Dr. Aaron Shirley, a physician who has worked for better health care for blacks in Mississippi, said that the history of segregation and violence against blacks still informs the way people see one another, particularly in the South, making some whites reluctant to support programs that they believe benefit blacks.
That is compounded by the country’s rapidly changing demographics, Dr. Geiger said, in which minorities will eventually become a majority, a pattern that has produced a profound cultural unease, particularly when it has collided with economic insecurity.
Dr. Shirley said: “If you look at the history of Mississippi, politicians have used race to oppose minimum wage, Head Start, all these social programs. It’s a tactic that appeals to people who would rather suffer themselves than see a black person benefit.”
Opponents of the expansion bristled at the suggestion that race had anything to do with their position. State Senator Giles Ward of Mississippi, a Republican, called the idea that race was a factor “preposterous,” and said that with the demographics of the South — large shares of poor people and, in particular, poor blacks — “you can argue pretty much any way you want.”
anays2023 on 16 Sep 21Retirement in the senate is always an important issue that most people usually overlook
samueld2022 on 18 Sep 21It is interesting to compare how long senators can serve in the US compared to other countries. For example, In Canada, senators have a mandatory retirement age of 75. A lot of our senators would no longer be serving if this were true here in the US.
Kay Bradley on 27 Sep 21So true! The power of incumbency is hard to deny. . . but it shouldn't be. On the other hand, it does take a while to learn how to be an effective lawmaker, so I am not a fan of short term limits.
