There's Still a Racial Wealth Gap and I'm Over It: Here's What I'm Doing to Build Wealth as a Latina (2024)

FAQs

What is the answer to closing the racial wealth gap? ›

Closing the racial wealth gap requires addressing systemic and structural issues such as discriminatory policies, unequal access to education and job opportunities, and systemic racism.

Debt, Inheritance, Wealth & Homeownership. The US Census Bureau defines household wealth as the value of assets owned minus the debts owed. In 2021, the median wealth of a Latino household was $48,720, which is only about 20% of non-Hispanic White households' median wealth of $250,400.

The racial wealth gap refers to the disparity in assets of typical households across race and ethnicity. The gap in assets is far wider than disparities in wages across races. Income inequality, housing policies, limited educational opportunities, and a lack of support structures contribute to the racial wealth gap.

'Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. For one very rich man, there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.

In 2021, households with a White householder made up 65.3% of all U.S. households and held 80.0% of all wealth.

Take two people, one with a paid-off home worth $200,000 that he inherited, no student debt because his parents paid for college and a salary of $45,000 per year. The other person earns $65,000 per year but rents her home and has student debt of $80,000.

Income inequality has spillover effects on society at large, including increased rates of crime and violence, impeded productivity and economic growth, and the impaired functioning of representative democracy. The extent of inequality in society is often a consequence of explicit policies and public choice.

We find that the income gap is the primary driver behind the wealth gap and that it is large enough to explain the persistent difference in wealth accumulation.

The top 1% holds $38.7 trillion in wealth. That's more than the combined wealth of America's middle class, a group many economists define as the middle 60% of households by income. Those households hold about 26% of all wealth. Low-income Americans, representing the bottom 20% by income, own about 3% of the wealth.

What are some quotes about equality and inequality? ›

“If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” “Before God, we are all equally wise, and equally foolish.” “Equality means nothing unless incorporated into the institutions.” “*ntil we get equality in education, we won't have an equal society.”

One of the fundamental causes of health inequalities is the unequal distribution of wealth across the population. Wealth is the value of an individual or group's money and/or material assets that have built up over time.

Highly educated households correlate strongly with larger wealth portfolios, but similar college degrees produce more wealth for whites, contributing 5 percent of the proportional increase in the racial wealth gap. Inheritance and financial support from family combine for another 5 percent of the increasing gap.