RE: Jordan Peterson Proves White Privilege Exists
There was an interesting study published recently that followed 20 million U.S. children born between 1978-1983 using census data and found that after controlling for all other factors, in 99% of U.S. neighborhoods, black boys earn less in adulthood than white boys who grew up in families with the same income.
Black boys born to wealthy families were also much less likely to be wealthy in adulthood than white boys born to wealthy families.
Black children born to parents in the top income quintile are almost as likely to fall to the bottom quintile as they are to remain in the top quintile. By contrast, white children born in the top quintile are nearly five times as likely to stay there as they are to fall to the bottom.
The implication is that the only remaining factor accounting for these disparities is institutionalized, systematic racism.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html
I read this same article and it brings up some interesting stats but really seemed to lack insights into spending behaviors and financial education of future generations. My father made a determined effort to educate my brother and I on basic financial concepts, such as interest, debt, stocks & bonds, dividends, savings accounts, etc. He gave us each a ton of books and by far the best one was The Millionaire Next Door.
My father handles a lot of family trusts and estate planning. Many blue collar families, such as electricians and plumbers. These families made MILLIONS over their lives and were passing a ton on to their kids. The biggest issue was how the kids would use/treat the money when they inherited it. Most admitted they didn't do much to educate their kids of the value/use of money and my father advised the families to set up trusts so the money would be dispersed over time, helping to prevent them from blowing it all quickly.
I think a lot of the issues stem from cultural taboos around openly talking about money and investing. People that grow up thinking that discussing finances is rude are typically less financially savvy. This could be a major issue in how wealth and status transfers down through families and it shows by how the kids view money.
While I agree that the article didn't really elaborate on spending behaviors, it seems that the wage gap affected black women to a much lesser extent than black men. I would assume that if the difference was mainly caused by attitudes in your family toward money during youth that it would have affected black men and women equally. However, I admit that I have only skimmed the full report...it's rather long.
That part of our culture is common though, so it wouldn't necessarily lead to the observed racial disparity.
We really do need to do a better job of financial education though, especially as jobs become more rare I think one of the few paths forward is for people to seek out residual income from investments so they can clear out of the job market.
Sadly, I think there are issues with how cultures spend money. Status symbols are a killer of wealth, but the perceived value of letting people know you are well off is important in many communities. Think about the need to own a certain brand of car, to wear a certain brand of clothes, to wear lots of jewelry and gold. These items don't appreciate in value (with the exception of gold... but that's a whole different story).
The article fails to address the issues with how disposable income is spent among income classes. Mass media and marketing have done an excellent job making people feel like luxuries are essential to be happy.... when all they do is provide temporary bliss in exchange for a less secure future.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/low-income-families-spend-40-of-their-money-on-luxuries-2017-06-28
Interesting, and somehow unsurprising. I'll probably use this when I write my own take on the subject... it actually fits perfectly with what I was thinking!