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America has a much higher proportion of blacks, illegal immigrants and prisoners than the other countries. US blacks in particular are about 12% of the populati

America has a much higher proportion of blacks, illegal immigrants and prisoners than the other countries. US blacks in particular are about 12% of the population and have a median household income about at the lower income boundary [1], which could explain the large lower income group. America is also obviously economically quite productive, perhaps explaining the large upper income group. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States_by_household_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_U...

dismantlethesun 9y ago
If you make a correlation like this one, without explaining any potential causative steps, then everyone will rightly or wrongly assume racism. It's not your fault, but such writing which amounts to pairing black people with something bad, without explanation, is a 'dog whistle' for racists---silently letting them acknowledge each other without being overt. No, it's not enough to say "but black people are poor, thus dragging us all down". One is supposed to not acknowledge race unless it is pertinent, so to many your example is akin to a tautology of "poor people are poor, America has more of them", after the mental erasure of the racially irrelevant text.
- averagewall 9y ago
  It's difficult, yes. I was just looking for explanations and that's what I came up with. Even if I'm wrong, I think it's harmful to understanding to filter out ideas just because they might sound racist. A kind of self-censorship. It's not as simple as poor people are poor. Making it more specific: Black people are poor in both the US and the UK [1]. The US has more black people than the UK. So, ignoring everything else, the US has more poor people than the UK. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/weekly-disposable-household-income-by-ethnicity-tax-years-19941995-to-20122013uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/weekly-disposable... PS. To those who think it's racist to say black people are poor, I'd say they're being elitist by assuming that being poor is bad or being labeled poor is derogatory.
  - sharemywin 9y ago
    ccording to Census figures in 2013, 18.9 million whites are poor. That’s 8 million more poor white people than poor black people, and more than 5 million more than those who identify as Latino. A majority of those benefiting from programs like food stamps and Medicaid are white, too. http://www.theroot.com/hey-media-white-people-are-poor-too-1790899158 http://www.theroot.com/hey-media-white-people-are-poor-too-1...

dismantlethesun 9y ago

If you make a correlation like this one, without explaining any potential causative steps, then everyone will rightly or wrongly assume racism. It's not your fault, but such writing which amounts to pairing black people with something bad, without explanation, is a 'dog whistle' for racists---silently letting them acknowledge each other without being overt. No, it's not enough to say "but black people are poor, thus dragging us all down". One is supposed to not acknowledge race unless it is pertinent, so to many your example is akin to a tautology of "poor people are poor, America has more of them", after the mental erasure of the racially irrelevant text.

averagewall 9y ago
It's difficult, yes. I was just looking for explanations and that's what I came up with. Even if I'm wrong, I think it's harmful to understanding to filter out ideas just because they might sound racist. A kind of self-censorship. It's not as simple as poor people are poor. Making it more specific: Black people are poor in both the US and the UK [1]. The US has more black people than the UK. So, ignoring everything else, the US has more poor people than the UK. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/weekly-disposable-household-income-by-ethnicity-tax-years-19941995-to-20122013uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/weekly-disposable... PS. To those who think it's racist to say black people are poor, I'd say they're being elitist by assuming that being poor is bad or being labeled poor is derogatory.
- sharemywin 9y ago
  ccording to Census figures in 2013, 18.9 million whites are poor. That’s 8 million more poor white people than poor black people, and more than 5 million more than those who identify as Latino. A majority of those benefiting from programs like food stamps and Medicaid are white, too. http://www.theroot.com/hey-media-white-people-are-poor-too-1790899158 http://www.theroot.com/hey-media-white-people-are-poor-too-1...