeconomic factors like low income, geographical barriers such as living far from natural areas or cultural centers, or preferences are often cited as the reasons African Americans don’t engage in these activities at the rates whites do,” said Dan Krymkowski, a professor of Sociology at the University of Vermont and author of the new book, The Color of Culture (Lexington Books, January 2021).
PolitiFact s ruling: True
Here s why: When the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest job numbers, the Jan. 8, 2021 release brought a jaw-dropping number to light – from November to December the U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs.
Then came another jaw-dropper: As a group, only women lost jobs.
Then came this claim, from Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. On Jan. 9, 2021, she tweeted a link to a CNN article about the job losses among women with this comment: This headline is hiding something from you. It wasn’t all women that lost jobs, it was mostly Black and Latina women. In fact, white women gained employment. Any response we have to this pandemic and economy has to also address structural inequality.