Discriminations

Since it is widely believed, at least in some circles, that affirmative action is threatened exclusively by Ward Connerly and his friends, the evil racist Republicans and the right-wing judges they appoint, it may be useful to note that the bureaucrats and politicians who manage affirmative action programs have also contributed a great deal to the justified disgust increasing numbers of people have for these programs.

Here’s a good example from south Florida:

Auditors are alleging that Broward County government has mismanaged a program designed to steer millions of dollars in work to small businesses owned by women and minorities.

The report from internal county auditors released this week charged that officials repeatedly forced contractors to set aside more work for minority firms than federal regulations require. The auditors said little documentation exists to justify set-aside goals on federally funded projects for the past three years and that inaccurate reports were sent to regulatory agencies....

“The whole point of the program is not to divvy up contracts among races, but to encourage opportunity and growth and the program was not doing that,” said Herbert Schlanger, the Atlanta attorney representing the local chapter of the Associated General Contractors.

Whether or not Mr. Schlanger is right about the “whole point” of racial set asides (and I don’t think he is), I find it difficult to understand how a racial set-aside program can in fact operate in way other than by insisting on contracts being divvied up among races.