Not that long ago, corporate sponsored discrimination on the basis of race under the guise of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs was justified on moral grounds. Among other things, we were told that this corporate neo-Marxist neo-racism is necessary because corporate America is systemically racist, and because all blacks are oppressed while all straight white males are oppressors.

This justification has since withered away, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in colleges, and people started asking inconvenient questions about how the Obamas could be deemed oppressed while the white guy who just lost his job to offshoring was deemed an oppressor.

First we were told DEI is necessary because blacks are oppressed, now we're being told DEI is necessary because black Americans’ spending power “sits between $1.4 trillion and $1.8 trillion annually."

The moral justification typically included a claim that diversity is good for business, but that claim is now carrying all the weight of these programs. Unfortunately, that claim won't fare any better under serious scrutiny than the old one did.