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Sure 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://explorep

by rkallos 11y ago

Sure 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 ago
I 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 ago
  Here'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.

by rkallos 11y ago

saryant 11y ago

I 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 ago
Here'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.