wealth gap widens between whites and minorities

[JeffreyLebowski]

Original country? Most minorities are originally from the US since they were born here.

This is true. If we used figures such as migrants just off the boat type minorities vs, minorities that have been here generations, you'll see a startling trend. The ones just off the boat so to speak, work hard and try and accel and achieve the American Dream. The ones that have been here for generations have learned to use the system put in place to make the "man" feel better about himself.

 

[BladeVenom]

I would say most people do not consider Jews to be a race.

They are considered a minority.

 

[Infohawk]

They are considered a minority.

A religious minority maybe, but this article is about race.

 

[spidey07]

When you have an entire culture that chastises it's own people for trying to succeed in school, work hard, get a nice career (don't act white, I won't let you act white!!) what did you think the end result was going to be?

Meanwhile, the white family teaches their kids that if you don't go to school or work hard you're life is going to suck and you'll be forever broke.

 

[freegeeks]

I'm actually surprised that the median wealth in the USA is lower then a Belgian household which stands at 156000 euro / household.

http://translate.googleusercontent....65.htm&usg=ALkJrhhqS8lTOJdM3AUiKHy6XbcBYGanTg

http://translate.google.com/transla...ticle/detail.aspx?articleid=GIE394E0P&act=url

Someone can explain that? GDP / capita is significantly higher in the USA, taxes are much lower so you would think that the average US household has a bigger net worth because they can save more

note: google translated link

 

[Engineer]

10 years from now even if my income stays the same and I save no more money than today the wealth from my house alone should be close to $100,000. ($50,000 less owed + $50,000 in appreciation)

And if I came up with a way to save just $5000 a year my wealth could be $200,000 or more in ten years.

You must be expecting one hell of a boom over the next decade to have 50,000 appreciation plus a doubling of the $50,000 you put in there over a 10 year period. It would take a 12.07% return over those 10 years go get that 5,000 per year to $50,000 + $50,000 gain.

 

[Infohawk]

I'm actually surprised that the median wealth in the USA is lower then a Belgian household which stand at 156000 euro / household.
http://translate.googleusercontent....65.htm&usg=ALkJrhhqS8lTOJdM3AUiKHy6XbcBYGanTg

Someone can explain that? GDP / capita is significantly higher in the USA, taxes are lower so you would think that the average US household has a bigger net worth

note: google translated link

I'm very suspicious of your statistics. I've never seen anything that suggested European incomes are that much higher than American ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_per_capita_personal_income

My guess is that you're comparing different types of statistics.

 

[freegeeks]

I'm very suspicious of your statistics. I've never seen anything that suggested European incomes are that much higher than American ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_per_capita_personal_income

My guess is that you're comparing different types of statistics.

That's my point, I suspect that Belgian incomes are lower

my figures are from the National Bank of Belgian (the Belgian Federal Reserve), it's in the link
I'm trying to find out what is calculated in the US statistics

Belgian figures = all financial assets minus debt (including mortgages)

 

[Infohawk]

That's my point, I suspect that they are lower in general

my figures are from the National Bank of Belgian (the Belgian Federal Reserve), it's in the link
I'm trying to find out what is calculated in the US statistics

Belgian figures = all financial assets minus debt (including mortgages)

Yeah from what I've seen it's that European wealth is lower (but we know they have more social services too.) That's a fairly specific statistic that you got there. I'm not sure I've seen something similar elsewhere. It might not exist for the US, but I'm not an expert.

 

[her209]

When you have an entire culture that chastises it's own people for trying to succeed in school, work hard, get a nice career (don't act white, I won't let you act white!!) what did you think the end result was going to be?

Urban youths?

Meanwhile, the white family teaches their kids that if you don't go to school or work hard you're life is going to suck and you'll be forever broke.

But remember, anyone with a higher education degree is automatically an elitist.

 

[Doppel]

When you have an entire culture that chastises it's own people for trying to succeed in school, work hard, get a nice career (don't act white, I won't let you act white!!) what did you think the end result was going to be?

Meanwhile, the white family teaches their kids that if you don't go to school or work hard you're life is going to suck and you'll be forever broke.

Are you saying that blacks are telling their kids not to be white and whites telling theirs not to be black?

Someone can explain that? GDP / capita is significantly higher in the USA, taxes are much lower so you would think that the average US household has a bigger net worth because they can save more

TVs, Cars, baby! Probably some other less-shameful expenditures, too, like housing, education, etc. I'm not sure.

Infohawk, freegeeks said income is higher in the USA, not in Belgium

 

[freegeeks]

Yeah from what I've seen it's that European wealth is lower (but we know they have more social services too.) That's a fairly specific statistic that you got there. I'm not sure I've seen something similar elsewhere. It might not exist for the US, but I'm not an expert.

maybe it has to do with the savings rate of US household, historically these were very low and sometimes even negative, while in Belgium for example, these are very high (so less income but more savings)

 

[Infohawk]

I'm actually surprised that the median wealth in the USA is lower then a Belgian household which stands at 156000 euro / household.

Infohawk, freegeeks said income is higher in the USA, not in Belgium

He did? I must have misunderstood his post then.

 

[Infohawk]

maybe it has to do with the savings rate of US household, historically these were very low and sometimes even negative

I think if the US has more wealth on average its because its a little bit more free of an economy. So total wealth goes up and average wealth goes up but the US has more disparity and less of a safety net. It's a trade-off, right?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I'm actually surprised that the median wealth in the USA is lower then a Belgian household which stands at 156000 euro / household.

http://translate.googleusercontent....65.htm&usg=ALkJrhhqS8lTOJdM3AUiKHy6XbcBYGanTg

http://translate.google.com/transla...ticle/detail.aspx?articleid=GIE394E0P&act=url

Someone can explain that? GDP / capita is significantly higher in the USA, taxes are much lower so you would think that the average US household has a bigger net worth because they can save more

note: google translated link

There is a typo in your first link

As printed it contradicts itself. It says the average belgian family has net assets of 67k euro then says the average family OWNS 153k euros. Looking at the context of the article it should say OWES 153k euros.

which would work out to

Gross assets 220k euros
minus debt -153k euros
net assets 67k euros

 

[freegeeks]

There is a typo in your first link

As printed it contradicts itself. It says the average belgian family has net assets of 67k euro then says the average family OWNS 153k euros. Looking at the context of the article it should say OWES 153k euros.

which would work out to

Gross assets 220k euros
minus debt -153k euros
net assets 67k euros

bad translation by google from Dutch, 67k euro is per person, multiply by 2 equals the 153k euro for a typical household

original link: http://trends.rnews.be/nl/economie/...dan-voor-de-crisis/article-1194779859965.htm#
original Dutch sentence

"De gemiddelde Belg heeft een netto financieel vermogen van 67.200 euro. Het doorsneegezin bezit 156.000 euro."

which translate to:

The average Belgian has a net financial worth of 67.200 euro. The average household owns 156.000 euro

edited for clarity

 

[Ronstang]

I'm actually surprised that the median wealth in the USA is lower then a Belgian household which stands at 156000 euro / household.

How many generations live in the same household in Belgium? Throw in a couple of grandparents and a couple working adult children and it would definitely skew the statistics.

 

[freegeeks]

He did? I must have misunderstood his post then.

yeah, I was not clear, I meant that average net salary is for sure higher in the USA compared with Belgium, corrected in my post

 

[freegeeks]

How many generations live in the same household in Belgium? Throw in a couple of grandparents and a couple working adult children and it would definitely skew the statistics.

the same like the USA I guess, kids leave the house when they start working

I'm still googling how they calculated the US figures, no luck so far, if someone could help me out

 

[kami333]

I think if the US has more wealth on average its because its a little bit more free of an economy. So total wealth goes up and average wealth goes up but the US has more disparity and less of a safety net. It's a trade-off, right?

This is a little old but in 2007 the US median net worth was $120.6k while the mean was $557.8k
http://www.federalreserve.gov/PUBS/oss/oss2/2007/scf2007home.html

 

[Ronstang]

the same like the USA I guess, kids leave the house when they start working

I'm still googling how they calculated the US figures, no luck so far, if someone could help me out

You have to remember too that WWII still has an affect on how people think in Europe. There were very tough decades following the war and many older people are more geared towards saving. It is the same affect the Great Depression had on the US but those generations are dying off and the US experienced very long boom right after the war that lasted for half a century. From my experiences and travels I find Europeans to be more fiscally conservative. The US is full of a bunch of idiotic spendthrifts. I feel like an outlier.

 

[freegeeks]

You have to remember too that WWII still has an affect on how people think in Europe. There were very tough decades following the war and many older people are more geared towards saving. It is the same affect the Great Depression had on the US but those generations are dying off and the US experienced very long boom right after the war that lasted for half a century. From my experiences and travels I find Europeans to be more fiscally conservative. The US is full of a bunch of idiotic spendthrifts. I feel like an outlier.

you could be right, I found some OECD links about household savings rates and Belgian savings rates are at least double or triple compared to the US for the last 3 decades. So while Belgian net incomes are considerably lower, the Belgian household managed to build up a nice net worth. Might be one of the reasons I guess...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4456/is_2002_Dec/ai_98032790/

 

[freegeeks]

in any case some of these figures are just ridiculous, I can not understand how an adult person can only have a net worth of 7k. What the heck are these people doing? Is the collapse of the housing market in the USA so devastating?

 

[kami333]

I'm very suspicious of your statistics. I've never seen anything that suggested European incomes are that much higher than American ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_per_capita_personal_income

My guess is that you're comparing different types of statistics.

Those income numbers are PPP adjusted, while the Belgian median net worth number is not.

<edit>
Non-PPP adjusted median household income for Belgium would be about $24193USD

 

[kami333]

btw, here's the original report and data source if people are interested. Some very interesting stuff that wasn't mentioned.

http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2011/07/SDT-Wealth-Report_7-26-11_FINAL.pdf