It is also true that businesses have attempted to shortcut the law by hiring minority front-people. Someone offered such a position to my wife shortly after the “end of combat operations” in Iraq, but she turned it down, since she recognized that she knew nothing about construction, and realized that such an offer was immoral, even if legal.

Regarding the larger picture, I believe that blacks and whites tend to have a different picture when each talks about a “color blind” society. Blacks want a society where they no longer have to prove that they have a right to be where they are, and whites want a place where they no longer have to prove that they no longer view blacks as domesticated animals who can talk.

I’m wary of such shenanigans, even when the officials give them the old wink and nod.

I thought I still had a crack at it, too. The bid was limited to law firms with under a million dollars in annual revenues who could perform at least five hundred real estate closings per year. A small group, most of whom I knew, and none of whom were minority owned.

A few weeks later I got a call from another bidder (Hispanic) offering to join forces and bid it under his name, with me doing the work and him skimming some cash for nothing (except using his name). I looked closely at the bid guidelines and that sort of scheme was officially, at least, forbidden. No deal.

Anyway, the bid ended up going to a nominally woman owned enterprise which is still doing the work. Interestingly, that enterprise is non-lawyer entity and forbidden by NY Judicial Law from preparing closing documents in real estate transactions. Apparently the thinking was that the Feds can violate New York laws. That bidder has since gotten a lawyer to front “her” operation, deflecting challenges from the State bar. Just goes to show ya.

I think the pols realized that Asians had an advantage and so tried to screw it around to favor blacks more and that’s why this DBE thing came along. The feds use it too.

Anyway, the paperwork they give ALWAYS assumes that as prime contractor you are NOT a minority but are hustling to find a minority sub somewhere, and if you can’t you have to certify your good-faith effort to find one.

What a crock.

….in order to turn whole blocks, miles, —whole Cities, into “Disadvantaged Entrprise Zones”.

In other words, what they are trying to do is a sort of social engineering with private consumers.

They are trying to get private consumers to shop only “Disadvantaged” businesses.

…by remaking whole City blocks, with nothing but those types of businesses.

It’s that whole turning private-property-into public-enterprise-zones….thing. The only thing it really does is create more blight and more entrenched inner-cities as the public flees to practice commercial consumption (free-choice) at such business that aren’t calling themselves “disadvantaged”.

Anywhere you’ve got a CRA (Community Re-development Agency), you know you’ve got social engineering going on….destined for failure, and more blight.

The Government cannot engineer and force a “free market”. That’s why we call it free.

The Feds can do certain things like raise and lower interest rates……but to buy up whole city blocks and hand them over to “disadvantaged”….uh-oh !!!