Income disparity not based on race

 William Sullivan:

...

Yes, white Americans earn more, on average, than black Americans. That's a data point, not a story. In reality, there are many more data points to consider beyond this little cherry-picked microcosm of how races and ethnicities financially perform in American life.

Indian-Americans (South Asian), for example, are the highest-earning ethnic group in America, followed closely by Japanese- and Chinese-Americans (East Asian). All of these groups of Americans out-earn white Americans, on average.

Why, that's evidence of institutional racism, right? If a disparity in income among white and black Americans suggests institutional oppression, then why is that not the case when whites could be perceived as the victims of it? After all, don't financial outcomes among racial demographics signify racial discrimination in society at large?

Indian-American households earn tens of thousands of dollars more, on average, than white American households. Is there a systemic bias favoring Indian-Americans over white Americans because of their skin color? Sensible people would correctly scoff at such suggestions, given so little evidence.

Clearly, the logic undergirding the "group A earns less on average than group B, therefore group A is the victim of discrimination" argument doesn't hold up for even a moment of the slightest scrutiny. But there is a correlation that is unmistakable, however, and which may give us some insight into income disparities among racial and ethnic groups.

The most fundamental reason for this disparity has been observed for all of human history, but take this semi-contemporary observation from a century and a half ago. "It is easier," reportedly said American hero and former slave Frederick Douglass, "to build strong children than to repair broken men."

That's true among all human beings, irrespective of race. This is why the primary purpose of all civilizations, throughout human history, has been to structure their societies in such a way that children would best become productive citizens. And the very best way to do this, without the slightest observable variance over millennia, is to have children reared by their own mothers and fathers.

Incidentally, this is the reason that no society in human history had codified laws allowing for same-sex marriage until such a law appeared in the Netherlands in 2001. Mothers and fathers each offer unique value in raising children, largely due to the difference between the sexes that the progressive left has decided to ignore these past few years. Boys, in particular, need fathers to temper aggressive impulses and focus their energies on productive pursuits. It's no secret that prisons are largely populated by men, and it's no coincidence that it has been observed that 85-percent of youths in prison come from fatherless homes.

This has created a vicious cycle of children from fatherless homes committing crimes and going to prison after having procreated ("fathering" doesn't seem the appropriate term for such men), leaving their own children fatherless, and their sons often doomed to the same fate.

This cycle has most acutely affected black Americans. The high level of black incarceration again prompts progressives to suggest that because more black Americans are in prison than white Americans, this somehow signifies systemic racism rather than the much simpler and infinitely provable conclusion that black Americans commit significantly more crimes, per capita, than Americans of other races.

Fatherlessness and its ruinous outcomes are certainly not a natural feature of the black family in America. As the late Walter E. Williams observes, in "1960, just 22 percent of black children were raised in single-parent families." Today, that figure is over 70 percent. This busts yet another myth often promoted by the left, which is that fatherlessness, and the resulting high level of black incarceration and poverty, is the legacy of slavery. Williams rhetorically asks, "Was the increase in single-parent black families after 1960 a legacy of slavery, or might it be the legacy of the welfare state ushered in by the War on Poverty?"
...

I live in a very diverse area of rural Texas.  I have several successful black neighbors who are family-oriented.  Their kids appear motivated and nice.  They are nothing like the broken families of the unsuccessful.  The point is, that families need fathers who set an example.