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This isn't a proposal for reparations or for producing precisely equal outcomes. This is a series of proposals that would go a long way to narrowing the persistent wealth gap that exists between Black & White Americans.
These proposals are mostly not race specific or targeted. Rather they are targeted or means tested to all U.S. citizens based on income which would disproportionately help Blacks but it would also help low income households from all backgrounds build wealth.
The median household wealth in the U.S. for Whites is roughly $170,000 vs. $17,000 for Blacks (2016 dollars).
That has to change.
No, it doesn't. It's a function of biological differences. It is morally wrong to confiscate and redistribute wealth. Sorry.
Health insurance has nothing to do with Black or white. So this has nothing to do with improving specifically Blacks' lives. It does seem to be a typical politician maneuver though - like requiring that all HI policies cover pregnancy. Throw out 3 relevant items and then "Oh well, since we're here, why don't we toss this really big thing in there too!".
I agree that it shouldn't have anything to do with race but a higher percentage of blacks are uninsured than whites.
The proposal I referenced is race neutral, provides universal coverage and preserves a private market place for health insurance. I thought some conservatives MIGHT endorse some of these principles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal
"Health care" is 1/6 of the US economy and cannot be discussed as but a small portion in tandem with other topics.
This is about all we'll agree on: health care reform is a thread unto itself. That said, I reluctantly included it because of its role in leading to personal bankruptcy, etc.
Just handing out money isn’t the answer. Helping people support themselves is the way to go. It’s the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish.
Also, given that there are plenty of middle-class blacks who don’t need extra help and plenty of poor whites who do, let’s approach this from need-based rather than race-based.
Rachel: I know you can read so please go back and READ my entire original post: I clearly stated these programs are means tested by INCOME not race.
Again, these programs are NOT hand outs. They absolutely could and should be designed to promote self sufficiency.
The EITC is explicitly about rewarding work....only low wage workers qualify.
Baby bonds would be designated for specific uses like tuition, vocational training or if for homewownership the recipients would need to show financial literacy, have good credit and an ability to pay a mortgage.
This isn't a proposal for reparations or for producing precisely equal outcomes. This is a series of proposals that would go a long way to narrowing the persistent wealth gap that exists between Black & White Americans.
These proposals are mostly not race specific or targeted. Rather they are targeted or means tested to all U.S. citizens based on income which would disproportionately help Blacks but it would also help low income households from all backgrounds build wealth.
The median household wealth in the U.S. for Whites is roughly $170,000 vs. $17,000 for Blacks (2016 dollars).
That has to change. We can't look at ourselves as Americans and think that is ok. This isn't about tearing down one group to build up another. This is about building wealth for Black households (and others) which will not only helps Black households but makes our overall economy more productive.
1. Baby Bonds: The U.S. government would give all children below a certain income born in the U.S. with a $1,000 savings account. Each year, the government would automatically deposit up to another $2,000 into that account, depending on family income. People would not be able to dig into the funds until they hit 18, and the uses of the money would generally be limited to paying for college, vocational training, buying a house and saving for retirement. The U.S. Treasury Department would manage the accounts.
2. Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The EITC is a program is an existing refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples that boosts the paychecks for working people. This should be expanded/increased so their is more take home pay for those working at or near the bottom.
3. Increase Black Homeownership: There remains a large gap in homeownership rates between Blacks and Whites. Homeownership (and equity) is the ticket to the American middle class. The Urban Institute has a five point plan for increasing black homeownership.
4. Pass significant Health Care Reform based on the "Healthy Americans Act" which was legislation co-sponsored in 2009 by Ron Wyden (D) and Robert Bennett (R).
The Healthy Americans Act would transition away from employer-provided health insurance to having individuals/households choose their health care plan from state-approved private insurers. The act provides every American citizen (and legal resident) with a voucher to purchase a health plan providing a minimum set of care. The voucher or plan would be paid for on a sliding scale basis based on income. There would be no pre-existing conditions. Last but not least, by guaranteeing health insurance to all Americans the act would prevent households from having to go into bankruptcy due to a health crisis.
None of that is going to help blacks overall, it will help whites and Asians though.
Blacks overall, are poor with money, financial planning, and careers in general, and many take this as a cultural pride to rally around, the Smithsonian itself even stated these things are a "white" thing to do.
This isn't a proposal for reparations or for producing precisely equal outcomes. This is a series of proposals that would go a long way to narrowing the persistent wealth gap that exists between Black & White Americans.
These proposals are mostly not race specific or targeted. Rather they are targeted or means tested to all U.S. citizens based on income which would disproportionately help Blacks but it would also help low income households from all backgrounds build wealth.
The median household wealth in the U.S. for Whites is roughly $170,000 vs. $17,000 for Blacks (2016 dollars).
That has to change. We can't look at ourselves as Americans and think that is ok. This isn't about tearing down one group to build up another. This is about building wealth for Black households (and others) which will not only helps Black households but makes our overall economy more productive.
1. Baby Bonds: The U.S. government would give all children below a certain income born in the U.S. with a $1,000 savings account. Each year, the government would automatically deposit up to another $2,000 into that account, depending on family income. People would not be able to dig into the funds until they hit 18, and the uses of the money would generally be limited to paying for college, vocational training, buying a house and saving for retirement. The U.S. Treasury Department would manage the accounts.
2. Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The EITC is a program is an existing refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples that boosts the paychecks for working people. This should be expanded/increased so their is more take home pay for those working at or near the bottom.
3. Increase Black Homeownership: There remains a large gap in homeownership rates between Blacks and Whites. Homeownership (and equity) is the ticket to the American middle class. The Urban Institute has a five point plan for increasing black homeownership.
4. Pass significant Health Care Reform based on the "Healthy Americans Act" which was legislation co-sponsored in 2009 by Ron Wyden (D) and Robert Bennett (R).
The Healthy Americans Act would transition away from employer-provided health insurance to having individuals/households choose their health care plan from state-approved private insurers. The act provides every American citizen (and legal resident) with a voucher to purchase a health plan providing a minimum set of care. The voucher or plan would be paid for on a sliding scale basis based on income. There would be no pre-existing conditions. Last but not least, by guaranteeing health insurance to all Americans the act would prevent households from having to go into bankruptcy due to a health crisis.
The last time we tried to increase Black homeownership it lead to the Great Depression and a vast decrease in the wealth of all middle and lower middle income families.
it is MEDIAN household WEALTH (all assets - all liabilities)....
which takes us to home ownership, since home equity is, on average, the largest "wealth" households have.
But first, we must understand what is a "household" and who are these households. Pew seems to provide good info, and it's much easier to find that the USCensus (but hey, link away)
In 1960, 74% of whites and 60% of black households were married. Both #'s have dropped, but the whites to 55% (by 26%) but blacks to a mere 31% (basically 50% what they were).
That would seem to me to a pretty important stat.
Especially when we know that married households have an average of 3.2 people but never married households have an average of 3.1 people.
All of this becomes yet even more obvious/interesting/concerning when we get to births.
In 1970, 6% of white births were to unmarried women. Now, 29% are.
In 1970, 38% of black births were to unmarried women but now 72% of them are.
Three out of every four black children are born to a single mother. A single earner.
A single earner with 1 mouth to feed has a much greater chance of saving money to buy a home and build wealth than a single earner with 2 or more mouths to feed.
the median income of single female first time homebuyers is $58K
While down over 40 years from 73%, 61% of homes are bought by married couples. Single female is next, at 17% (up from 11% in 1980) Unmarried couples are up a bit - from 6% to 9% of buyers.
And of the single female buyers, almost 1/2 had owned a home before (which would seem to correlate to the drop in married couples buying, as well as the drop in marriage rate for white people).
So really, before we go any further in "black home ownership", we need to know - what is the income and age makeup of the households that are "never married but 3 occupants" of the 75% of black children born to single moms.
IOW, if most of the black households are single never-married moms with an avg of 2 kids ... how are they going to ever "break the cycle" and earn enough while caring for multiple children to afford a home?
And really the most important - why aren't black people getting married, especially when kids are involved?
And that's an answer that only Black people can give us.
Every ethnic group is heading that way. Just because Blacks have the biggest problem doesn't mean its a "Black" problem.
This isn't a proposal for reparations or for producing precisely equal outcomes. This is a series of proposals that would go a long way to narrowing the persistent wealth gap that exists between Black & White Americans.
These proposals are mostly not race specific or targeted. Rather they are targeted or means tested to all U.S. citizens based on income which would disproportionately help Blacks but it would also help low income households from all backgrounds build wealth.
The median household wealth in the U.S. for Whites is roughly $170,000 vs. $17,000 for Blacks (2016 dollars).
That has to change. We can't look at ourselves as Americans and think that is ok. This isn't about tearing down one group to build up another. This is about building wealth for Black households (and others) which will not only helps Black households but makes our overall economy more productive.
1. Baby Bonds: The U.S. government would give all children below a certain income born in the U.S. with a $1,000 savings account. Each year, the government would automatically deposit up to another $2,000 into that account, depending on family income. People would not be able to dig into the funds until they hit 18, and the uses of the money would generally be limited to paying for college, vocational training, buying a house and saving for retirement. The U.S. Treasury Department would manage the accounts.
2. Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The EITC is a program is an existing refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples that boosts the paychecks for working people. This should be expanded/increased so their is more take home pay for those working at or near the bottom.
3. Increase Black Homeownership: There remains a large gap in homeownership rates between Blacks and Whites. Homeownership (and equity) is the ticket to the American middle class. The Urban Institute has a five point plan for increasing black homeownership.
4. Pass significant Health Care Reform based on the "Healthy Americans Act" which was legislation co-sponsored in 2009 by Ron Wyden (D) and Robert Bennett (R).
The Healthy Americans Act would transition away from employer-provided health insurance to having individuals/households choose their health care plan from state-approved private insurers. The act provides every American citizen (and legal resident) with a voucher to purchase a health plan providing a minimum set of care. The voucher or plan would be paid for on a sliding scale basis based on income. There would be no pre-existing conditions. Last but not least, by guaranteeing health insurance to all Americans the act would prevent households from having to go into bankruptcy due to a health crisis.
Just curious, Is the reason white people have a larger per-household wealth ratio than black people the same reason the Smithsonian wants to call delayed gratification a vestige of whiteness?
I agree that it shouldn't have anything to do with race but a higher percentage of blacks are uninsured than whites.
The proposal I referenced is race neutral, provides universal coverage and preserves a private market place for health insurance. I thought some conservatives MIGHT endorse some of these principles.
This is about all we'll agree on: health care reform is a thread unto itself. That said, I reluctantly included it because of its role in leading to personal bankruptcy, etc.
well, it's about supposedly narrowing the gap in wealth. So ponder for us WHY blacks have health insurance at rates lower than whites.
Blacks make up 13% of population but 21% of Medicaid recipients.
Quote:
Beginning in 2017, and continuing in 2018, coverage gains stalled and began reversing for some groups, with small but statistically significant increases in the uninsured rates for Whites and Blacks, which rose from 7.1% to 7.5% and from 10.7% to 11.5% respectively.
So 7.5% of whites are uninsured and 11.5% of Blacks. Of course, when the ACA made HI "free" for the low income (be it Medicaid expansion to cover more low income or be it vouchers), Black uninsured went from 19.9 to 10.7%.
How about we adopt a policy of rejecting ALL socialist shakedowns that are predicated on the false issue of racism?
I would be for that.
There is no evidence that any socialist measures have significantly helped any Black community do better. It's been tried in small and large ways many times before. It always fails.
Then, memory erase!
The socialists return, like nothing ever happened, with new racist extortion attempts.
How about, first, we see the cultural rejection of ebonics, violent crime, drugs, single parenthood, violent culture, and a cultural adoption of the value of acheivement through hard work, beginning in kindergarten and extending through University graduation, and then we can talk about whether or not money and other racial rent is warranted.
Until then the fundamental work isn't being engtged in by the Black community, and throwing money at these communities is like throwing it down a hole.
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