| Summary: | "These days in America, racism is sporadic, not systemic. Racism is universally viewed as one of the worst characteristics a person can have. Activists invoke it so often because it is such an effective cudgel. They have succeeded in implementing a Catch-22: to argue against systemic racism is, in itself, racist! This trap is one reason why the fiction that racism is the cause of racial inequality has been able to fester. Few are brave enough in this environment to argue against it. I bear the battle scars. In the spring of 2022, I testified in front of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and argued that minorities can overcome racial economic gaps through entrepreneurship. This perspective was in stark contrast to the other witnesses, who claimed the government needed to increase income redistribution to minorities to make up for the racism holding minorities back. My testimony, based on years of research and expertise as the leader of one of the nation's largest small business groups, wasn't received well by the Democratic members, to put it lightly. Stacey Plaskett, delegate to the House from the US Virgin Islands, said she was "troubled by the rhetoric" she was hearing and claimed that it was "inappropriate" to argue minorities can overcome their circumstances through entrepreneurship. Similarly, a few weeks before my testimony, Dina Rubio, a Florida restaurateur and member of the Job Creators Network, testified before the House about the negative economic effects of government spending and regulations on her business. The hearing committee chair, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), indicated that he was "disappointed" Rubio brought up this real-world problem, noting that he'd prefer to stick to supposed "structural" racial equity barriers facing entrepreneurs"--Amazon.
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