Income Disparity in Chicago Second Worst in the Nation (Jacksonville: middle-class, fit in)

[eevee]

MaryMary2012, you complain that no one else is giving you answers, but I ask you, what sort of small businesses should blacks invest in that will not only help decrease the earning gap but also make a long lasting impact in the community. Corner stores and hair braiding salons don't count. Honestly I think the days of people creating small businesses like Walmart that grow into real money makers are almost over. Becoming an entrepreneur by opening up a little store in the hood is much harder and unlikely.

You brought up blackgirltravel.com. Would the founder of that site have been as successful if she'd open up a travel agency in Englewood or Woodlawn? The internet is a major game changer and some of the newest young entrepreneurs are those who took advantage of the national/global impact of the web. Look at Carol's Daughter or Miss Jessie's, successful black businesses that used the wed to their advantage and likely wouldn't have become as successful if they had open up store fronts in crime ridden black neighborhoods (heck, Miss Jessie's salon is in SoHo, not really a "black neighborhood"). I'm honestly not sure what sort of brick-and-mortar business could be established in different black communities that would be the panacea you seem to think black owned businesses are.

Education is a key factor here. It needs to be a factor from the word "go", from grade school up, otherwise you have large segments of the black community who only are not ready to for college and able to use that education to their advantage (or who go to iffy colleges like for-profits which prey on the low income community), but who also fall back on more negative behaviors like joining gangs, selling drugs, and having children at a young age. Small, black owned businesses aren't going to make much of an impact on that income disparity, especially if the education and money (gained in part through education) aren't there.

ETA: Also forgot that the "black brain drain" could also be an issue at play here. How many educated blacks have moved away from Chicago to the South/Southwest? How many stay in Chicago's black majority neighborhoods vs. how many leave for other black majority area in places like Atlanta? What's the incentive for educated blacks to stay and invest in Chicago?

[gomexico]

The article the OP sought-out and posted for discussion ... is 16 months old (and the statistics are from 2009). The statistics are irrelevant. Much of what is being cited in the discussion are apples to oranges comparisons.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by gomexico

The article the OP sought-out and posted for discussion ... is 16 months old (and the statistics are from 2009). The statistics are irrelevant. Much of what is being cited in the discussion are apples to oranges comparisons.

LOL! Do you really think that much has changed in the past 16 months?

[Attrill]

This:

Originally Posted by 55degrees

Lot of discussion here about businesses, but the really successful minorities in this country become that way through education that leads them to a stable career.

And this:

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

And even if someone wants to start a business, which I think is great if it's something someone really believes in, it's 1000x easier when you have the education and skills to be able to do it right. My grandfather built a very profitable A/C business and he only had an 8th grade education, but I feel like nowadays with the increasing complexity of business laws, accounting, etc. having a good education is increasingly necessary to actually be able to run a business effectively and efficiently. Therefore, I think for the problem with income disparity, small businesses is a great part of the solution, but I think it starts with giving those people the tools necessary to make their business profitable (i.e. education)

Education is the key. The vast majority of people who start their own business not only have a college degree, but they have also spent awhile working in the industry they are starting a business in. Working for an established company for awhile after graduation gives someone the experience they need to run a business, as well as offering them an opportunity to amass the capital needed to start a new business.

[urza216]

There are a number of black people with money living in the south suburbs. White people get lakefront condos in Lincoln Park but black people get paid and flee the city. This is why Chicago's black population has decreased so much in th past ten years.

I bet you the Chicago MSA tells a different story.

[cdubs3201]

They aren't factoring in how much people make from welfare. That evens it out quite a bit since it's free and unearned money.

[Aleking]

Originally Posted by cdubs3201

They aren't factoring in how much people make from welfare. That evens it out quite a bit since it's free and unearned money.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by cdubs3201

They aren't factoring in how much people make from welfare. That evens it out quite a bit since it's free and unearned money.

I'm sure that the folks on welfare are raking in the dough.

[Ace Rothstein]

Some people on welfare have been able to game the system.

They get subsidized housing, free food with their link card, free health care and free mobile phones. Then they work a cash job and live a pretty decent life for being "poor".

[Aleking]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

Some people on welfare have been able to game the system.

They get subsidized housing, free food with their link card, free health care and free mobile phones. Then they work a cash job and live a pretty decent life for being "poor".