Kamala Harris and the Relentless Wave of Economic Attacks on Black Americans

BlackEconomics.org®

This essay is a late entry. We had planned to post an essay titled “Kamala’s ‘Last Straw’ Drama,” which discusses the extraordinary drama that is currently unfolding and entertaining the American public. This drama provides cover for oligarchs and plutocrats to operate covertly to further undermine the democracy and economic power of the least and not-so-little of them.(i)

We begin this essay by noting that the recent decade-long push for reparations, initiated by TaNehesi Coates’s article “The Case for Reparations,” has brought to the surface countless and seemingly endless findings about how non-black Americans have exploited black Americans economically throughout this nation’s history.(ii) This essay recognizes a new method of exploitation. Fortunately, this recognition comes at a time when black Americans are poised to make an important political economic decision, helping to define the nation’s leadership, which will affect our ability to navigate successfully into the future of economic life.

It is appropriate to pause for a moment and appreciate the new colleague who has joined the efforts to implement the Long-Term Strategic Plan for Black America (LTSPFBA). Mr. Ra Oginga is an entrepreneur who has completed postgraduate studies in business and finance. He focuses on helping implement economic and business aspects LTSPFBAHe recently reminded us that while this plan presses for greater independence, self-sufficiency, and self-determination for Negro Americans, it could have been more forcefully emphasized the need at the same time to prevent any weakening of Negro America’s present position in the U.S. economy and to promote that position so as to enable us to move toward a more independent nation.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Oginga is right. Fortunately, Black America now has the opportunity to ensure the latter outcome. How? PriorityYou may think that the best strategy is to ensure that black Americans vote for the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate who advocates for policies that are most economically beneficial to black Americans: e.g., increasing and expanding our educational and training opportunities; providing access to more financial capital for entrepreneurship; ensuring equal employment opportunities; providing access to social benefits that facilitate our participation in the economy; etc. We test this thinking by reminding that oligarchs and plutocrats drive the country’s economic policy. Therefore, regardless of the promises of the candidates, ultimately they and the members of Congress, who are also beholden to oligarchs and plutocrats, can only implement policies that are NO They opposed the latter vehemently.

Here’s the gist of it. Given the media coverage of the ongoing political drama, you’re probably aware that Kamala Harris recently raised $200 million overnight for her campaign—far surpassing Donald Trump’s earnings during the same period. Which industries, companies, and personalities were most notable for their contributions to these campaigns? Doesn’t it make sense that those who donate large amounts (to provide themselves with leverage and power) are the ones with the most financial resources? Based on market capitalization, which companies and personalities are known to top the list of “trillion-dollar corporations”? The answer is simple: The list includes innovative technology companies that are prolific creators and employers of artificial intelligence (AI).

What do we know about AI? Not enough! Yet since AI’s advent, it has been widely reported that it will eliminate jobs, with the potential to create some new industries and new employment opportunities. So we should ask: At this stage of Black America’s economic development, is AI a friend to Black America? Should Black America be fully in bed with a candidate who supports the maximum use of AI because of its economic efficiency-enhancing properties? And how will we know if the latter is true? Why not use the amount of campaign contributions a candidate receives from tech companies that produce and develop with AI as a measure of the candidate’s loyalty to the AI champions?

Now for the final points on how this all ties into the blatant economic exploitation of black Americans and how we shouldn’t be facilitating our own downfall. Jon Healey from Los Angeles Times recently wrote about how many consumers are being exploited.(iii) He uses an economic term we haven’t heard before: “price surveillance.” The term is just a fancy way of referring to an old economic concept: “price discrimination.” The worst form of price discrimination from a consumer perspective is “perfect price discrimination.” Simply put, the term means that a producer/seller of a good or service can maximize revenue by charging each customer a different price. To achieve the latter, the producer/seller must be able to differentiate or discriminate against each buyer. How is it possible to differentiate and discriminate so easily in today’s world? This is part of the power and wonder of AI. In essence, AI-assisted price discrimination helps producers/sellers identify each consumer’s highest willingness to pay and set the price accordingly.

The popular saying “information is power” is inaccurate. It is the wise use of information that creates power. The collection, buying, and selling of information in today’s computerized, technological, and AI world is ubiquitous, and it enables precise differentiation, discrimination, and exploitation of economic actors. However, history advises African Americans that the ability to discriminate has always been used to harm us more than any other racial and ethnic group in the country. Simply put, racial discrimination has perpetuated economic inequality, with many African Americans suffering while others benefit at our expense.

Mr. Healey explains in his article that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which operates within the U.S. Department of Justice, is beginning to investigate how AI is being used to engage in price discrimination. Historically, price discrimination has served as an indicator that “antitrust” laws are being violated. The FTC’s action is long overdue! We began investigating price discrimination quite intensively more than three years ago.(iv) Our 2023 findings on this topic discuss how domestic airlines may be using AI-assisted price discrimination to maximize their profits.(v) Unfortunately for consumers, as the 2023 findings show, major U.S. airlines have largely escaped regulation. However, it seems prudent for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to address this issue with airlines. The DOT has the authority to enforce antitrust violations by U.S. airlines.(vi)

We know that AI is being used to harm many consumers through price discrimination by companies. History tells us that African Americans may be the group most harmed by these practices. That is why we have the authority to investigate presidential candidates who receive donations from big tech companies that produce and/or use AI on a large scale. We urge African Americans who have the ears of these candidates not to press for a promise to stop using AI, but to encourage these candidates to state unequivocally that they will do everything in their power to oppose companies that are already using or plan to aggressively use AI to their advantage at the expense of Black American economic agents. Black Americans cannot afford to continue to be economically exploited through price discrimination. That is why we should do everything we can to ensure that the many powers of AI are not turned against us to reduce our economic well-being.

But we are not helpless! We can act on our own behalf! Black economists and entrepreneurs need to start educating Black Americans widely on how to avoid the pain of AI-enabled price discrimination.

and We may publish this essay at a later date. However, if you would prefer to receive it immediately, please request it from BlackEconomics.org.
ii Ta-Nehesi Coates (2014). “The Case for Reparations.” Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ (Ret. 080124).
iii Jon Healey (2024). “What is ‘Surveillance Pricing,’ and Is It Forcing Some Consumers to Pay More? The FTC Is Investigating.” Los Angeles TimesJuly 23. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-07-23/ftc-investigates-surveillance-pricing-ai-data-mining (Ret. 080124).
iv Below are the titles and dates of BlackEconomics.org submissions that contain or include discussions about African Americans facing different prices than non-Black Americans: (1) “A Black CPI” (February 25, 2021); (2) “Cherry Picking the SS COLA and More” (May 21, 2021); and (3) “De-Dignification and Economic Exploitation of Black Americans” (September 9, 2023). These three submissions are available on the www.BlackEconomics.org website.
v See last entry in endnote iv.
vi Consider the following article discussing the Department of Transportation’s antitrust enforcement authority: Jonathan Edelman (2021), “Revitalizing Antitrust Enforcement in the Airline Industry,” Michigan Law Review; Volume 120; No. 1, pp. 125–55. https://michiganlawreview.org/journal/reviving-antitrust-enforcement-in-the-airline-industry/#:~:text=Antitrust%20Enforcement%20Within%20the%20Airline,airline%20industry%2C%20not%20the% 20FTC. (Ret. 080224).