FM, while you are (maybe) replying to my other posts, here are some related thoughts. I am a strong believer in the power of free markets, but we have plenty of examples where they have not fixed racial problems:
- Most economists I have read agree that slavery in the antebellum South was not economically sound (it would have been more efficient to pay workers). Why did it continue?
- It certainly would have been more profitable for businesses during the Jim Crow area to serve all people, regardless of their color, yet they didn't. Why did the market not fix that?
- In the specific case of redlining, why did poor white areas not get redlined nearly as much as comparable black areas? I'll tell you right now, it was not because they paid their loans better.
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