Anderson@Large

Black Labor Pains

A new U.S. Department of Labor report, “The Black Labor Force in the Recovery,” found that about half of African Americans aged 16 and older have a job. Of those working, 17.5 percent have only a piece of a job:

In 2010, about half of blacks aged 16 and older had a job and 17.5 percent of those employed worked part-time. Blacks are the only racial or ethnic group where women represent a larger share of the employed than do men—more than half (54.3 percent) of employed blacks in 2010 were women, compared to 46.3 percent among employed whites. Employed black women still earn less than employed black men.

The Labor Department reports that nearly 20 percent of employed blacks work in the public sector, compared to 14.6 percent of whites. As federal stimulus funds run out and state and local governments lay off workers, black labor pains will increase.

So forget about that “good government job.” In comments on the House floor, New York Rep. Charles Rangel said:

And so many African-Americans, for reasons that I do not have to go into, have sought public service as a way of life because of the security that’s involved in it. And so, when we talk about cutting the budget and cutting the services that are provided, we’re talking about a larger number of minorities that would be losing their jobs as a result of budget cutting.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently wrote, “this is not your parents’ job market”:

Whatever you may be thinking when you apply for a job today, you can be sure the employer is asking this: Can this person add value every hour, every day — more than a worker in India, a robot or a computer? Can he or she help my company adapt by not only doing the job today but also reinventing the job for tomorrow? And can he or she adapt with all the change, so my company can adapt and export more into the fastest-growing global markets? In today’s hyperconnected world, more and more companies cannot and will not hire people who don’t fulfill those criteria.

To get over, black workers must become entrepreneurial-minded. That doesn’t mean one has to run out and start up howigotover.com. Rather, one has to think and act like an entrepreneur.

LinkedIn Co-founder and Chairman Reid Hoffman is the co-author of the forthcoming book, “The Start-Up of You,” which will provide “a revolutionary new blueprint for how to survive and thrive in this new career landscape”:

Today, the career escalator is jammed at every level. Creative disruption is shaking every industry. Wages are virtually stagnant. Global competition for jobs is fierce. Technology is replacing both white and blue collar workers, and at an increasing clip. The employer-employee pact is over; job security doesn’t exist.

[…]

Start-ups and entrepreneurs are nimble. They are innovative. They invest in themselves. They are self-reliant, yet build strong networks to amplify their strengths. They assess the needs of their target customers. They leverage their competitive advantages in the marketplace.

So let me start by asking a question: Are you on LinkedIn?

The Trials of Rep. Charlie Rangel

The ethics trial of Rep. Charles Rangel for allegedly violating 13 House rules got underway yesterday.

After an opening statement from House Ethics Adjudicatory Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren, Rangel rambled on for about 10 minutes.

Lofgren noted that Rangel “was sitting by himself at the table” and assumed he was representing himself. And indeed he was. After paying his former legal team $2 million, he had a fool for a client.

Acting on his own counsel, Rangel said he wanted to talk with a lawyer:

I object to the proceedings, and I, with all due respect, since I don’t have counsel to advise me, I’m going to have to excuse myself from these proceedings.

And with that, he walked out.

Rangel’s request for a delay was denied.

After a three-hour closed session, the panel announced a unanimous decision to deem the charges “uncontested” and ended the trial phase.

Meanwhile, Rangel is taking his case to the court of public opinion. In a statement, Rangel said:

I am very disappointed that the Ethics Subcommittee has chosen to proceed with the hearing knowing that I am without counsel. They have decided to continue the hearing on an 80-page document that I received just seven days ago by the Subcommittee staff -which neither I nor others have ever seen before in an ethics inquiry. When I asked what rule this motion was made under and how it was used. I was told nothing. How was I supposed to deal with this when I received it just days before the hearing without an attorney by my side?

[…]

I hope that my colleagues in Congress, friends, constituents and anyone paying attention will consider my statement and how the Committee has been unfair to me. They can do what they will with me because they have the power and I have no real chance of fighting back.

UPDATE: Rep. Charles Rangel found guilty on 11 counts.

Now Playing on Capitol Hill

I have marked my calendar for “Unchain My Heart, the Ray Charles Musical,” which will open on Broadway in November.

I different kind of drama is playing out on Capitol Hill, where the embattled Rep. Charles Rangel refuses to “Hit the Road Jack.”

Yesterday, Rangel took to the House Floor to plead his case.

Rangel’s soliloquy went on for more than 30 minutes. At times, he was rambling, emotional, defiant, apologetic and self-effacing.

Rangel admitted he made mistakes in soliciting donations for the Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York:

It may be stupid or negligent, but it’s not corrupt.

Rangel pleaded with the House Ethics Committee to schedule a hearing:

The ethics committee won’t even tell me when I’m going to have a hearing. ..I’m 80 years old. I don’t want to die before the hearing.

Rangel acknowledged his situation presents an additional hurdle for Democrats who are already running scared:

If I were you, I may want me to go away, too. I am not going away. I am here.

As for resigning so that he can “end his career with dignity,” fuhgetaboutit:

If I can’t get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot at getting rid of me through expulsion.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave Rangel’s performance the thumbs down in a statement:

As I have repeatedly stated, the independent, bipartisan Ethics Committee is the proper arena for ethics matters to be discussed. The process is moving forward in a way that will ensure that the highest ethical standards are upheld in the House of Representatives.

Rangel’s one-man show is now playing at C-SPAN Archives.

Rep. Waters Says ‘Bring it On’

In response to Rep. Maxine Waters’ call for the release of the charges against her, the House Ethics Committee has formally charged Waters with three counts of violating the letter and spirit of House rules.

The Committee alleges that Waters’ and her chief of staff’s involvement with OneUnited Bank violated conflict of interest rules. Chief of Staff Mikael Moore is also her grandson.

Waters wants the Committee to hold a public trial so that she can “show [her] constituents and the American public that the accusations against [her] are frivolous and unfounded.”

Waters wants the trial to be held before Election Day, which is 83 days away.

During an appearance on the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s radio show, “Keep Hope Alive,” Waters said she wants an opportunity to lay out the facts:

I’m not going to be anybody’s sacrificial lamb…I’m supposed to be scared. Negative, positive, it doesn’t matter to me…The press can say what it wants to say. I have the facts. In a public hearing, I will bring out the facts and I will win.

Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, believes the charges against Waters are designed to “constrain advocacy for African American interests”:

Rep. Waters is a powerful advocate for economic interests. They’re trying to constrain this voice.

Arnwine told Waters:

When you strike a woman, you strike a rock. We’re going to stand with you.

In an interview with TheGrio.com, Waters talked about the impact of two possible ethics trials on the midterm elections:

The Democrats don’t benefit from this this close to the election. It puts them on the defensive. Even if you argue that it seems that the ethics investigation process is working, the Democrats having to defend the process at this time doesn’t help the party. It’s hurtful because it gives the Republicans a chance to say, “See the Democrats have all those problems over there.” I don’t know if they’ll do that because they’re a lot of Republicans that have been investigated. But there’s nothing positive in this for the Democrats.

But Waters refuses to be a poster child for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s promise to “drain the swamp.”

Waters vowed:

Before that happens to me, I’ll bring down the whole ecological system.

Troubled Waters

Democrats are facing double trouble in the run-up to the midterm elections.

First, Rep. Charles Rangel was accused of 13 ethics violations. It is troubling the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee allegedly failed to pay his taxes.

For New Yorkers, affordable housing is a hot-button issue. So it is especially troubling that Rangel arrogated unto himself four rent-controlled apartments while living la vida loca in the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday, the Office of Congressional Ethics released its report on Rep. Maxine Waters, who is accused of steering TARP funds to a bank in which her husband held stock.

The summary of allegations reads:

There is a substantial reason to believe that Representative Waters’ conduct may have violated House Rule 23, clause 3 and House precedent regarding conflict of interest when she called then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and requested that Treasury Department officials meet with representatives from the National Bankers Association. A meeting was in fact granted, however, the discussion at the meeting centered on a single bank—OneUnited. Representative Waters’ husband had been a board member of the bank from 2004 to 2008 and, at the time of the meeting, was a stock holder of the bank.

In a statement, Waters denied any wrongdoing:

I have not violated any House rules.

Therefore, I simply will not be forced to admit to something I did not do and instead have chosen to respond to charges made by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in a public hearing.

The possible public trials may play out in September when thousands of black elected officials, academics, community and thought leaders, and activists will be in DC for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference.

Waters’ “Banking Issues Forum” is sure to attract a large crowd of constituents and supporters, as well as a media circus.

CBC Week chatter will likely revive the decades-old narrative about the “harassment” of black elected officials.

UPDATE: CBC Chair Barbara Lee released the following statement on Waters:

The House of Representatives has a long-standing and well established ethics process, which should be allowed to proceed without prejudging the outcome. Although the alleged charges remain unclear, some in the media have sought to indict Congresswoman Waters in clear disregard of her right to a fair and due process.

Throughout her tenure in Congress, and in the California State Legislature before that, Congresswoman Waters has been a tireless and effective advocate for underrepresented and underserved communities and institutions. She continues to be an important voice on those and many other issues and should not have her rights usurped by politicians or the press.

It’s on.

Rangel Gives up His Gavel

With the House poised to vote on a non-binding resolution to strip him of his chairmanship, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel requested “a leave of absence until such time as the ethics committee completes its work.”

The House “accepted his resignation,” but there’s blood on the floor. McClatchy Newspapers reports:

Rep. Charles Rangel’s decision to step aside as the chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee not only could be the beginning of the end of his storied career, but also gives Republicans fresh ammunition to use against Democrats in November’s elections.

[...]

Still, Rangel’s decision didn’t stop Republicans from hammering away at Democrats on ethics lapses, much as Democrats pummeled the GOP about ethics when Republicans controlled the House from 1995 to 2007.

BTW, I shared the video on Facebook with the son of the man Rangel defeated 40 years ago, Adam Clayton Powell III. Adam wrote on my wall:

It was inevitable. And the day after the anniversary of the 1967 vote to exclude his predecessor!

On his “Hour of Power” radio show last Sunday, Al Sharpton observed:

There are all kinds of crises around blacks in power … How should we govern? Those of us who achieve the level of power, we never concentrated on how we ought to behave once we achieve power.

Sharpton added:

With progress also comes new responsibility … What are our responsibilities to our community? ... What does it take to govern as we grow in stature and strength?

For starters, it’s indefensible if you’re the chairman of the tax-writing committee and you, er, allegedly fail to pay taxes on a villa you own in the Dominican Republic.

Also, if you represent a congressional district, where the labor force participation rate is roughly 50 percent and more than 35 percent of your constituents live below the poverty level, you don’t grab four rent-stabilized apartments for your personal use.