Free Affirmative Action Essays - Quotas are Outdated :: affirmative action argumentative persuasive

Affirmative Action Quotas are Outdated Affirmative action legislation has helped in the fight for equality for minorities and women in the American society; however, time has come for new legislation to replace or abolish affirmative action as we know it. In affirmative action's beginning, the government needed laws to help aid the blending of minorities and women in American economics and culture. In a world economy that grows more competitive with every passing day, our quota system is a dead weight to the American businesses that are trying to survive. Not only is advancement based on race and gender but also it is costly and time consuming. American's attitude toward minorities and women is "so steep a decline that it almost certainly reflects some change from the blatantly racist and nearly universal hostile white prejudices of the recent past" (Feagin & Feagin, 1978, pp. 6-7). If America's economy is to continue to survive it will most definitely have to hire on merit alone, and not be bothered by trivial laws that are outda ted. The origination of Affirmative Action is from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI and VII. Title VI states "no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or natural origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under programs or activities receiving financial assistance." Title VII states that "[i]t shall be unlawful for an employer to: fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment , because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or natural origin"(Civil Rights Act Title VII). These laws can be justified by our constitutional principle that all men are created equal, and should remain a part of our laws and thought process. However, penalizing a business or school because they haven't hired or accepted the number of minorities required by law is injustice. According to Roberts (1995), a Gallup Poll taken in July of 1995 shows that Americans agree that quotas are no longer useful. Our fellow " Americans reject employment quotas by a margin of 63% to 35%," and in the