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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 11, 2023

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Edit: forget the below. You have misconstrued what I said. The linked data [edit: I meant what I said] does NOT show that Ford paid its black workers better than its white workers. It shows that Ford paid black workers more than its competitors paid black workers ($14.53 versus $13.55), and that they paid white workers substantially less than its competitors paid white workers ($14.14 versus $17.38).

It indeed passes the smell test because, as I noted, the obvious explanation is that black workers at Ford were employed in more highly skilled occupations than the black workers elsewhere. Again, it says that black workers made up 38% of the workplace at Ford but only 6% elsewhere, So, the black workers elsewhere were probably almost entirely janitors and the like.

And $14.53 is more than $14.14.

Yes, you're right. I meant to say that my comparison was white to white and black to black.

But note that the article says that, at Ford, "Black employees are much more likely to have less desirable and more dangerous foundry jobs (39.9% of Black workers compared with only 4.3% of White workers)." It is safe to assume that companies will have to offer somewhat higher pay for dangerous and unpleasant jobs.

That’s fair, and the confound I was looking for.

And you’ll note that $14.53 is more than $14.14.