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Wealth Gap Essay

600 Words3 Pages

There is a profound gap of wealth between median black and white families, In Race, Wealth, and Intergenerational Poverty, Darrick Hamilton, Professor of Economics and Policy, and William Darity, Professor of Public Policy, discuss the causes of this gap, and measures that can be taken to resolve the disparity. Hamilton and Darity assert the claim that we live today in a post-racial America is false, largely due to the fact that the disproportionate wealth gap between median white and black families exists. They present statistics from a 2002 survey, demonstrating the gap of net worth between white and black families to support this. Hamilton and Darity, using this evidence, dismisses the assertation that race is no longer a determining factor in one’s life chances, which many claim is so gesturing to the election of President Barack Obama, but the evidence of the wealth gap supports the contrary.
As to why this gap still exist, Hamilton and Darity dismiss the two most proposed reasons. The first being that blacks are less frugal but Hamilton and Darity refute this, citing an economist, Marcus Alexis, who found …show more content…

The second reason they make, the recent recession having, in most part, significantly negatively affected black families, while benefiting white families to a small degree. Another reason that correlates to the wealth gap Hamilton and Darity claim is the fact that black families are less likely to receive mortgages for purchasing homes, even in cases where black families make significantly more than lower income white families. Now to resolve this Hamilton and Darity say that the public sector must intervene and offer support to black

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