The U.S. Census data shows that the wealth gap between the American
The U.S. Census data shows that the wealth gap between the American whites and the minorities is becoming wider. In 2009, the median wealth of a white U.S. household was $113,149. The median wealth of a black household was $5,677, and for the Hispanics was $6,325. The difference between the wealth of the whites and the two biggest minority groups, the blacks and the Hispanics, is about 20 times. In 1995, the difference was seven times. In less than fifteen years, the gap has grown three times.
The Asian Americans also lost their top spot and have fallen to the second place behind the whites. The median wealth of the Asian household has fallen from $168, 103 in 2005 to $78,066. This is primarily due to the fall in the real estate prices in states such as California.
The economic crisis and the resultant unemployment have hit the blacks and the Hispanics much worse than the whites. The figures also show that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening further. About 35% of the blacks and about 31% of the Hispanics had either zero or negative net worths in 2009 compared to 15% of the white households.
The top 10% of the population’s share of the total American wealth has increased from 49% in 2005 to 56% in 2009. About 24% of the black and Hispanic households had no assets other than a car in 2009 compared to 6% of the white population in a similar situation.
Between 2005 and 2009, the median net worth of the Hispanic households dropped 66%, the blacks 53%, and the whites 16%. Hispanics comprise about 16% of the population and the blacks comprise about 12% of the population of the U.S. The Hispanic population continues to grow and has become the largest minority group. The states with large Hispanic populations such as California, Nevada, and Arizona lost the real estate value more than the other states.
The rising racism and deepening economic crisis have created a vicious cycle in which the minorities are trapped. I have been writing about this sorry state of affairs for the last several months. The deepening economic crisis makes racial prejudice and discrimination worse. A large number of whites blame the minorities for the deepening economic crisis. They have developed very negative feelings about multiculturalism and the immigrants. This will continue to increase the racial tensions and may eventually lead to a race war in the U.S.