End Notes

WEALTH-STRIPPING PRACTICES

Policy Interventions to Address a Growing Crisis

When we understand how this system works, it becomes clear that the vast amount of spending done through it goes to help wealthy families build more wealth, instead of helping those are struggling to get ahead

t unlike Asian Americans, our collective focus on the social and economic issues facing Native Americans is also influencedin part by availability of and methods for collecting economic data that shed light on these communities.

In part, the focus on Black and Latino groups can be attributed to the fact that the economic insecurities facing these particular communities is much easier to see

Manywho cannot afford half the items listed above include themselves in thatdefinition. Also included are most of the nation’s millionaires,who consider themselves middle or upper-middle class despite their obviouslyoutsized income11and their small representation (3.3%) among the country’s overall population.

Baked into the nation’s mythology is the ideal of the comfortable, middle-class family that can afford the essentials of a happy, healthy life.

they wereintentionally directed at White communities and away from communities of colo

Unfortunately, Black and Latino families have been subject to stagnant economic trends for decades and there is little evidence that this will change. With their rising share of the population, these groups have a larger impact on the American middle classthan they once did, an impact that will only continue to grow. In fact, we already see the impact of declining wealth for Black and Latinohouseholds on the nation’s collective economic well-being.During the past 30 years,AfricanAmerican and Latino median wealth has gone down while White wealth has slowly increased. Overall, however,the median wealth of Americans has decreased from $78,000 in 1983 to $64,000 in 2013.

Umbrellas Don’t Make it Rain: Why Studying and Working Hard Isn’t Enough for Black Americans

we should be looking beyond the limited idea of income as the primary indicator of middle-class status and instead recognizethat wealth is and has always been the foundation of middle-class financial security.

y.B

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

TheInstitute for Policy Studies

Prosperity Now

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