The latest issue of Pathways, an online magazine from the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, just hit inboxes. One interesting tidbit, a recap of a study by Mariko Chang on the median net worth—liquid assets only, excluding things like motor vehicles—of Americans:
“Chang finds that single non-Hispanic White men had a median net worth in 2007 of $43,800, a respectable showing. … [Black and Hispanic men's] median wealth hovered around $8,000–$9,000 in 2007.”
Think that’s bad? Listen to this:
“What about the median net worth of Black and Hispanic women? $100 and $120, respectively. Worse yet, a full 45 percent of women of color held either no wealth or negative wealth in 2007.”
Single black women, ages 18–35, fare the worst, according to another article. Their median wealth—$5.
The numbers for both Chang’s study and the article come from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, a report from the Federal Reserve Board.
sounds like a third world country.. something smells funny.
Truly saddening and maddening. I wonder how much of this inequity has to do with the burdens of childrearing