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This reminds me of an unfortunate part of history. When Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill in 1944, a lot of soldiers who returned from the war were able to claim
by rkallos 11y ago
This reminds me of an unfortunate part of history.
When Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill in 1944, a lot of soldiers who returned from the war were able to claim benefits in the form of tuition assistance, low-cost mortgages and low-interest loans. Soldiers coming home from overseas had the choice of pursuing higher education, purchasing a home, or starting a business. Another result of the G.I. Bill were Levittowns, newly sprouting suburban neighborhoods offering low-cost housing to these returned soldiers ($8,000 in 1950, approximately $80,000 in 2015). With the help of the expanding auto industry and the joining of highways, people began to move out into the suburbs and build new communities.
The unfortunate bit is that while the G.I. Bill didn't advocate discrimination, it was interpreted differently for people according to their race. For example; of the 67,000 mortgages insured by the G.I. Bill, fewer than 100 were taken out by non-whites.
Now, the heavily-inflated value (example; houses in Levittown, NY are selling for approximately $350,000) of these post-WWII homes are passed down and borrowed against or leveraged to send the grandchildren of those veterans to private schools and expensive universities, while many black families struggle financially in urban sectors. The racial discrimination of WWII veterans has been cited as a reason for the increased economic inequality and racial tensions being experienced today in the United States.
- saryant 11y agoDo you have any proof to back up your assertions? As the grandson of a WWII veteran, they ring awfully hollow to me. I assure you we did not live high off the inheritance of his mobile home when he passed on.
- rkallos 11y agoSure thing. The $8,000 figure for the Levitt & Sons housing can be seen on this ad: http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-16F7 http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-16F7 The $80,000 figure was from http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=8000&year=1950 http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=80... . I can't vouch for its accuracy, though. Current prices for ranch-style homes in Levittown, PA: http://www.trulia.com/PA/Levittown/ http://www.trulia.com/PA/Levittown/ 67,000 mortgages insured, fewer than 100 to non-whites: A book citation from Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_and_the_G.I._Bill#cite_note-2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_and_the_G.I.... I didn't really explain why this figure is so astonishing, though. According to http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/AfrAmer.html http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/AfrAmer.html black people comprised around 8-9% of the US military. With that figure in mind, an expected number of G.I. Bill insured loans to black veterans should be around 5,300, not under 100. Someone's master's thesis on how the Post-WWII G.I. Bill has shaped modern homeownership: http://www.academia.edu/8352751/The_Homeownership_Gap_How_the_Post-World_War_II_GI_Bill_Shaped_Modern_Day_Homeownership_Patterns_for_Black_and_White_Americans http://www.academia.edu/8352751/The_Homeownership_Gap_How_th...
- saryant 11y agoI don't dispute your inflation figures. But I do find fault with your conclusion. Where is the proof that the children and grandchildren of WWII vets are living these upper class lives of private schools and expensive universities?
- rkallos 11y agoHere's a selection starting from Page 75 of the above-linked Master's Thesis, along with her citations for the statements. P.76: "Homeownership has numerous positive effects on children" -> Dietz and Haurin 2003 P.77: "homeowners can borrow against their equity at favorable interest rates in order to make investment opportunities that require substantial amounts of money, such as home improvements, education, business ventures, or additional properties, all investments that might provide considerable future returns." -> Zhu Xiao Di, "The Role of Housing as a Component of Household Wealth" "[life cycle wealth accumulation] is also largely determined by parental net worth, which has been shown to be the most important predictor of wealth in young adults, even over income, savings or investments" -> Conley 1999, p. 50 P.78: Mean lifetime inheritance for white baby-boomers: $125,000. Mean lifetime inheritance for black baby-boomers: $16,000. (according to the value of the dollar in 2000) P.79: "Transformative assets are those gifts provided by parents to adult children that allow them to maintain a class status that might otherwise be out of reach. These include the payment of private school and college tuition, tutoring and extracurricular lessons for grandchildren, gifts of big-ticket items like appliances and furniture." -> Shapiro 2004, P. 10 Naturally, not all veterans' families share the same story. However, I think it is hard to argue against the immense advantage of being a homeowner on accumulating and protecting wealth, and that this opportunity was unfortunately denied to a large number of black veterans.