In “The Black-White Wealth Gap is Unchanged After Half a Century,” the author discusses the history, evolution, and implications of the race-related income disparity problem in America. The article opens with a powerful anecdote about how black lives, businesses, and whole communities have been destroyed nonsensically and in blatant disregard for the law and the principles upon which the nation was founded. On all metrics, including median wealth and home ownership, African Americans have lagged behind their counterparts due to factors like the inability to transmit earned wealth to future generations. The article, published in The Economist, shows how understanding root causes of socio-economic injustice helps to guide sensible public policy.
According to the author, discrimination remains a persistent and pernicious problem. Mass incarceration and the economic degradation of traditionally black communities has also been part of the problem. Possible solutions include the creation of a government funded bond program established for every single American child. While such solutions seem outlandish at first, the author urges readers to recall the radical solutions proposed during the New Deal era that have indeed aided American households via Social Security. Reparations—the catch-all term used to describe public policies and programs that aim to amend the mistakes of the past—have been unfortunately politically unpopular. Therefore, the author suggests rebranding some of those policies and programs so that they have a broader appeal.
Redressing the problems of inter-generational discrimination, racist criminal justice and labor policies, and unequal distribution of wealth in the United States is no easy task. However, something does need to be done in order to improve the quality of life for all Americans. Understanding why the race-related income/wealth gap exists is a necessary first step, followed by the introduction of new public policies that directly help African American families.
References
“The Black-White Wealth Gap is Unchanged After Half a Century.” The Economist.
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