LORDT. two black economists i really respect, @SandyDarity and @DarrickHamilton, just published a KILLER report debunking what they call 10 commonly-held myths about the racial wealth gap and how to close it. I'm gonna tweet the highlights. (full report:
first, defining the wealth gap. Black households hold
< 7 cents on the dollar compared to white households. The white household living near the poverty line typically has about $18k in wealth. Black households in similar economic straits typically have a median wealth near zero.
"At the other end of America’s economic spectrum, black households constitute less than 2 percent of those in the top one percent of the nation’s wealth distribution; white households constitute more than 96 percent of the wealthiest Americans."
that's the racial wealth gap. it's bad. google it. onto the myths."We contend that a number of ideas frequently touted as 'solutions' will not make headway in reducing black-white wealth disparities...While these steps are not necessarily undesirable, they are wholly inadequate."
"There are no actions that black Americans can take unilaterally that will have much of an effect on reducing the racial wealth gap. For the gap to be closed, America must undergo a vast social transformation."
me reading this out loud: