Racial Wealth Gap...

DeafCaroline said:
Then why all the questions if you've been around for a while?
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I'm not a know-it-all; I want to know more.

I said I've been around "a while," not "forever." :giggle:
 
Berry said:
How to handle finances is learned from parents unless you go to college and get a degree in it. It is not something you are born with, it is not something you are taught at school.

In fact poor people of all classes are discouraged from learning it.
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Not only discouraged from learning it, they are prevented from practicing it by having to live paycheck to paycheck.
 
DeafCaroline said:
Naive because she's never had to experience racism. That's white privilege.
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She has surely witnessed it, however. She simply refuses to acknowledge what is obvious. If it is acknowledged as wrong and inequitable, then one is obligated to speak out against it. Very few want that responsibility unless it is affecting them directly. Just another way in which the citizens of this country have taken individualism and self centered attitude to the extreme.
 
Berry said:
So it is up to the poor person, Black or whatever, growing up in a poor neighborhood where the schools are under par, and they are taught they have no chance in life -- To get out and acquire the right skills.

Yeah, that is a fair way to do things.

Society should have come up with that one a long time ago.
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Well known game called "Blame the Victim."
 
naisho said:
Here's a little more pot stirring, food for thought.
Top 400 richest people in America according to Forbes:
The Richest People in America 2010 - Forbes.com

First asian is Patrick Soon-Shiong at #46 with 5.6bill,
first black is Oprah at #130 with 2.7bill,
first hispanic - well, can be open for debate, but I see the first Italian (not necessarily hispanic) at #66, John Paul DeJoria the former homeless guy.
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Outliers. They do not prove or disprove anything.
 
jillio said:
She has surely witnessed it, however. She simply refuses to acknowledge what is obvious. If it is acknowledged as wrong and inequitable, then one is obligated to speak out against it.
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You don't know what "she" has acknowledged or witnessed. You also don't know what "one" has said or done.

Then again, this thread topic isn't about "she", so I'll ignore any further personal posts discussing posters in the third person.
 
Reba said:
Are you saying that the black professionals and students with whom I work don't exist? Are you saying that my successful black neighbors and relatives don't exist? Are you saying that the things they tell me about their lives are lies? Are you saying that their opinions about race and success are not real?

It's true that I've not personally experienced blatant racism, only sexism. That doesn't mean I don't know what goes on in the world. I've been around a while.
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No. She is saying that you are typical of the person in this country who experiences the advantages of white privilege on a daily basis without conscious recognition of the fact. Therefore, you discount the serious nature of racial disparities and discrimination because you have not personally experienced such. It is easy to justify and minimalize the existence of something which does not affect you negatively in a personal way.
 
Reba said:
You don't know what "she" has acknowledged or witnessed. You also don't know what "one" has said or done.

Then again, this thread topic isn't about "she", so I'll ignore any further personal posts discussing posters in the third person.
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Your posts are a good indication of your attitude and belief regarding the topic of racial inequities as well as your unconscious benefits of white privilege.
 
Beowulf said:
Same thing with commodities trading: you need at least $750 to do anything. It makes me shake my head to hear well-off people say, "Well, invest your money!" Most poor people cannot afford to invest, particularly with so little return from it. The rich get richer because they have money to invest, simple as that.
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And they manipulate policy to insure that the stratification of society remains in place.
 
Hispanics: The net worth of Hispanic households decreased from $18,359 in 2005 to $6,325 in 2009. The percentage drop—66%—was the largest among all groups. Hispanics derived nearly two-thirds of their net worth in 2005 from home equity and are more likely to reside in areas where the housing meltdown was concentrated. Thus, the housing downturn had a deep impact on them. Their net worth also diminished because of a 42% rise in median levels of debt they carried in the form of unsecured liabilities (credit card debt, education loans, etc.).

Blacks: The net worth of black households fell from $12,124 in 2005 to $5,677 in 2009, a decline of 53%. Like Hispanics, black households drew a large share (59%) of their net worth from home equity in 2005. Thus, the housing downturn had a strong impact on their net worth. Blacks also took on more unsecured debt during the economic downturn, with the median level rising by 27%.

Whites: The drop in the wealth of white households was modest in comparison, falling 16% from $134,992 in 2005 to $113,149 in 2009. White households were also affected by the housing crisis. But home equity accounts for relatively less of their total net worth (44% in 2005), and that served to lessen the impact of the housing bust. Median levels of unsecured debt among whites rose by 32%.

Asians: In 2005 median Asian household wealth had been greater than the median for white households, but by 2009 Asians lost their place at the top of the wealth hierarchy. Their net worth fell from $168,103 in 2005 to $78,066 in 2009, a drop of 54%. Like Hispanics, they are geographically concentrated in places such as California that were hit hard by the housing market meltdown. The arrival of new Asian immigrants since 2004 also contributed significantly to the estimated decline in the overall wealth of this racial group. Absent the immigrants who arrived during this period, the median wealth of Asian households is estimated to have dropped 31% from 2005 to 2009. Asians account for about 5% of the U.S. population.
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This part is protruding like a white guy hanging out in a chinese restaurant. ;)
 
you will see there are definitely some outliers that need to be eliminated from the findings. Atleast the top 5% in whites, because it's pretty obvious.
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That is why many statisticians use median or mode, rather than average. Those outlyers need to be analyzed on why they are different from the average.
 
Daredevel7 said:
Can you honestly tell me that for someone who comes from a poor background but makes the same income as me can even invest? I just googled and picked a random stock, you need to have AT LEAST $2,500 to buy the stock. When you are up to here with college loans, living expenses, car expenses and so on, why are you going to buy risky stocks? Even if you paid off your loans, why would you invest in stocks rather than a house?
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If you're good at something, never do it for free - that's how to make money. Most of the advances right now in the investment world come from technology related and their stocks. If you have an understanding of their tech, products and how they impact the market, that is how to predict for gains.

The stock market is nothing like it used to be back in the dot com boom. I played with shares of MSFT, Micron and related. It's not meant for long term playing unless you have a lot of money to invest - that's like talking hundred thousands to millions of shares.

Meanwhile, metals like gold on the other hand. Before the depression everyone was giving advice like "it's going to crash, don't do it". And you see today, it's risen dramatically:
gold_15_year_o_s_usd.png


Another new player in the investment game these days works international. I remember back here two years ago when the CAD was less than the USD, now look at today, CAD gained leverage over the USD. It's obvious investment in the US is losing its appeal as the market is being available globally.

There are many ways to work investment and I don't even know them all, nor claim to. The hardest part for investing is making that first step, everything else is no different than gambling afterwards. Smartphones were a good place to start a couple of years ago. If you had realized RIMM and their blackberries were losing appeal over to Apple and Google (Android), you have earned some nice ponied up cash today when you realize that RIMM has lost the stranglehold over the phone market. It's a dead fish out of water at this point.
 
Is it possible to discuss a topic without attempting to analyze each other?
 
Reba said:
I'm asking you for your solution. That includes listing the inequities and then giving the solution for each inequity.
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Asking for a solution is fair.

Listing the inequities would be time consuming, tedious, and probably useless.

Attempting to solve each inequity would mire you down in a never ending process that those who want to keep the poor in their place would approve of.

With a bow to StSaphire let us shave the problem with Occam's razor.

Society consists of five basic groups:

Worker ants. I don't care if you are the janitor or the president of the company. You are just a worker ant. What ever you make, little or lot, it is fed to you by an employer.

------ This is what society and schools encourage you to become. Then the carrot is held just out of reach of most.

Professionals: Doctor, lawyer, roofer, plumber, interpreter. This had better be something you enjoy because it will become your life. It is more demanding than a marriage.

----- Society does its best to shut the best of these out of reach of the poorer people. Making the demands for investment of time and effort insanely high. A poor person can become a doctor -- But it requires the tenacity of an enraged pit bull.

Small business owners. Entrepreneurs on a small scale. They are not looking for vast wealth, they are looking for a living. With the advent of franchises it is becoming harder and harder to find a niche business you can be successful in. But it can be done. Also you had better enjoy what you are doing or you will grow to hate the demands.

-----Old time Republicans believed in the small business owner as the backbone of middle class America. Now days Republicans seem only interested in BIG business.

Sales Person. This one is gold! And in it lies the solution. Anyone can learn to sell. It requires NO education. It requires NO specialized knowledge. A good sales person can make as much as their audacity desires. More sales people become self made millionaires than any other group.

----Testimonial. Every time life has tried to bury me in a ditch I have kick started it by finding a product, a customer, and putting them together. When I traveled around with no steady job I did so by selling to businesses town to town.

Entrepreneur: These people don't own stock in a business. People own stock in their businesses. You can become one if you want to -- And it doesn't matter how poor you start out or what your race, creed, or color are -- But remember it takes dedication. Not the best choice for someone who wants to spend a lot of time picnicking with the spouse and kiddies.

------Best way to start is to master the art of selling until you are in a position where you can sell people into investing in your company, gold mine, business project, whatever.

There is one small problem with this solution. Those who make it to the top of the heap tend to perpetrate the very injustices they themselves encountered.

Why?

Greed!

Now they are up there they want to keep everyone else below them. Which is the attitude that caused the whole problem to begin with.
 
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