I stumbled across this excellent interview of Dr. Sowell published in the Wall Street Journal, in which he discusses the economic thinking in political debate.

With his typical sense of humor he says; “At one time you had a lot of people who hadn’t had any economics saying foolish things. Now you have well-known economists saying foolish things.”

Minimum Wage

Since 1981's interview on William Buckley's Firing Line, Dr. Sowell has argued "that the minimum wage increases unemployment by pricing unskilled workers—young minorities in particular—out of the job market."

Of course nothing has changed today.

Disparate Impact

He discusses "the idea that different outcomes among different groups—say, that there are more male CEOs than female—is ipso facto evidence of discrimination."

And points out he describes in a couple of his books that there are great disparities all over the world with many things.

Differences in outcome

"Differences in outcome is a matter that Mr. Sowell takes up in his new book, “Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective,” out Sept. 8. Its theme, he says, is that “in a sense, there was never any rational reason to believe that there would be this evenness that they presuppose.” Some continents have more navigable rivers and deep water harbors than others. Some cultures value education highly, and some don’t. Underwhelming as the conclusion might sound to those with the urge to reorder society, many disparities arise simply because people are different, and because they make different choices."

The interview was in advance of the release of his latest book, due out soon.

He says: “One of the things I try to do in the book is to distinguish between what might be the legacy of slavery, and what’s the legacy of the welfare state. If you look at the first 100 years after slavery, black communities were a lot safer. People were a lot more decent. But then you look 30 years after the 1960s revolution, and you see this palpable retrogression—of which I think the key one is the growth of the single-parent family.”

On Minimum Wage and Education

"Here’s the point: Does anyone believe that racism and the legacy of slavery are stronger today than in the 1970s—or for that matter in 1945, when Mr. Sowell enrolled at Stuyvesant? “It’s not a question of the disproportion between blacks and whites, or Asians, but the disproportion between blacks of today and blacks of the previous generation,” he says. “And that’s what’s scary.”

"He offers another statistic: “For every year from 1994 to the present, black married couples have had a poverty rate in single digits,” Mr. Sowell says. “Those people who have not followed the culture—the ghetto culture—are doing fine.”

"So how can the case for reform be made? Let’s say the Republican presidential nominee has a speech lined up at the historically black Howard University. What should the candidate say?

"Mr. Sowell says he should tell the audience that “one of the worst things for blacks is the minimum wage. The worst thing,” he says, is “the public schools run by the teachers unions who will protect the most incompetent teacher there is, who will fight tooth and nail against your being able to make a choice and go to voucher schools.” Lay out the case, Mr. Sowell says, and “address them as if they’re adults. You’re not going to get 50-plus percent of the black vote…"

Read the entire interview here… A subscription might be required.

Dr. Sowell is a real treasure who destroys red herrings the statists conjure up with such ease it's astounding.