<p>Well, I tried going back further than 2007 to see what the average income for Asians was, but apparently the Census Bureau did not collect income statistics for Asians until 2002. That brings up an interesting question about underrepresentation. How can the government fully understand the socio-economic situation of a certain ethnic group if they don’t even collect their statistical information? Anyways, what I wanted to say is that the statistics of the Asian population you showed is a current example of how three decades of educational achievement and determination has improved the economic status of Asians in this country. Unfortunately, I have no way of proving to you that the majority of Asians in Southern California did not prosper prior to the 1980s. Take the Vietnamese immigrants that settled in Orange County, for example. Most of these people were refugees who arrived with very little money, and they managed to greatly improve their situation because education was emphasized in the home. </p>
<p>@Cayton, I would argue that the example you gave of your friends making fun of you for being intelligent is a cultural problem, not an economic one. I understand that my arguments have been pretty broad, and I had no intentions of over simplifying the socio-economic problems facing minorities in this country. The truth is, no outside group is going to care enough about blacks to improve the economic situation; it’s going to have to be up to the people in those communities to do it. The Democrats claim to be the voice for all minorities, but what have they ever really done. They show enough concern to get the votes and then they walk away. I’m not saying outside groups don’t care about minorities, it’s just that it’s difficult for people to be committed to a group that is not their own. This is a problem that has to be fixed from the inside out, and placing all of the blame on a discriminatory system will never help it. I will reiterate my points about AA by adding that you will never see true equality until AA is eliminated. </p>
<p>“It just doesn’t seem defensible to attribute such a massive and significant problem to something as weak(By comparison, anyway) as the opinions of some people who are members of your race/culture.” </p>
<p>I don’t remember ever telling you what my race or culture is. Think you might be profiling me there? Just something to think about.</p>
<p>@Dagoberto, I agree that it is unfair for people to think that black people enrolled at UCs are unqualified. However, under the guidelines of AA, a much larger number would think this is the case because even the ones who got accepted based on academic achievements would be looked at as inferior. I think this kind of system may increase the number of black students that attend, but it would be seriously detrimental to the image other ethnic groups have towards black students. This is not just my opinion, this actually occurred thirty years ago, and was one of the reasons why AA was eliminated. As far as the lack of lack students interested in economics, again, this is a cultural problem. There’s nothing the UC system can do about this. If you really want to do something, get involved in the schools that are in predominantly black neighborhoods and try to establish an economics program that teaches kids responsible financial lessons. Be a part of the solution, unlike Dr. Dre. </p>
<p>@Snorlaz, that’s a very good point, the population of minorities at UCLA is almost comparable to the population in California. Another thing they rarely mention is that there really isn’t a high number of black transfer students that apply to the school.</p>