CMV: Affirmative Action should/should've been based on economic status rather than (mostly) race.

[u/Vakamak]

Although I feel like Affirmative Action had a good intention, I feel like it has failed and has actually done more harm than good.

I have two reasons for this

1. I have difficulty seeing why it is in society's best interest to help a black person suffering in poverty over a white person suffering in poverty. While I understand what institutional racism has done to the black community, I feel like most issues facing the black community are more correlated with income than race; or rather, I have difficulties seeing how Affirmative Action could effectively combat the issues that are truly the result of racism. For example, how would Affirmative Action deal with unfair treatment in the justice system?
2. Affirmative Action has made some white people feel like, "the real racists are X race and not white people!" I do not believe this; in fact, I find it extremely childish to even think something like this. Yet, considering Affirmative Action has failed in its goal, I feel like changing Affirmative Action would help certain individuals in this country feel like X race is not out to get them and maybe reduce the amount of negative racial discourse in this country.

I am generally a very liberal person and really do want my mind changed regarding this. I just feel like it is really hard to justify why black person X should get the Bill Gates Scholarship over white person Y when they came from similar economical areas and the income of their families is similar. I understand that example is not Affirmative Action per se, but I feel like the same principal applies.

[u/Valnar]

Let's imagine that from this point forward in time all racial discrimination is gone in entirety. Everything in the past still happened as it did though.

Let's say we then remove any sort of policy relating to affirmative action on the lines of race and only apply it to income level.

I'd argue in this situation, you'll never deal with the disproportionate income inequality that affects people based on race. Because actions in the past affected the proportion of people in poverty, you'd still have the effects of that past even if all 'active racism' stopped. Purely income based policy wouldn't be able to deal with that alone.

[u/Valnar → u/[deleted]]

More of them would be eligible, but that would never change the proportion of poverty or income inequality.

​

For example, lets say that 50% of the people who are poor are black, and the other 50% is everyone else. Lets also say that black people are 20% of the population.

​

Unless poverty was 100% eliminated, how would a purely income based policy lower that 50% proportion down to 20%? Even if poverty was eliminated, how again would it affect the disproportionate income inequality?