Please Stop Helping Us

How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed

By: Jason L. Riley

Narrated by: J. D. Jackson

Why is it that so many efforts by liberals to lift the Black underclass not only fail, but often harm the intended beneficiaries?

In Please Stop Helping Us, Jason L. Riley examines how well-intentioned welfare programs are in fact holding Black Americans back. Minimum-wage laws may lift earnings for people who are already employed, but they price a disproportionate number of Blacks out of the labor force. Affirmative action in higher education is intended to address past discrimination, but the result is fewer Black college graduates than would otherwise exist. And so it goes with everything from soft-on-crime laws, which make Black neighborhoods more dangerous, to policies that limit school choice out of a mistaken belief that charter schools and voucher programs harm the traditional public schools that most low-income students attend.

In theory these efforts are intended to help the poor - and poor minorities in particular. In practice they become massive barriers to moving forward.

Please Stop Helping Us lays bare these counterproductive results. People of goodwill want to see more Black socioeconomic advancement, but in too many instances the current methods and approaches aren’t working. Acknowledging this is an important first step.

©2014 Jason L. Riley (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Compelling, rational, data supported analysis of liberal policies

In the past year I’ve read books by activists attempting to structure an argument of systemic racism supported largely by emotional personal stories and misused misleading data. At best, those books created confusion and guilt without giving concrete ideas on how to move toward a better outcome. Jason L. Riley’s book on the other hand gathers evidence from empirical studies, hard data, and references well known economists and intellectuals like Thomas Sowell to show that many of the well intentioned policies have not only failed to improve results for blacks living in poverty but in some cases have actually made it harder for them to break out. An example is the increased unemployment rates caused with minimum wage
Increases and the slowdown of growth rates in income that came after implementation of post Jim Crow social programs. If you’re going to read Kendi, Oluo or even Di Angelo, also expose yourself to books like this and you’ll find yourself closer to the truth.

Food for thought

Good topic and definitely worth consideration for different strategies to empower a new America and Blacks in particular.

Best book I’ve read/listened to in years on social issues

Every black person in America needs to read this book. Facts, nothing but the facts. It speaks truth to the black community.

Great book, Excellently narrated

Must read book for anyone serious about social policy that works. Book is filled with serious statistics and studies but written and performed in a way that makes the case compelling and interesting.

Well done Jason Riley!

Eye opening and well researched!

This was a fantastic treatise on the pitfalls and unintended consequences of large scale social programs that are hurting blacks in America.

Jason Riley — Organization and content

Mr. Riley took a topic that has been written about extensively and provided fresh, interesting and thought-provoking insights. He effectively uses — but does not overuse — statistics. I enjoy watching and reading’s Mr. Riley on WSJ but didn’t realize he was such a prolific author. I now plan to read more of his books.

excellent fact based read

This book is an amazing look at the policies the left love that hurt blacks.

Great listen.

Spot on. The author uses real facts to back up his argument. I wish everyone would listen to this book. Especially all of those race baitors out there.

A timely message

with all the black lives matter propaganda being forced on us via controlled mass media, Riley's refreshingly realistic perspectives are a welcomed relief to the madness.

Well-researched critical counter-narrative

This was so good. Reilly presents his points very well with lots of factual backup.