The Pew Research Center just released an analysis of 2009 government data on the wealth gap between White non-Hispanics, African Americans, and Hispanics, and it’s pretty depressing. It’s not just that the gap is so large, but also that Hispanic and African American households have such low median worth in absolute terms (p. 13 in the report):
A quarter of Hispanics and Blacks have no assets other than a vehicle, compared to 6% of Whites. And 35% of Black and 31% of Hispanic households had negative median net worth in 2009, with their debts outweighing all of their assets; this was true of only 15% of White non-Hispanics.This is partially because African Americans and especially Hispanics were disproportionately hit by the effects of the housing crisis, the single largest source of reduced wealth. Overall, those two groups have suffered a much more dramatic loss in assets than Whites (sorry, Asians weren’t included in all the images, and Native Americans aren’t included in any):
The result is a wealth gap that is the largest it has ever been since the government began making such data available in the early ’80s. White non-Hispanics have nearly 20 times higher median wealth than Blacks, and 15 times as much as Hispanics:
For more details, check out the full report. The implications of these disparities, and the low levels of financial assets available to African Americans and Hispanics compared to Whites, is truly stunning.
Comments 14
Cocojams Jambalayah — July 26, 2011
I don't mean to minimize the seriousness of the effects that systemic racism and poverty have on the lives of People of Color in the United States. However, it seems to me that most People of Color in the United States are MUCH better off than those who are facing famine in East Africa right now.
While we work to improve conditions in this nation, I hope that we also try to help other people in very horrific situations such as in the Horn of Africa.
Yrro Simyarin — July 26, 2011
So the question is, why is this still trending that direction? When federal taxes are paid overwhelmingly by the "haves" in the top 50% of the income bracket, and minorities make up over 50% of welfare recipients. When racism still very obviously exists, but has been driven farther underground by legal and cultural equality rules.
My guess is the drug war destroying the good in minority culture, but unless legalization gets a *lot* more momentum we won't get to test that theory for a while.
Herekitty — July 26, 2011
Woah woah woah. I've read this news elsewhere and this is the first time I've seen the chart with the drop in Asian household wealth included as well. I looked at the Pew Report and it also seems to mostly ignore the fact that median Asian household wealth dropped 54%. I don't mean to downplay the grave disparity between White household wealth and that of Blacks/Latinos, but I find it alarming and perhaps even insidious that in such tough times White households climbed back to the top of the heap, especially given that 54% loss in Asian median household wealth must have been so much more quantitatively [54% of $168,000 vs. 50/60% of Black/Latino median household wealth in the $10-20,000 range].
Why didn't the research center probe this more?
Sarah — July 26, 2011
This is by far the most disturbing graph I've seen all year. First, all the U.S. net worth is going away in every racial category. Second, Asian-Americans seem to have tied up a lot of net worth in real estate, and then the bubble burst. Third, the numbers for African-Americans and Hispanics are so bad that I'm suddenly afraid of race riots, which wouldn't be unjustified. And fourth, the Whites category includes Bill Gates, Trump, Warren Buffet, etc. Didn't their money increase? That means the rest of European-Americans must have plummeted severely. And finally, why isn't there a mixed race category? Or is that too complicated?
Should Christians Care About Racial & Economic Inequality? | Political Jesus — July 27, 2011
[...] post-housing bust, is Whites with $113, 149, while for blacks and hispanics, not even topping above $6400. These numbers continue to reaffirm what many already acknowledge, and what some willfully deny, and [...]
Frank Rawlings — August 23, 2013
Well, I grew up in the Baltimore area and I can tell you that Blacks (we don't have too many Hispanic folks yet) simply LOVE to spend money to look flashy.
$300 shoes are more important than saving for retirement. $1,000 watches are more important than saving for a down payment on a house. Driving around in a LEASED Tahoe or Escalade or Navigator (maybe with rims and a sound system and tinted windows, all costing $$$$$$) is more important than investing in a low cost no-load mutual fund with a decent return.
See my point here? They simply can't save for the life of 'em. I know plenty of "poor" Whites doing just fine off of $40,000 per year with only one income earner, but African Americans simply can't seem to put a cent into a savings account even when they make far more than that.
Maybe it's the rap music?
Tell me if I'm wrong. Seriously, I know I'm generalizing, but show me where I'm incorrect.