Black and White America: A History of Separate Trajectories and Persistent Inequality

The podcast features Rob Johnson of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) in conversation with Dr. Peter Temin, an MIT economics professor emeritus, discussing Temin's new book, "Never Together," which examines the enduring problems of race in the United States. Temin's work, building on his previous book "The Vanishing Middle Class," argues that America's founding principles, as exemplified by the Constitution's "all men" clause, were initially exclusive to white men, setting a trajectory of racial inequality from the outset. The discussion highlights two primary attempts to integrate Black Americans into the mainstream economy—Reconstruction after the Civil War and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society—both of which ultimately failed to achieve lasting equity, with their gains eroded by subsequent political and economic shifts.

Temin meticulously details how periods of economic prosperity, or "Gilded Ages," often exacerbated racism, leading to policies like Jim Crow laws, which restricted Black education and participation, and later, mass incarceration. The conversation traces the evolution of these discriminatory practices, from the post-Reconstruction presidential compromise that secured the white South by excluding Black people, to Nixon's "War on Drugs," which demonized Black communities and replaced Johnson's War on Poverty with a system of mass imprisonment. The statistics cited, such as the US having 5% of the world's population but 25% of its prisoners, with one in three Black men going to prison, underscore the profound and ongoing impact of these policies, which Michelle Alexander terms the "new Jim Crow."

Practical insights emerge from the analysis, particularly regarding the cyclical nature of progress and retrenchment. The hosts discuss how economic insecurity fuels "diseases of despair" and racial animosity, as seen in the "Trumpian reaction" in regions like out-state Michigan, where struggling white communities resent efforts to uplift Black people. The conversation touches on the Flint water crisis as an example of how distributional choices, rather than genuine bankruptcy, can disproportionately harm Black populations. For remedies, Temin advocates for promoting Black education, ensuring voting rights, and addressing the systemic issues within the prison system that prevent rehabilitation, emphasizing that current government efforts are insufficient and often leave individuals without support upon release.

The broader implications of Temin's work suggest that America is caught in a "hideous equilibrium" where societal forces consistently pull back from genuine racial equity. The discussion concludes with a cautious outlook, acknowledging that while there may be "light at the end of the tunnel," it is a "pretty long tunnel." The call to action is for courage in academic social science, as exemplified by Temin's work, to illuminate painful truths and inspire younger generations to challenge conventional wisdom and work towards a more just future, emphasizing that changing priorities and taxing the wealthy are crucial for funding necessary social programs.

when they said all men that meant all white men

the first one eliminated slavery but it but it did not grant freedom for freedmen 40 acres and a mule and the effects wore off by the end of the 19th century

rich people do not want to pay taxes because they and they want to reduce services to workers blacks latinos and other poor people they imprison blacks and the other poor people

nixon had two enemies the antitrust left and the black people we could arrest their leaders raid their homes break up their meeting and vilify them night after night on the coming news did we know we were lying about the drugs of course we did

the whole problem is really the blacks

the problems were societal riots were started by blacks trying for equality with whites but nixon created the war on drugs crimes on individuals he wanted to condemn blacks who oppose the vietnam war he wanted individual crimes to demonize blacks which they still do creating a new jim crow

it's very frustrating to see the government resisting when you're talking about human rights but what we really need is not human rights what we need is birth rights if you're a human being you get the same portfolio as everyone else

the spirituals are about the afterlife nothing you can do in this life right but the blues are from the jim crow era when you are allegedly free but you're not free blues is about defiance in code in the here and now

when the economy suffers yeah insecurity goes up diseases of despair go up and racial animosity goes up the blaming of others is a a disease associated with despair

the tunnel's long