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The purpose of this site is to try and get the world to start dealing with the interaction between culture and success in a mature and intelligent manner.

Poll: Do you believe culture influences success?
Yes 70.38%
No 15.6%
Uncertain 14%


- Newest Articles -

Per Capita Income Around the World

Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world.

Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi

While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work.

Civilization and Success

The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization.

- Categories -

Civilization and Success
Culture is to the group what personality is to the individual. Civilization is to the group what enlightenment is to the individual.

By the Numbers
A careful examination of the numbers is necessary to understand the relationship between success and culture.

Third World and the Underclass
The Third World is where the relationship between success and culture is revealed in the most brutal manner.

Politics and Success
The central political issue of our time is whether or not culture influences success.

- All Articles -
Per Capita Income Around the World

Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world.

Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi

While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work.

Civilization and Success

The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization.

Fundamentals of Prosperity

This 1920 work by Roger Babson is a classic with in its genre. It promotes the traditional, pre-1960s explanation for the connection between success and culture.

Zimbabwe: the World's Largest Test Tube

Current events in Zimbabwe are giving us an unprecedented opportunity to measure and judge the effect of white settlement and colonization in Africa.

US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion

Average US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion.

Are Calvinists Predestined to Succeed?

Max Weber's claim that Protestantism is more conducive to success than Catholicism and that Calvinism is in particular more successful is widely repeated and rarely examined.

Wealth and the Recogniton of Culture

We need to recognize that culture is the personality of a group or race and we must see culture and having seen it, make it a work of art.

The Recipient Class

The moral justification for welfare is supposed to be that we are temporarily helping out our fellow man through a rough stretch of road or helping the disabled permanently. If it is to become a system for continually transferring wealth from one group to another the people behind this change owe us an explanation.

Culturalism

The great taboo of our age is not speaking about race, but speaking about culture.

Bourgeois

Bourgeoisie is more than just a term of abuse used by the Left, it refers to a real people who led real lives.

Selections from the Federal Outlook

Selections from a 1960's Rhodesian newspaper.

How Africa Underdeveloped Africa

Africa is the poorest place in the world. Why?

Will Famine Come to Zimbabwe?

The end of commercial farming in Zimbabwe could plunge the country into famine.

The Tragedy of the Zimbabwe Commons
Communally owned property always has and always will suffer from the 'tragedy of the commons' problem.

Band Aid
Africa recieves $15 billion a year in aid. Is it helping?

Civilization

Culture is to the group what personality is to the individual. Civilization is to the group what enlightenment is to the individual. All groups have cultures, but not all cultures are civilized. If all cultures were civilized than the term would have no descriptive quality. Civilization does have a descriptive quality and it is something worth achieving and defending.


Per Capita Income Around the World

Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world.

Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi

While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work.

Civilization and Success

The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization.

Fundamentals of Prosperity

This 1920 work by Roger Babson is a classic with in its genre. It promotes the traditional, pre-1960s explanation for the connection between success and culture.

US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion

Average US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion.

Wealth and the Recognition of Culture

We need to recognize that culture is the personality of a group or race and we must see culture and having seen it, make it a work of art.

The Recipient Class

The moral justification for welfare is supposed to be that we are temporarily helping out our fellow man through a rough stretch of road or helping the disabled permanently. If it is to become a system for continually transferring wealth from one group to another the people behind this change owe us an explanation.

Culturalism

The great taboo of our age is not speaking about race, but speaking about culture.

 

 

Table 1
Household Type
Household Income
Household Income After Taxes and Benefits
Difference Per Household
Difference Per Person
White
$43,597
$41,988
-$1,609
-$651
Asian
$51,904
$46,488
-$5,416
-$1,730
Black
$26,810
$28,786
+$1,976
+$718
Hispanic
$30,323
$31,599
+$1,276
+$365
Married with kids
$63,059
$54,258
-$8,801
 
Single Mother
$21,700
$25,841
+$4,141
 
With Elderly
$11,046
$31,057
+$20,011
 
With Children
$51,386
$46,380
-$5,006
 

 

 

(4/8/01) Since the 1980's the Census Bureau has been calculating U.S. Incomes after both taxes and benefits have been accounted for. The results of this research seems to be one of the most underreported stories in our society. I think this research deserves a closer look.

The above numbers are all for 1999. The numbers are from a Census Bureau PDF file that can be found at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/p60-209.pdf. The first thing that jumps out are the racial disparities. The Census Bureau figures are for households but by dividing by the average household size for each race we find that Blacks and Hispanics are each receiving more in benefits than they are paying in taxes. Black people who live to be 65 will receive an average of over $46,000 more in benefits that what they will pay in taxes. This is relevant to the slave reparations debate because $46,000 is right around the figures that black leaders have been asking for in reparations. In addition to receiving direct government benefits in the form of cash blacks receive the same indirect government benefits such as highways and bridges that whites pay $651 a year for. What also jumps out from these figures is how much Asians are paying, more than twice what Whites pay.

The second fact that jumps jumps out is the disparity between two parent families and single mothers. Two parent families pay $8,801 more in taxes each year than they receive in benefits. This is a substantial amount of money and it seems to be going to single mother families, which receive $4,141 more each year than they pay.

It is clear that the disparity between families explains the racial disparity.

 

 

Table 2
 
Births to Teenage Mothers
Births to Unwed Mothers
White
10.9%
16.9%
Asian
5.7%
5%(chinese only)
Black
23.1%
66.7%
Hispanic
16.8%
36.7%

 

 

The numbers above are from this Census Bureau PDF file: http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/99statab/sec02.pdf. It is the differences in family among races which cause some races to effectively pay no taxes at all. These figures are for 1990 because the later figures do not contain enough data for Asians. Since 1990 the overall rate of illegitimacy has risen from 26.6% to 32.4%. Most of this is due to the rate for Whites rising from 16.9% to 25.8%. Blacks and Hispanics suffered smaller increases. The 5% figure for Chinese-Americans is probably lower than the overall Asian illegitimacy rate, but is still indicative of an enormously lower rate for Asians.

It is clearly that these differences in rates of single motherhood are what decides who belongs in the provider class and who belongs in the recipient class. Blacks receive almost twice as much as Hispanics. The Black illegitimacy rate is also almost twice that of Hispanics. The relationship between Asians and Whites is not as close, but similar. Asians pay out roughly three times more and have an illegitimacy rate which is roughly three times less. The statistical correlation between illegitimacy rates and money received is 85%.

One of the most important issues regarding the recipient class is the effect of it's growth through immigration. Most estimates say that around the year 2050 half of America will be Black and Hispanic. If this doubles the size of the recipient class the burden on the provider class will not double, it will triple.

 

 

Table 3
Recipient Class as percentage of population
Each Provider must pay this to give $1 to each Recipient
Each Provider must pay this to give $541 to each Recipient
Each Provider must pay this to give $4,141 to each Single Mother Household
90%
$ 9
$4,869
$37,269
75%
$ 3
$1,623
$12,423
50%
$ 1
$541
$4,141
25%
$ .33
$178
$1,366
10%
$ .11
$59
$455
5%
$.05
$27
$207

 

 

Currently Blacks and Hispanics are 25% of the population and are almost equal in number. Therefore the average payout to these groups is $541. As their numbers increase through immigration the burden on the provider class will also grow. While it is true that most of this immigration is Hispanic and they receive smaller payouts, the Hispanic illegitimacy rate continues to grow and the size of the Hispanic payout will also grow. It can also be assumed that as the recipient class grows in size it will grow in political power and the average payout will grow accordingly.

Even more fundamental than race and immigration is family. Currently 1/3 of all children are being born to single mothers. Households headed by single mothers receive $4,141 more in benefits than they pay in taxes. This is the heart and soul of the recipient class. Regardless of race and immigration the size of the recipient class will grow as our families decline.

This country needs to take a closer look at these statistics. These are not numerical curiosities, but must be the essence of any real discussion of America's future. This country claims no one has the right to polygamy, yet all have the right to single parenthood. The belief that all people have the right to single parenthood and the right to do so with out being judged must be examined in light of the fact that the single parents are being financially supported by the rest of us. If we are the ones paying the bills than we have the right to judge.

When the recipient class increases in size the burden on the providers grows at a rate faster than the increase in recipients. Europe and it's American supporters may lament that we do not provide the benefits to the poor that they do, but how large is their recipient class? If it is only 10% of the population then the burden on Europe is only 1/3 of the burden we bear everyday. Emulating the social policies of Europe is not feasible if our recipient class is larger and we must avoid pointless comparisons.

We must also consider what effect immigration will have on our future. Will we be able to support the recipient class when they are the majority? Will the recipient class tolerate any discussion of reducing payouts or the need for payouts when they are in control? Latin American countries provide almost no welfare benefits. The ratio between the likely provider and the likely recipients is so large in these countries that U.S. style welfare payments are unthinkable. As America becomes more Latin American, we will also be faced with the need to become more Latin American in our welfare policy, with the inevitable spectacle of destitution which overwhelms Latin America.

The moral justification for welfare is supposed to be that we are temporarily helping out our fellow man through a rough stretch of road or helping the disabled permanently. If it is to become a system for continually transferring wealth from one group to another the people behind this change owe us an explanation.


Screen shots of all the data from the Census Bureau PDF's.


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