End of racial preferences?

November 9, 2:10 PMDallas Personal Finance ExaminerTom Mackinnon

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This latest article is a wide diversion from my usual subject - business & personal finances, but it is on my mind, so bear with me.

We have now elected the first African-American President in our history. I did not vote for him, nor do I agree with his expressed views or goals, but I wish him great success in dealing with the issues of our time - the wars (actually, one war - on Islamic fundamentalism - but that is another subject), the economic mess (more on that another time), immigration, etc. His success at dealing with these and other issues is our success as a country.

So, I have read from several pundits that this election brings an end to the racial divide in this country. I am not too sure about that - racists are racists, no matter their color and no matter the color of the man in the White House.

But, can we now end racial preferences? 
Can we now end affirmative action in college admissions and have the best students admitted regardless of their race?
Can we now end minority set-asides in federal, state and local government contracts and award contracts to the most qualified bidders regardless of race or sex?
Can we now end the statistical reporting by race and sex and ethnicity that is required for everything from mortgages to grades in public schools, and just report the results?

Is it really necessary to divide and report everything by race? Does this not just repeatedly remind us all of our differences, and undermine the progress we have made as a country? Is it necessary anymore? Was it ever necessary?

One of the major reasons we have the economic problems we are now dealing with is the efforts of Congress , over 30+ years, to make mortgages available to "underprivileged" people. One way that Congress checked to make sure this happened was to demand that Mortgage Lenders report the race and ethnicity of those receiving loans. One result of this effort to be "fair" was that the 'Law of Unintended Consequences' reared its ugly head. Many people who would not otherwise qualify for a mortgage received mortgages, and many people who did not understand the details of mortgages they received signed the papers anyway. And we now have the mortgage mess that begot the Wall Street mess.
All because of racial and ethnic preferences by our wonderful federal government trying to make things "fair" for everyone. How's that working out for all of you?