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Racial Wealth Inequality and the Dream Deferred
As protesters march through our cities, a new study dramatizes that at the heart of our racially fractured society is a hidden system of racial wealth inequalities.
The marches in the streets may have been provoked by police conduct in Fergusson and Staten Island. But there is a deeper dream that has been deferred.
The gap between white wealth and Black wealth has grown since the end of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Dec 13, 2014
As protesters march through our cities, a new study dramatizes that at the heart of our racially fractured society is a hidden system of racial wealth inequalities.
The marches in the streets may have been provoked by police conduct in Fergusson and Staten Island. But there is a deeper dream that has been deferred.
The gap between white wealth and Black wealth has grown since the end of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, the 2013 median wealth of white households is 13 times greater than the median wealth of Black households, up from 8 times greater in 2010. White households have 10 times more wealth than Hispanic households, up from 9 times greater in 2007.
Median wealth for Black households in 2013 was $11,000, down from $16,600, a staggering decline of 33.7 percent. For white households, the median wealth was $141,900, up from $138,600 in 2010, an increase of 2.4 percent.
Between 2010 and 2013, the median wealth of white households declined 14.3 percent, from $16,000 to $13,700.
There is a high correlation between wealth -what you own minus what you owe -and security. Wealth provides a cushion, reserves to fall back on in the face of hardship. Homeownership has been a foundational asset, something to pass on to one's children.
While people of all races saw their net worth implode during the recesssion, white wealth has slightly recovered. This is because whites own more financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, which have rebounded since 2009. Meanwhile home values, which represent the largest share of assets for households of color, have not rebounded at the same rate.
This study does not pull out the richest 1 percent of white households, which have captured a huge percentage of wealth growth in the last decade.
Politicians are quick to point to the good news of declining unemployment and foreclosure rates, but there are other signs of deeper distress in the economy.
The U.S. homeownership rate has been steadying declining, from 69 percent in 2004 to 64.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014. For Blacks, the homeownership rate fell from 45.6 percent in 2010 to 42.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Over 40 million people have student debt averaging $33,000. And over 43 million households are holding medical debt.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is co-founder of CARP and author of Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet.
As protesters march through our cities, a new study dramatizes that at the heart of our racially fractured society is a hidden system of racial wealth inequalities.
The marches in the streets may have been provoked by police conduct in Fergusson and Staten Island. But there is a deeper dream that has been deferred.
The gap between white wealth and Black wealth has grown since the end of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, the 2013 median wealth of white households is 13 times greater than the median wealth of Black households, up from 8 times greater in 2010. White households have 10 times more wealth than Hispanic households, up from 9 times greater in 2007.
Median wealth for Black households in 2013 was $11,000, down from $16,600, a staggering decline of 33.7 percent. For white households, the median wealth was $141,900, up from $138,600 in 2010, an increase of 2.4 percent.
Between 2010 and 2013, the median wealth of white households declined 14.3 percent, from $16,000 to $13,700.
There is a high correlation between wealth -what you own minus what you owe -and security. Wealth provides a cushion, reserves to fall back on in the face of hardship. Homeownership has been a foundational asset, something to pass on to one's children.
While people of all races saw their net worth implode during the recesssion, white wealth has slightly recovered. This is because whites own more financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, which have rebounded since 2009. Meanwhile home values, which represent the largest share of assets for households of color, have not rebounded at the same rate.
This study does not pull out the richest 1 percent of white households, which have captured a huge percentage of wealth growth in the last decade.
Politicians are quick to point to the good news of declining unemployment and foreclosure rates, but there are other signs of deeper distress in the economy.
The U.S. homeownership rate has been steadying declining, from 69 percent in 2004 to 64.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014. For Blacks, the homeownership rate fell from 45.6 percent in 2010 to 42.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Over 40 million people have student debt averaging $33,000. And over 43 million households are holding medical debt.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is co-founder of CARP and author of Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet.
As protesters march through our cities, a new study dramatizes that at the heart of our racially fractured society is a hidden system of racial wealth inequalities.
The marches in the streets may have been provoked by police conduct in Fergusson and Staten Island. But there is a deeper dream that has been deferred.
The gap between white wealth and Black wealth has grown since the end of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, the 2013 median wealth of white households is 13 times greater than the median wealth of Black households, up from 8 times greater in 2010. White households have 10 times more wealth than Hispanic households, up from 9 times greater in 2007.
Median wealth for Black households in 2013 was $11,000, down from $16,600, a staggering decline of 33.7 percent. For white households, the median wealth was $141,900, up from $138,600 in 2010, an increase of 2.4 percent.
Between 2010 and 2013, the median wealth of white households declined 14.3 percent, from $16,000 to $13,700.
There is a high correlation between wealth -what you own minus what you owe -and security. Wealth provides a cushion, reserves to fall back on in the face of hardship. Homeownership has been a foundational asset, something to pass on to one's children.
While people of all races saw their net worth implode during the recesssion, white wealth has slightly recovered. This is because whites own more financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, which have rebounded since 2009. Meanwhile home values, which represent the largest share of assets for households of color, have not rebounded at the same rate.
This study does not pull out the richest 1 percent of white households, which have captured a huge percentage of wealth growth in the last decade.
Politicians are quick to point to the good news of declining unemployment and foreclosure rates, but there are other signs of deeper distress in the economy.
The U.S. homeownership rate has been steadying declining, from 69 percent in 2004 to 64.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014. For Blacks, the homeownership rate fell from 45.6 percent in 2010 to 42.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Over 40 million people have student debt averaging $33,000. And over 43 million households are holding medical debt.
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