Recall the adage to be careful of what you wish for… you might just get it. This sage advice is currently being demonstrated in the decline of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) crusade. Scarcely a week passes without major corporations and universities ending their DEI programs but unfortunately, these cutbacks hardly mean the end of DEI; it may even get worse. The reality is that the thousands of newly unemployed functionaries plus countless would-be DEI commissars are not about to disappear.
Particularly worrying that DEI functionaries are disproportionately middle-class African Americans, and unlike politically voiceless Kentucky coal miners now unemployed due to the push for green energy, they will not quietly go out to pasture on government doles.
Now for the “you may get what you wish for” bad news: the federal government is likely to pick up the slack, and the armies of now unemployed DEI functionaries and future racial preference experts will undoubtedly find a home in the vast federal bureaucracy. In a sense, this recalls the Great Depression, when the federal government served as the employer of last resort. Now, however, rather than build the next Hoover dam, these new hires will push Washington to ensure that that the federal workforce “looks like America” while prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion.
The federal government has already gone on a DEI hiring spree. On the first day of his administration (January 20th, 2021), Biden issued an Executive Order, to “…Advance Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
The Executive Order hardly minces words. It began with, “Equal opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, and our diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths. But for too many, the American Dream remains out of reach.” Nor is this effort just minor tinkering — “Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face.” It continues, “It is therefore the policy of my Administration that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.” Moreover, this will be transformation on a grand scale to include, “Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
second Executive Order reaffirming the initial command: “As the Nation’s largest employer, the Federal Government must be a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. Accordingly, the Federal Government must strengthen its ability to recruit, hire, develop, promote, and retain our Nation’s talent and remove barriers to equal opportunity.”
This DEI mandate differs fundamentally from what occurs in private industry and higher education. Harley Davidson motorcycles may try to market its product to gays but if homophobic bikers decide to buy Hondas instead, the society-wide damage is minimal — fewer Harleys will be sold and. critically, Harley Davidson cannot punish those who refuse to buy their product.
But the federal government can legally impose its policies. You can buy whatever motorcycle you wish, but if you are going to build a highway involving federal funds and refuse to hire the bureaucratically determined employees from “under-served populations,” you will be denied the contract. But if you do get the contract but still reject government hiring mandates or misrepresent your new hires, you can be fined and, in extreme cases, imprisoned. Federal government DEI thus differs fundamentally from what occurs in the private sector and higher education, and it is hard to exaggerate the damage that can be inflicted by government officials embracing the DEI agenda.
Consider, for example, the role of DEI in the federal government rescue efforts following the recent Helene catastrophe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website lists a set of three goals for its emergency management mission. First, “instill equity as a foundation of emergency management,” the second is “”Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience” and the third goal is “Promote & Sustain a Ready FEMA & Prepared Nation. The DEI mission is explicit: “FEMA must draw upon its staff’s diversity and range of experiences to consistently inform programming, policy, and decision-making.” The FEMA plan continued, “Through investment in diversity and inclusion efforts — including Employee Resource Groups and multicultural training FEMA can increase its employees’ involvement and participation in cultivating a culture of inclusion.” According to FEMA’s equity logic, those who suffered the most in the past, for example, black and sexual minorities, now need the greatest help when disaster strikes.
DEI will not save a single life, rebuild homes or restore ravaged communities. The opposite is true when people are hired according to their identities, not competence. Add the non-productive extra paperwork to ensure that queers are welcomed employees, and the additional training to guarantee that rural Asian Americans stranded on their rooftops are promptly rescued.
This FEMA diversity mission statement is but one of thousands and the cost, measured in dollars and government effectiveness, must be immense, and matters will only deteriorate as diversity efforts escalate. Nor will Donald Trump’s election end it, though he will surely try. Firing any federal employee is near impossible, especially a protected minority. And senior civil servants can easily shield incompetents, especially to advance the social justice agenda. Just look at how the Secret Service is slow walking the attempted assassination of the ex-president. Washington bureaucrats are skilled at manipulating job descriptions and lowering qualifications to advance an ideology. Trump’s effort to ban such preference will be ignored with “We’re working on it.”
How can the DEI industry be dismantled? Or will we just shift the woke bodies from the private sector to the government? That many in this industry are well-educated African Americans only compounds the obstacles. In principle, this is no different from the job obsolescence endemic in the American economy (“creative destruction”). Remember the armies of typists, file clerks and telephone operators? Entire industries such as warehousing, auto manufacturing, and even the U.S. Postal Service have drastically reduced their workforce. Today’s DEI industry faces a similar crisis.
There is, however, some potential good news. The displaced worker problem is an old one, and government programs exist to retrain them. In 2016 Hillary Clinton suggested that former coal miners be taught coding to soften the pain of banning fossil fuels. Perhaps the federal government should adopt a similar program for surplus DEI functionaries. Far better than writing guidelines for how first responders must not ignore those drowning due to their race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual preferences.
Image: Picryl
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