Affirmative Action is harmful.

I thank my partner for the opening presentation. I cannot take seriously the argument that "discrimination builds character, and is beneficial." I also should point out that the benefits of AA have been carefully documented over the years, as greater employment, upward mobility, and education distribution has occurred within our society as a direct result. [5] The entire society benefits from less discrimination, and more robust economic saturation - far more than the absurd notion that minorities benefit from racist hiring practices. I should note that PRO seems to automatically assume that minorities will be low skilled. PRO also seems to think that AA is not a voluntary program for civilian employers. What is Affirmative Action? AA is used by the US Department of Labor to help “recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps. “ [1] Affirmative Action policies apply to relevant government agencies and contractors. Although the US Department of Labor often requires that lucrative government contracts be awarded to contractors that respect the Department’s anti-discriminatory practices, civilian employers are not covered. Is Affirmative Action Needed Anymore?Yes.In his Opening Argument, PRO repeatedly assumes that minorities are generally under-qualified for employment and outreach efforts. I am positive that PRO is no bigot, and I am willing to fully vouch for his good character. However, his views are illustrative, and many employers may hold very similar, unintentionally harmful views as they make hiring and recruitment decisions. Why do we assume that efforts to “recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans” are tantamount to “hiring low performing, unskilled or incompetent persons?” Does Affirmative Action Require Employers to hire under qualified minorities? No. AA is not a set of policies that force employers to hire under-qualified minorities. The US Department of Labor states, as it outlines the US Affirmative Action policy, "For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans." [1] What Affirmative Action does is allow qualified persons to be considered for employment opportunities that have been historically off-limits to them because of race, gender or veteran status. It does not mention, or protect, any lesser qualified persons. Conclusion: As PRO concedes in R1, Affirmative Action, by definition, refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, sex or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group. PRO also agrees that Affirmative Action is helpful to these groups. Moreover, it is a voluntary program for private companies and employers, and does not allow for under qualified persons to displace whites, a scenario that is numerically impossible on a mass scale. In order to win this particular debate, PRO is required to demonstrate why the following is inordinately harmful: “Allowing the US Department of Labor and government agents and contractors to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps. [1] Clearly, this has not been shown to be harmful. In fact, this policy has not been mentioned at all; a cartoonish straw man has been presented as harmful, but not the actual policies of the US Dept. of Labor. [1] http://www.dol.gov... [2] http://www.commerce.gov... [3] http://www.commerce.gov... [4] http://www.dol.gov...[5] http://www.aclu.org...