Snow Falsely Claims Racial Income Gap Is ‘Not Widening Anymore’
Snow Falsely Claims Racial Income Gap Is ‘Not Widening Anymore’
Today White House Press Secretary Tony Snow claimed President Bush had closed the income gap between races:
QUESTION: After the speech, people said that the president said what he needed to say about the Voting Rights Act and they were very appreciative of that, but that the speech fell flat when he spoke about education, jobs and other issues. And they felt very passionately that on jobs, housing, education, affirmative action, the administration has not put forth policies that have improved their lives.
How do you respond to that?
SNOW: Well, two things.
First, you take a look at the economic data. And you have seen growing — I guess I could put it this way — income equality has a better record in this administration than in previous.
There was this widening gap. It’s not widening anymore.
But a look at U.S. Census data (Table 674) shows that not only is the income gap still widening, but African-Americans are faring worse under Bush than they were under President Clinton. The chart below shows that, under Clinton, the racial income gap was closing because the average median household income of African-Americans grew faster than that of whites. Under Bush, the opposite has been true:
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48 Responses to “Snow Falsely Claims Racial Income Gap Is ‘Not Widening Anymore’”
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Did not watch but from watching snow, it is easy to understand why the truth means nothing to him. His treatment of the press corp is just disgraceful and insulting.I realize that this citizens opinion in meaningless but I just had to voice it.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:06 pmbilljpa@aol.com
bill:
Reminds me of Stephen Colbert at the White House Press Dinner, when he expressed his desire to be the next Press Secretary, saying "...I'd be great at this job...I have nothing but contempt for these people...".
Colbert was making a joke, but the real Press Secretaries take that attitude to heart.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:10 pmSnow is really--to borrow a phrase from Gannon/Guckert--divorced from reality.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:11 pmThat chart is awful.
How can anyone still support this a$$wipe, looking at the average wage changes.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:12 pmWe need a change, and we need it big time.
I am sure what he meant is that except for the richest Americans which includes at least some African American athletes, everyone has gotten poorer since Dumbya took office and it is Dumbya's plan to reduce us all--black, white , brown, red, yellow and everything in between--to the level of feudal serfs thereby eliminating all distinctions except with respect to the capitalist overlords.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:14 pmBush needs a liar at the press podium all right. Someone who will "put lipstick on the pig" - because Bush has a terrible case of foot-in-mouth.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:16 pmAt the NAACP, he spoke of charter schools of all things, implying that public schools (that serve the majority of blacks) are failing. He spoke of how his party had abandoned the blacks - neglecting to say that he has been in power for 6 years and had power to change that. He also spoke of the estate tax! I wonder how many of the 9 million blacks in America are concerned about their estate tax, or charter schools.
Apparently, the Director of Fact Checking isn't earning that $46,000 salary.
Seriously ... they keep lieing and the media and American people don't seem to care a whole lot. It's like this administration has decided to lie over and over and over and over and over again in an attempt to so saturate the information stream with falsehoods that it's almost pointless to try and keep up.
It'd be nice if the corporate media and the American people actually seemed to care. Instead, they just seem to expect -- and, unfortunately, accept -- it at this point.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:18 pmIt must be because Republicans want to eliminate welfare, thus stimulating black people to quit relying on handouts and find jobs, even though the publics education they recieved sucks major ass, even though they love in streets filled with crime and drugs, and no one gives a damn or lifts a finger to fix those problems.
so much for compationate conservative.
Who Would Jesus Starve
July 20th, 2006 at 5:30 pmWe can now at least give Scotty McClellan credit for his herculean efforts at obfuscation and avoidance of directly answering a question.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:37 pmThe contempt which George W. Bush shows for the American people is clearly demonstrated by his hiring of a Press Secretary who simply lies. No effort or talent required, just utter falsehoods and you'll get your check on time, Tony.
It has taken this long for people to see the fool in the White House for what he is. He and his camp are in over their heads in every arena. Out of touch with domestic affairs and incompetent in international affairs. Their lies and deceit have cost them their credibility and esteem around the world. They don't have the leadership or gravitas to deal with the serious events in the world.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:39 pmNow, what do we do? Do we keep him under wraps and confine him to his room? Do we let him out and allow him to embarrass himself (and us) even more?
We must first take back the Congress and then keep Bush from creating more hell.
I don't want to think of how long it will take to begin to restore what has been lost.
As a black man this stat sickens me.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:55 pmTony Snow has sold out. Truth means nothing to him anymore. He's become a mouthpiece for George Bush. So sad to see a journalist lose his moral compass.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:55 pm#9 um there are way more white people seeking welfare handouts than black people.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:58 pmHardly a Surprise, they say Iraq is doing well too.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:59 pmI take it Judd is playing Morallity police?
July 20th, 2006 at 6:11 pmwait til they cut funding for the next census.
That income gap will disappear!
July 20th, 2006 at 6:16 pmTony McSnowjob came from FOX where their reality is actually delusion.
July 20th, 2006 at 6:25 pmHad it not been for the tax cuts for the rich the average annual income for White folks would have been negative and the po' darkies would have had to pick mo' cotton for they's grits and fat back. And the NAACP chose to listen to the dumb bastard which probably proves they have a hell of a lot more forgiveness and tolerance than I.
July 20th, 2006 at 6:30 pmTrue....but whenever I talk to the Repugs, they always mention African Americans when it comes to welfare, and they forget about others on welfare.
They are so racist, and they claim they are not.
July 20th, 2006 at 6:39 pmLook show much more does this Group have to say before people get it right
July 20th, 2006 at 7:00 pmBush doesn't like Black people or minorities. Minorities are not worth anything an animal is worth more. Minorities aren't humans. Don't look for anything to change except the GOP does need the vote so just say vote GOP and be glad Bush allows you to live in America even if you are American. Next the KKK will put their policy in place to make sure our horror past comes back. Hangings of Blacks on weekends will be brought back. Maybe when the minority soldiers come home the can serve their country by being hung for entertainment. Oh yes the white man must have his belly warmers you know those black woman they use for sex. Folks Bush will be the President that changed America for the worse. All the people that died for equal rights now know it was done for nothing. Tony Snow is the spoke person for Racism and the Prejudice of the Bush Administration.
I am going to a meet-up with Tammy Duckworth tonight. I have to sign off now, but Think Progress has a problem with my registration so I never know if I am going to be able to post again.
July 20th, 2006 at 7:05 pmI will check in later to see what the latest comments are.
#22Jackie
I believe you are pretty accurate in describing BushCo and the GOP.
Dear Amanda - Didn't John Podesta, George soros or Peter Lewids teach you that the US census data you cite is collected every 10 years any your reliance on the 2006 abstract is not concrete?? Other than that, I see nothing disingenuous with quoting solid information which is six years old......
July 20th, 2006 at 7:57 pmI would like to see side-by-side charts, the one cited here and one showing the change in income for low, middle, and high income folks. Rich and white do all right, poor and other in the gutter. Go Team.
July 20th, 2006 at 8:24 pmDo you think the reason there are more white people on welfare....is because there are more white people???? Ya' think????
July 20th, 2006 at 8:52 pmPLC;
July 20th, 2006 at 9:15 pmIs Neil/Bar the same as Bar? Bar stopped talking to me about stem cells, I wanted to find out how disposing of petri dishes was a new sport.
Aphrodite:
The Census Bureau does a POPULATION count every ten years. They also estimate in between. Other statistics, such as employment and income statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are updated at least annually and sometimes more frequently. Visit . You will notice in the middle that there are stats from JUNE 2006.
The above chart Judd posted is clearly NOT based on 2000 statistics.
July 20th, 2006 at 10:24 pm[...] went down during Clinton and goes up during W. [...]
July 20th, 2006 at 10:59 pm#27 - Skeptic,
Sorry to jump in on this, but Bar was a parody put on by Bar/Neil. He unmasked sometime yesterday, and admitted to being a Progressive Conservative (?), who hates this administration, but likes all the money he gets to keep because of this admin.
I was truly evil to Bar because I had a feeling she was a parody, but I had several good exchanges with Bar/Neil, and I like him. He was here to shake us up, and he certainly did that. Haven't seen him today, but I hope he comes back.
July 20th, 2006 at 11:45 pmHow does it say that one administration is more or less fair to a specific group by comparing only two groups? How well did Asians, Native Americans, East Indians, Europeans, Middle Easterners and Hispanics perform? Was the administration more or less fair to these groups or is this just a worthless statistic since it did not cover any other race? Perhaps a better overall picture is in order. Then one could say with some certainty whether or not whites were the preferred race according to one statistic in one government chart done by a government no one here trusts.
July 21st, 2006 at 12:36 amI clicked on the referenced link to Table 647 and there is no Table 647. Did I just miss something? Where is the original data for this table?
July 21st, 2006 at 1:05 amTony Snow is a heinous liar just like Bush, so no wonder Dubya Dunce Decider Despot hired him!
July 21st, 2006 at 2:58 amSnow Falsely Claims Racial Income Gap Is ‘Not Widening Anymore’
That happens when the gap reaches infinite wide. No matter how many increases, the gap keeps being infinite.
July 21st, 2006 at 7:23 amPost 33: It's a typo. The original post should say Table 674.
July 21st, 2006 at 9:53 amI think there was a transposition: it should be Table 674.
July 21st, 2006 at 9:59 amI believe you are pretty accurate in describing BushCo and the GOP.
July 21st, 2006 at 10:44 amWolfdaughter - I mentioned the "2006 abstract" as the basis for the numbers Amanda cited. Did that confuse you? I apologize....
July 21st, 2006 at 2:25 pmSo, does clinton then get credit for the Internet boom?
The 90's were one of the most prosperous times in the history of the country, and that boom had little to do with clinton or whoever was president at the time.
July 21st, 2006 at 2:44 pmI seriously can't believe that you all believe this crap. That's one statistic. And its probably the least relevent statistic in the entire census report. Only knowing that the median changed tells you nothing about the entire distribution. A change in median tells you nothing about where the actual median is, nor does it tell you the upper and lower bounds of the distribution. I find it amazing that liberals are so succeptible to the use of flawed logic and incomplete analyses. It's no wonder why you keep putting people like Ted Kennedy, Hilary Clinton, and John Kerry in office. All they have to do is put up a graph with irrelevent information and you believe it.
July 21st, 2006 at 3:58 pm#31 thanks for the update - I missed that.
July 21st, 2006 at 4:02 pmIs anybody questioning the fact that this is based on census results which were published in 2000? Close minded liberals will always refuse to see anything positive about Bush, just as close minded conservatives refuse to admit a single good thing about Clinton's administration.
July 21st, 2006 at 4:25 pmThe one thing Clinton did was show me how to convince my wife that oral sex wasn't really sex and therefore didn't constiture aldultery.
July 21st, 2006 at 4:31 pmThe best thing about Clinton's administration, was the Republican controlled congress. That's the secret behind his so called success.
July 21st, 2006 at 4:51 pm#32 Damn, everybody is doing worse under Bush, how hard is that to understand?
July 21st, 2006 at 9:41 pm#44 You didn't figure that one out before Clinton? You really should change your screen-name.
July 21st, 2006 at 9:42 pmFor those who question the depth of the data presented above, check out the graph here of median household income of blacks and hispanics from 1990 to 2004. As the graph shows, racial income inequality improved significantly during the Clinton Administration, but has worsened since Bush took office. You really have to wonder what the hell Snow was thinking.
July 21st, 2006 at 10:10 pmJustin, the only problem I have with it is that it is racist...toward whites. Because they note the median household income among blacks and hispanics dropping but it has also dropped among whites.
July 21st, 2006 at 10:42 pmthe spreadsheet says that the year 2000 is based on census data from that year. The rest seems to be current to 2005 data.
July 22nd, 2006 at 8:05 pm[...] “Not only is the income gap still widening, but African-Americans are faring worse under Bush than they were under President Clinton. […] Under Clinton, the racial income gap was closing because the average median household income of African-Americans grew faster than that of whites. Under Bush, the opposite has been true.”read more | digg story [...]
August 15th, 2006 at 2:09 am