2018: THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES

                       

Just when thought that it was save to go into the water, you are delivered the ominous facts about the real statuses of the economy in America.  We should be grateful that the highly regarded Economic Policy Institute (EPI) gives (continues to) us facts about reality on the ground as there is a prevalence of  a threat to our quality of life - it will continue to be devalued in 2018.

The chart example and excerpt below are one of 12, that gives us a graphic view to help determine the depth and breath of our ordeal in 2018 (and beyond).  Te battlefield is not for the 'weak of heart' (especially not on the frontlines), when even those who are the strongest will be further tested in 2018.


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The racial wealth gap is the clearest legacy of past discrimination in housing marketsAverage and median household wealth in the United States, by race




WhiteBlack
Average$933,700$138,200
Median$171,000$17,600

$933,700$171,000$138,200$17,600WhiteBlackAverageMedian0250,000500,000750,000$1,000,000
ChartData
Source: Adapted from Janelle Jones, “The Racial Wealth Gap: How African Americans Have Been Shortchanged out of the Materials to Build Wealth,” Working Economics (Economic Policy Institute blog), February 13, 2017.
The legacy of economic disadvantage for black Americans is apparent in the enormous wealth divide between black and white families in the United States. In 2016 the average white household had nearly seven times as much wealth ($933,700 in financial assets minus liabilities) as the average black household (which had a net worth of $138,200). This relative disparity grows when looking at “typical,” or median, households (those in the exact middle). In 2016, the net worth of the typical white household was $171,000, almost ten times the $17,600 in wealth held by the typical black household. What the chart does not show is that these gaps persist even after accounting for age, household structure, education level, income, and occupation.
These numbers are as disturbing for the past inequities they represent as for the future opportunity gaps they foretell. Wealth provides a buffer of economic security against periods of unemployment, enables families to finance a child’s college education or a new business venture, and helps finance a comfortable retirement. But African Americans have been shortchanged out of the materials to build wealth. Besides facing discrimination in employment and wages, black families historically have been shut out of the most important wealth-building market: housing. Overall, home equity makes up about two-thirds of all wealth for the typical household. In short, for median families, the racial wealth gap is overwhelmingly a housing wealth gap. And this housing wealth gap is no accident; it is the outcome of intentional policies at all levels of government, in particular housing policies that prevented blacks from acquiring land, created redlining and restrictive covenants, and encouraged lending discrimination. These policies created and reinforced the racial wealth gap we are still struggling to address.
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The type of information above adds credence to the saying "sink or swim". You know (and don't take this the wrong way) some say that black bodies are not made for swimming (which is selective perception in my opinion which is substantiated by not only famous black swimmers, but the fact that mostly everyone I know can swim, except for me), the bottom line is that the learning curve for survival is slowly but surely disappearing - it seems that strong is getting stronger and the weak, weaker; and the poor poorer.
We are literally in the fight for our lives on earth in 2018.  When statuses of reality are substantiated by facts and research we must urgently respond - or, run to the mountains.  MAY YOUR 2018 BE FRUITFUL AND POSITIVE.

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