Posted on 07/27/2011 6:09:26 AM PDT by shortstop
The news is good at “what.” It isn’t very good at “why.”
Like this story yesterday, about the growing disparity in net worth between whites and non-whites in America.
Specifically, while the average white person in America has a net worth of about $113,000, the average black person has a net worth of about $5,000 and the average Latino person comes in at around $6,000.
That was the news.
Whites are financially worth more than blacks, and that gap is growing significantly, to its greatest point in 25 years, in fact.
That was all that was said.
That was the “what.”
Interestingly, it came within hours of President Obama’s pitch for higher taxes on those who “aren’t doing their fair share.” And predictably it seemed destined to flame racial and socio-economic resentment. In the Marxist mantra of haves and have nots, this was fuel to the fire.
Unless you know “why.”
And the media was predictably silent on that subject.
So let’s explore the issue.
There are a number of reasons. They include: Culture, geography, age and livelihood.
First, as to culture, different groups of people have different statistical tendencies. These cultural tendencies can influence personal decisions, which will drive personal outcome.
A culture that values education, and expects its young to earnestly seek an education, will have a different outcome than a culture that does not value education, and which tolerates or even encourages dropping out. Those cultural tendencies impact directly on an individual’s likely income.
If a culture eschews out-of-wedlock birth, it will probably have a different economic profile than a culture that tolerates or encourages out-of-wedlock birth.
The same principle applies to the use of drugs, the social acceptability of welfare and obedience to law.
Cultures which encourage work, individual responsibility and frugality will, on average, produce individuals who are more economically successful.
That is a factor in the disparity.
So is geography.
Political geography.
Disproportionate numbers of racial minorities in this country live in areas governed by Democrats and Democratic philosophies. Those include, typically, high taxes and high regulation, and a sense that the individual should be dependent on the government. High taxes and high regulation tend to suppress business activity – and consequently employment – and a spirit of government dependence weakens individual initiative and self-reliance.
Those things hold people back.
So, in terms of net worth, does age.
It may seem simplistic, but old people have more money than young people. Why? Because they’ve lived longer, and because their kids have moved out of the house.
In America, in terms of average age, white people are old and non-white people are young. That means non-white people are still kids, or are just now having kids. And white people, in significant numbers, have been paying into their 401Ks for a number of years.
And that’s where the net worth disparity is almost completely found.
White people have worked a number of years, and they have been saving – through a 401K – for their retirement.
A net worth of $113,000 is not filthy rich, that’s a life’s savings. That’s a nest egg for retirement.
It’s also, if you’re honest about it, too small a nest egg for retirement. That means that, yes, these white folks have relatively more, but they don’t have enough. They are by no means rich. They have just enough to live in old-age poverty the rest of their lives.
The final factor is livelihood.
How you derive your livelihood – and then how you manage what you make – goes a long way to determining your net worth. Disproportionately, people of color derive their livelihood from the government – either as government employees or welfare recipients. Disproportionately, white people derive their livelihood from employment in the private sector.
Clearly, someone who earns a paycheck is going to be more likely to accumulate net worth than someone who draws a welfare check. And the private sector emphasizes 401Ks – which affect net worth – while government jobs provide pensions – which don’t affect net worth.
Those reasons are the “why.”
Overwhelmingly, they involve personal choice. And personal choice involves consequence, and personal responsibility means living with the consequences of your choices.
The news didn’t explain the reasons “why.”
It merely blurted out the “what.”
And, sadly, that probably bred more confusion than understanding.
It’s not racism. It’s not a corrupt system. It’s not preying upon the poor.
It’s common sense. And it will change not by even greater efforts at government redistribution of wealth from those who produce to those who don’t. It will only change when the circumstances that lead to it change.
And the government won’t do that.
Individuals will have to do that.
The calls for redistribution will follow shortly. After all, the disparity MUST be due to racism. [/s]
All I know is that the inner-city poor have never had it so good as under Obama. There are big grants for new urban housing developments (and let’s not forget the ACORN origins of the housing disaster), some 49% of people in this country pay NO federal income taxes, some 40% are on food stamps (a family of 4 making $50,000 qualifies!), and the government schools, at exhorbitant costs-per-pupil, are supported by the property taxes of the “wealthy.” Now, Michelle even has an initiative to bring grocery stores to the inner-city. Gotta have a place to use those food stamps, you know.
Minorities have to pull their pants up, get a job, save some for their families and quit shooting guns at each other. It’ll take time for them to get that. Meantime the rest of the world can’t stop and hold their breath and they can’t let their families’ legacy be drained away by misguided social leveling programs.
These numbers sound fishy to me, I think it's just another attempt by the MSM to propagate race and class envy. I don't know how anybody of any race could have a net worth of only $5,000 or $6,000. I had a net worth higher than that, my first year out on my own, and that was from money I had earned and not counting what my average middle class parents gave me. It been my experience that most "dirt poor" minorities usually have nice cloths, electronics, and at least one car.
Hmmm... wonder how much I could get for my ‘89 Corolla...?
What would these "inner city poor" folks net worth be if ALL the entitlements they received were factored in to their worth?
I wonder what my net worth would be if my share of the national debt and future taxes for all those entitlements were factored into it.
This is less about minorities than it is about blacks and Hispanics. The out of wedlock birth rates for blacks is 71% followed by Hispanics with over 50%. Both groups have school drop out rates of about 50%. Single parent households and high school dropout rates are the social pathology for failure in this society. Wealth and education are generally linked.
Immigration is also a major factor. We bring in 1.2 million legal immigrants a year, most of whom are poor, unskilled, and uneducated. 25% of adult legal immigrants lack a high school degree. And of the estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants who enter annually 50% to 60% of the adults lack a high school degree. We are importing poverty. 57% of immigrant headed households are on welfare.
This huge influx of unskilled immigrant labor drives down wages and affects disproportionately blacks and Hispanics. This contributes to the widening wealth gap between whites/Asians and blacks and Hispanics.
It is also worth noting that 87% of the legal immigrants are minorities as defined by the USG and almost all of the illegal aliens are minorities. By 2019, half of the children 18 and under in the US will be minorities. Immigration will drive 75% of our estimated 130 million increase in population in the next 40 years when our nation will total 440 million. Demography is destiny.
I am convinced that the high number of fatherless homes has significantly impacted the lack of economic progress made by minorities.
bkmk.
Remember that?
Someone ought to tell Blacks that it is also 'A Money Thing.'
Get off your asses and get an education!!
Your poverty is not my problem and I'll shoot if you come to get my stuff.
I bet that whites and blacks who behave similarly have the similar net worths. It’s actions and choices, not race.
Interesting that those “without” are usually Democrat voters and those “with” often Republicans. No doubt just a coincidence, right Mr. Obama?
Good question!
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