Racial Wealth Gap...

Daredevel7

Daredevel7

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BBC News - Downturn widens racial wealth gap

"It found the median wealth of white US households in 2009 was $113,149 (£69,000), compared with $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks. "

I am still trying to wrap my head around those really low numbers. At first I thought they included illegal immigrants, but its based on Census data, and it still wouldn't explain the blacks. Even Asians are being affected.

Thoughts?
 
I know there is a huge disparity, but those numbers represent a difference that, even in our prejudiced and discriminating society, is unnacceptable. I don't disbelieve it, but such a disparity is difficult to process completely.
 
jillio said:
I know there is a huge disparity, but those numbers represent a difference that, even in our prejudiced and discriminating society, is unnacceptable. I don't disbelieve it, but such a disparity is difficult to process completely.
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I believe it if the Mexicans in Charlotte, NC and my neighbor next door are any example.

Even a lesser gap of say 80k than the nearly 115,000k gap is extremely unacceptable.
 
deafskeptic said:
I believe it if the Mexicans in Charlotte, NC and my neighbor next door are any example.

Even a lesser gap of say 80k than the nearly 115,000k gap is extremely unacceptable.
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I find any gap that is the result of social inequity to be unnacceptable.
 
jillio said:
I find any gap that is the result of social inequity to be unnacceptable.
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Unfortunately, those run rampant in the US.

Christ, they haven't even bridged the income disparity between men and women yet!

Absolutely ridiculous.

Last I checked, for a country full of capitalists, they've sure missed out on the "capitalism is... hiring the best worker for your money and paying them absolutely what they're worth every time" memo.

The American interpretation seems to be "pseudo-capitalism is... hiring the best white male for your biases and paying them more".

Does not make sense.
 
Have you noticed? The fewer unions there are, the greater the disparity.
 
One of my FB friends posted a link to this and some people responded with racist comments. I'm appalled that racists are too stupid to keep their mouths shut. One person suggested that it's time for some friend editing. Like that!
 
What is the solution for narrowing the gaps?
 
My son attends a charter school that has closed the acheivement gap. It takes a lot of work but it can be done.
 
Aleser said:
Unfortunately, those run rampant in the US.

Christ, they haven't even bridged the income disparity between men and women yet!

Absolutely ridiculous.

Last I checked, for a country full of capitalists, they've sure missed out on the "capitalism is... hiring the best worker for your money and paying them absolutely what they're worth every time" memo.

The American interpretation seems to be "pseudo-capitalism is... hiring the best white male for your biases and paying them more".

Does not make sense.
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The old glass ceiling and 70 cents on the dollar.:roll:
 
More access to opportunities. Racial and gender norms prevent certain opportunities that are controlled in social settings.
 
Beowulf said:
Have you noticed? The fewer unions there are, the greater the disparity.
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And the Repubs are pushing for limiting the power of the union in many states. They are generally members of the group at the high end of the disparity continuum., as well. Coincidence?
 
jillio said:
And the Repubs are pushing for limiting the power of the union in many states. They are generally members of the group at the high end of the disparity continuum., as well. Coincidence?
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I haven't forgotten about the fall out between the govnerments and the workers in Minnesota and that was one of the more publicized cases. I'm sure there's many more thousand that don't get the attention of the media. Mainstream media isn't exactly sympathetic to these struggles.
 
I'm not trying to defend the disparity but I think there are some people who are misreading this article as median househould income. Wealth and Income are two very different things although they usually are correlated.

Wealth = net worth which factors in income, assets like having a home, and various other things. White people are more likely to own a home which pushes their net worth much further than other races.

The actual median INCOME is closer than what most people think although there are still significant disparity. I refer to the wiki page: Median Household Income (only up to 2009 tho)

US_real_median_household_income_1967_-_2009.png
 
Warped said:
I'm not trying to defend the disparity but I think there are some people who are misreading this article as median househould income. Wealth and Income are two very different things although they usually are correlated.

Wealth = net worth which factors in income, assets like having a home, and various other things. White people are more likely to own a home which pushes their net worth much further than other races.

The actual median INCOME is closer than what most people think although there are still significant disparity. I refer to the wiki page: Median Household Income (only up to 2009 tho)

US_real_median_household_income_1967_-_2009.png
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification, but I have already thought about this. In a way, it's actually worse just because of the extremely high net worth. Don't you think that in theory, the difference in median income should be about the same as in the net worth? Why is a white person more likely to own a home? People who have stable incomes are more likely to own a home, period.

My theory? Many white people come from a well off family who pays for their college (or simply help them out financially), allowing them to start their careers/lives debt-free. Thus they can easily buy a house after only a few years of working. Many poor people who DO try to get careers get into deep debt from college, and they simply cannot afford to own homes for a long time. This also explains why Asians net worth is lower even though their income is the highest of all.
 
Beowulf said:
Liveable wages.
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For those who work at equivalent jobs, and regardless of race, correct?

That is, a black plumber would make the same dollar amount per hour as a white plumber.
 
Daredevel7 said:
My theory? Many white people come from a well off family who pays for their college (or simply help them out financially), allowing them to start their careers/lives debt-free. Thus they can easily buy a house after only a few years of working. Many poor people who DO try to get careers get into deep debt from college, and they simply cannot afford to own homes for a long time. This also explains why Asians net worth is lower even though their income is the highest of all.
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Interesting theory. Is there a graph for that? I'd be curious to see it.

Granted, maybe I don't know "many" white people but the ones I know aren't well off enough to pay for their kids' college without a lot of scholarship help, student loans, financial aid, and extra jobs. They weren't sending them to the Ivy League, either. :dunno:

I work at a college, and I see lots of poor kids attending.
 
Reba said:
For those who work at equivalent jobs, and regardless of race, correct?

That is, a black plumber would make the same dollar amount per hour as a white plumber.
Click to expand...

And don't forget the female plumber who should be making the same as the male plumber.
 
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