Subscribe

* indicates required
Okayplayer News

To continue reading

Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Vast Wealth Gap Between Black & White America Would Take 228 Years To Close
Vast Wealth Gap Between Black & White America Would Take 228 Years To Close

Vast Wealth Gap Between Black & White America Would Take 228 Years To Close

Vast Wealth Gap Between Black & White America Would Take 228 Years To Close

We've known that a wealth gap between black and white people in America exists, but a recent study offers us a more quantifiable answer to the ongoing disparity.

The Corporation for Enterprise Development and Institute for Policy Studiespublished a report stating that without significant policy reform in America, it would take 228 years for black families to amass the wealth that white families have today.

Using 30 years of Federal Reserve data ― which include pension, income and demographic statistics ― the study argues that tax policies overwhelmingly favor white, wealthy families and turn a blind eye to low income families.

The average wealth of white families has grown by 84 percent, which is three times the growth of the black population and 1.2 times that of the Latino population, the study reports. If black and Latino populations continue to grow at the same rate it would take them 228 years and 84 years, respectively, to close the wealth gap as it stands now ― but that divide continues to grow.

The study also adds:

"While housing has been a major driver in the growth of the racial wealth divide, Black and Latino households have also faced numerous other economic inequities that are impacting their wealth position. At the root of this are a number of discriminatory practices — including, among others, employment discrimination, racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, housing segregation and unequal access to educational opportunities — that have continued into the present even as some acts of past discrimination decline."

The report offers a number of possible solutions including reparations, funds for housing programs and a restructuring of tax breaks. The study also calls for a government wide audit to seek out policies that exacerbate the wealth gap, and then flip a top-heavy tax structure "to ensure households of color also receive support to build wealth."

Back on August 1st, more than 50 civil rights groups created a plan to close the economic gap, demanding an increase to taxes on extreme wealth and a system that allows raising wages without political hurdles. It also called for the money used toward the disproportionate incarceration of black people in America to go toward education and employment.