Filed under: Dr. Boyce Money, News, The Economy
"Because employers, potential employers, will look and see that gee, they've been out forever, it doesn't make sense. And I think that's partly playing in to this cycle. And at some point then it becomes a matter of you lose your work ethic, your values are impacted, you know, getting up, showing up, dressing well, all that good stuff. So I don't know that that's smart."
I would say that Williams' comments are shocking, but they are certainly to be expected from the man who publicly sold himself to the most racist television network in the history of our country. I'm not sure why Williams felt the need to jump in on this issue in such an insensitive way, but it appears that he's working hard to earn the two million that Fox is paying him.
Perhaps Willams should do his homework. The $250 per week received from unemployment benefits is hardly enough for anyone to become spoiled. I've spent a great deal of time around wealthy people (I teach at a private university where the tuition is over $30,000 per year - total annual cost approaches $50,000 per year). I can say, without question, that wealthy people are quite likely less disciplined than working class Americans. It is our nation's paternalistic and demeaning way of viewing the unemployed that somehow leads the wealthy to believe that people don't have jobs because they are lazy.
Adding insult to injury, the notion that Republicans are refusing to extend unemployment benefits in exchange for tax cuts for the rich tells us that they are willing to allow millions to go homeless in order to add a few dollars to the pockets of those who don't need the money. Williams and his colleagues at Fox should stop to notice what it really means to be truly spoiled. Given that Juan is among the wealthy who stand to benefit from tax cuts at the expense of the poorest in our country, such campaigning by he and others to build their personal bank accounts is beyond reprehensible.
If Congress doesn't act soon, 635,000 Americans stand to lose their unemployment benefits this week. Another 1.6 million will lose their benefits by Christmas. Finally, six million could lose their benefits over the next year. The situation is dire, children are being affected, and the insensitive disposition being taken by those in power threatens to undermine the security of our nation. As the gap in wealth grows between the rich and the poor, we are further and further at risk of seeing our country erode into violence (since that's what happens when the rich keep everything and let poor people suffer).
With regard to Juan Williams, the truth is that he's not going to stop making such snide and ignorant remarks on television. My own tangles with Williams have been interesting, and I had no problem telling the truth about his behavior. But at the end of the day, my hope and prayer is that he will one day realize that in spite of a challenging economy, a man doesn't have to sell his principles up the river in order to make a buck. Williams is fully aware that Fox News not only serves to attack minorities and the poor, but they are also in consistent violation of fundamental rules on journalistic integrity. The only thing that surprised me about NPR getting rid of Juan Williams a few months ago was that they didn't do it sooner.
We've got to do better than this, especially at Christmas time.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.