fare' system in this country whereby welfare for the rich in the form of tax- free capital gain, guaranteed loans, oil depletion allowances, etc., is not regarded as welfare" (Race And Racism p.129). Here Langston compares the welfare of the poor (food stamps, w.i.c., medicaid, etc.) with the welfare of the rich (tax-free capital gain, guaranteed loans, etc.). These few examples of "welfare" for the rich are just the tip of the iceberg. Before you come to any premature conclusions consider the following.The majority of corporations in the United States are owned by Whites. Each year these White owned corporations get $125 billion dollars in the from of corporate welfare. 4This is money that could be used on the less fortunate, who are mainly minorities, but instead it is funneled into primarily White owned corporations. People hear of this and once again assume that this is based on race, thereby making it a racial issue. It's not, it is a class issue. Billions and billions of dollars are spent each year on national defense for the United States. Who really benefits from this the most, the wealthy or the poor? Of course everyone benefits somewhat, but the rich benefit considerably more. If the United States was invaded and taken over by another country the decrease in the quality of living for the rich would be far greater than that of the poor. In all actuality the lifestyle change of the poor would probably be somewhat minimal. Consider the millions and millions of dollars that are spent each year on the United States Coast Guard (which is under the D.O.T.'s budget, and not the national defense budget) and the waterways that it protects. How often is it that you see a yacht traveling on the U.S. waterways filled with poor people or minorities? How many poor people even own a boat? These waterways are mainly used by the United States White upperclass. And what about the tax dollars spent on police and fire pr...
