[lbo-talk] A $95, 000 question: why are whites five times richer than blacks in theUS?

[Miles Jackson]

Jordan Hayes wrote:
> I've seen a lot of claims that it's as simple as missing out on the 
> last few bull markets over the last 20 years: Whites participated and 
> grew wealthier; Blacks didn't.  I've also seen some speculation about 
> "the culture of investing" and whether Blacks, as a group, "trust" 
> investments.  It seems like there's a lot of reasons, none as 
> slam-dunk as Doug's "inheritance, mostly" claim.  If it was "mostly" 
> inheritance, you'd have to believe that the difference between the two 
> groups from start to finish is that the White group had someone with 
> some wealth die during the 20 year period.  So while I'm sure there's 
> some of that, it certainly doesn't seem clear that it's "mostly" any 
> one thing. 

I don't get your skepticism.  Lots of people in the U. S. die in a 20 
year period!  Given systematic racial disparities in wealth accumulation 
extending over centuries, when white people die, they will leave more 
money to their white survivors than African Americans do to their 
African American survivors.  Regardless of personal income, family 
inheritance of wealth will necessarily reinforce existing wealth 
disparities. 

Miles