Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Sign of the Times

My only surprise here was that it wasn't in Spanish. The number of Spanish speaking immigrants in Louisville (pdf) is about 6000 (according to the 2000 census so I'm sure it's more now) but the number of Serbo-Croatian speakers is only about 500. (I think that's the language of the sign but I'm not positive.)

After reading the study that I linked to, I'm not sure why the sign is needed. It seems as though immigrants, especially from Europe, are employed at close to the same rates as native Louisvillians and the main barrier to employment is a "lack of English proficiency". It seems that a sign promoting ESL classes would be better. Why do government agencies prefer to promote victimhood than offer solutions?