Pat Buchanan is wrong.
Of course, he would say something like that in the wake of the Supreme Court Affirmative Action case that once again placed college admittance practices in the forefront. Let me be clear:
I DON'T believe this country should have college entrance or employee hiring practices centered around Affirmative Action programs. However, I'm not convinced we as a nation can get away from using such practice as a means to "balance the scales" so to speak in educational opportunities or employment among minorities just yet. Which brings me back to the point of my post.
Pat Buchanan is wrong. How can I say that?
According to 2012 US Census data, here are the statistics for college students, 18-24, who attained a college degree:
Whites:
Assoc. Degree (Occ./Acad.) - 1.38M
Bachelor's - 2.14M
Master's - 107K
PhD - 5K
Doctorate - 10K
Blacks:
Assoc. Degree (Occ./Acad.) - 214K
Bachelor's - 238K
Master's - 6K
PhD - 0
Doctorate - 0
Hispanics:
Assoc. Degree (Occ./Acad.) - 281K
Bachelor's - 295K
Master's - 11K
PhD - 2K
Doctorate - 3K
Asians:
Assoc. Degree (Occ./Acad.) - 74K
Bachelor's - 254K
Master's - 50K
PhD - 0
Doctorate - 2K
This is an argument that's gone on within Republican-Conservative circles since the 80's and it's gaining more traction now since statistical estimates indicates that the White population in America is likely to be surpassed by "Browns" (a combination of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians) by 2050. Secretly, I'm sure they're really concerned about it among the Hispanic population. Take another look at the numbers. There are more of Hispanics seeking degrees in higher education than ever before surpassing Asian and Black college student enrollment, 18-24 yo. However, there's another reason Mr. Buchanan would make such a wild claim: MONEY! And I'm not talking just about how scholarship funds are allocated.
A good, quality education is critical to improving one's economic standing. If a person is able to attain more than just an Associate's Degree, their odds of becoming prosperous increases exponentially. Newly enrolled White college students still hold a substantial lead over all other minority groups. So, I don't think they're in any danger of losing their place among the top of the college graduate heap any time too soon. But if Conservative Republicans can peal back Affirmative Action, they can effectively reduce the number of college entrants for minorities across the board thereby maintaining their "education dominance" and, thus, their hold on America's economic prosperity.
"The more you know, the more you grow..." your share of the American economic pie.