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Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequality

By TChris, Section Social Justice
Posted on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 01:04:38 PM EST
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by TChris

Economic inequality and its relationship to racial inequality was big news for two or three days after Katrina. Perhaps the Urban League's annual report, "State of Black America 2006," will reawaken interest in one of the nation's most pressing problems.

The report, which assessed factors including home ownership, income, unemployment, poverty rates and net worth, said the economic status of blacks in 2006 is 56 percent of that of white Americans, 1 percentage point worse than last year.

The Urban League report evaluated the state of black America by using an "equality index," which in addition to economic factors also looked at education, health, social justice and civic engagement.

The report found the largest disparity was economic wealth. The median net worth of African-American families - $6,166 - is less than a tenth of that of white families, which is $67,000.

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    Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequality | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimcee on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 04:33:27 PM EST
    I'm sorry if I do not take the Urban League very seriously but they are biased. With a lack of specifics it is easy to discount the increase in African-American homeownership in the last ten years. With homeownership up that means that African-American wealth is up because those who bought homes had to be vetted by the same mortgage company formuli as everyone one else. It is colour-blind basic economics. The Urban League is just struggling for relevence in the 21st century with this so-called study.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#3)
    by Peaches on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 09:19:18 AM EST
    Jimcee, Thanks for bringing your mature, well-read, intellectual unbiased perspective to this. We are all so much more enlightened for contributions here. Is it any wonder I do not bring any facts to refute this?
    With a lack of specifics it is easy to discount the increase in African-American homeownership in the last ten years. With homeownership up that means that African-American wealth is up because those who bought homes had to be vetted by the same mortgage company formuli as everyone one else. It is colour-blind basic economics.
    Your studious research is apparent to all us unread liberals, who didn't catch the Presidents SOU. His sole offering to African Americans as proof of his dedication to his equal rights bent of his policies--the increase in African American home ownership. Any other color-blind economics you want to inform us of that could refute the biased so-called study of the irrelevant urban league? Did you read the Report? Of course not. No need to. You listened to the SOU.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#4)
    by Al on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 09:29:53 AM EST
    Jimcee and variable scorn the Urban League's report without reading it. The numbers quoted refer to an economic index they call an Equality Index. Like all such indices, it may be critiqued regarding what factors it takes into account, how they are measured, and how they are weighted. Jimcee and variable are simply not educated enough to be able to carry out such a critique.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#5)
    by Dadler on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 09:33:23 AM EST
    Jimcee and Variable, Guys, lending discrimination is a huge problem. As has been done many times, you send out people of different races, with the same qaulifications for a loan, and see what happens. The same thing seems to happen every time in regard to the race of loan applicants (or just renters for that matter). I've seen it on who knows how many Primetime, MSNBC Investigates kind of shows, and here's a study that illuminates the problem.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 10:57:09 AM EST
    You guys waitin' for books on tape?

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#7)
    by jimcee on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 08:10:14 PM EST
    Et al, Quite frankly I think that economics are colour-blind and if Black folks can afford better real estate than mine, how cool is that? That speaks volumes about economic realities and initiative as opposed those that would be allowed by the stereotypes generated by the Left's atonal chorus. Willful ignorance seems to be the Left's clairion call and Chuckie and Peachy are the clairia making that cold call. Dopes both....

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 08:20:09 PM EST
    Gee, aren't you mr magnanimous. That's just full of the facts and figures and ideas you're always talkin' about. By that logic, every white guy who gets turned down for a mortgage or who isn't a doctor, lawyer or indian chief has got to be a real moron. Nice try, sport. Always a pleasure.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 01, 2006 at 09:17:38 AM EST
    Well, JRT. Maybe that Black Woman got that job instead of you 'cause she's just a hell of a lot smarter and better than you. You want affirmative action for white people like it used to be. You want a dumb white dude protection act.

    Re: Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequalit (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 01, 2006 at 10:53:01 AM EST
    Posted by charliedontsurf1 April 1, 2006 10:17 AM Well, JRT. Maybe that Black Woman got that job instead of you 'cause she's just a hell of a lot smarter and better than you. You want affirmative action for white people like it used to be. You want a dumb white dude protection act.
    OK- so you cannot answer a question. I don't need any protection in my job. I do have a friend who applied for a job within the large multinational corporation where he works. He posessed all of the stated qualifications and more, but was told that they needed to hire a black person. I also have black clients that are part of affirmative action programs, one of them underbid a job by $500K and simply told the general contractor that they needed more money. The general was forced to pay more to ensure that they had the required minority participation. The same client failed to record $30,000 worth of checks and blamed me for not catching it sooner.

    Focusing on the Family: Poverty and Inequality | 9 comments (9 topical)