One of the most under reported stories of the financial crisis is its impact on the disparity between African-Americans and whites. Last fall, I had the fortune to hear Congresswoman Maxine Waters speak on the issue of how the mortgage foreclosure crisis would likely impact African-American communities by striping them of years of hard earned gains, and making it difficult if not impossible to rebuild. But recently, Brandeis University published findings depicting an even more disturbing account showing a fourfold increase in the wealth gap between whites and blacks created over the last 23 years. From 1984 a 20K disparity between blacks and whites ballooned into a 95K gap by 2007. In real terms, this 75K differential is a child's college tuition or the savings to weather a job loss. So, African-American communities were clearly in crisis before the crisis.
The disconnect between income and work that has culminated in the recent financial crisis has no doubt influenced this trend, and will no doubt widen the gap. Since in our neoliberal capitalist society money is no longer primarily generated from labor, but rather money begets money to extreme degrees, the luck of birth will increasingly be the determining factor in an individual's future, unless we turn this tide and collectively figure out ways to stand against this type of social order.
The Racial Wealth Gap Increases Fourfold
White Families Now 95K Richer Than African-American Families on Average, According to New Study
Don't Blame the Dream of Homeownership
Why Can't We Face Reality?
Once again, we have employment data that shows fewer working Americans, and once again, we've immediately gone into denial. The private sector isn't hiring, because they are not making their money off of exploiting labor time, but rather by exploiting capital. Yes, it will help to strengthen manufacturing industries that are more dependent on labor, than service industries that are more dependent on brand, but this is a long term prospect -- one that's unlikely to be accomplished in a decade. In Empowering Cities Through Service, Dr. Judith Rodin and NYC Mayor Bloomberg write:
Well, what if we simply changed the paradigm of employment/unemployment? Cities like NY could spearhead a movement that turns what has been considered "unproductive" labor into productive labor simply by paying "volunteers". How are we going to have full employment in the new economy? It's not likely that we will without a change to our attitude about what can and should constitute employment itself. Wouldn't it be more productive to have a citizenship fully engaged in working for the betterment of our communities, rather than comprised of millions of discouraged workers? Wouldn't a safety net of paid work that improves communities be better than living in denial?
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