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White America has tons of people who are destitute and would otherwise be homeless but they happen to have a community with enough wealth to have an extra bedro

White America has tons of people who are destitute and would otherwise be homeless but they happen to have a community with enough wealth to have an extra bedroom for them. Where I come from, there are many white households that have one or more financially dependent, uneducated, unproductive and middle aged children who would, in less affluent neighborhoods which skew black and latino, be destitute on the streets. This problem of malaise, chronic depression, or what have you effects everyone but white families are more able to absorb it. The wealth passed down by their ancestors in their communities propels them through the hardship; whereas those who had their wealth and livelihoods stolen for generations of slavery have had nearly nothing to provide their communities to accommodate these downtrodden from within. How much longer will we go like this until we recognize we need massive wealth transfer?

godshatter 4y ago
> How much longer will we go like this until we recognize we need massive wealth transfer? I know this probably won't go over well here, but... How do you do this in a way that respects the idea of property rights? A lot of wealth is just stuff. Property, houses, cars, etc. Things people simply inherited, through no fault of their own. Some of it is stuff they bought with their own money. Why should it be taken away? "Wealth transfer" sounds a lot like "take from the rich and give to the poor". This doesn't sound in any way fair. I recognize the problem, but the only solutions I can see that are in any way fair are to increase inheritance taxes for everyone, to tax everyone based on their wealth and use that money to help the poor find housing or get a job, or to encourage the wealthy to give some of their money or stuff voluntarily to those less fortunate than themselves. I'm not poor, but I'm no where near wealthy, either. I don't think the large disparity in wealth is great for the country, but I don't like seeing people's rights trampled upon, even with good intentions.
- beej71 4y ago
  > How do you do this in a way that respects the idea of property rights? Sounds like a good question from the French aristocrats. :) Whatever the answer to your question is, the aristocrats say we'd better step on it.
  - marcusverus 4y ago
    In any context other than left-wing politics, this comment would generally be considered to be ghoulish and psychopathic. The contextual distinction is a mirage, of course. It's still ghoulish and psychopathic.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
marcusverus 4y ago
> The wealth passed down by their ancestors in their communities propels them through the hardship; whereas those who had their wealth and livelihoods stolen for generations of slavery have had nearly nothing to provide their communities to accommodate these downtrodden from within. You seem to be suggesting that the black-white wealth gap is the result of some sort of generational wealth transfer, harkening back to the ante-bellum days, but this is not supported by the data. According to the Fed, whites are ~20% more likely to get an inheritance, with the median amount being the same for whites and blacks (85K)[0]. The median inheritance of 85K, applied to 20% of white households can't begin to account for the fact that the median of all white families wealth (at $188K) is 7x that of black families' (at $24K). Further, the white-black wealth gap appears long before folks start receiving inheritances. Most inheritance comes from dying parents, which normally occurs when the heirs are in their ~50s. Even so, among older millennials (who are in their 30s) the median wealth gap is already 83K (7x).[1] [0] https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disparities-in-wealth-by-race-and-ethnicity-in-the-2019-survey-of-consumer-finances-20200928.html https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disp... [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/racial-gap-typical-wealth-black-vs-white-millennials-2021-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/racial-gap-typical-wealth-bl...
- birdyrooster 4y ago
  It's also largely about marriages of families that pass wealth through a community. In talking about the wealth of the community, it includes several ways of wealth transfer other than through an estate. Certainly another large factor are businesses that service black communities that extract wealth and don't reinvest it in the communities. Many many symptoms that all point back to the underlying weakness having been victims of slavery.
specialist 4y ago
> How much longer will we go like this until we recognize we need massive wealth transfer? As you know: We're currently experiencing a generations long transfer of wealth. In the wrong direction. The wealthy aren't going to recognize their parasitic relationship to society, much less forfeit their advantages. "Power concedes nothing without a demand." -- Frederick Douglass

godshatter 4y ago

> How much longer will we go like this until we recognize we need massive wealth transfer? I know this probably won't go over well here, but... How do you do this in a way that respects the idea of property rights? A lot of wealth is just stuff. Property, houses, cars, etc. Things people simply inherited, through no fault of their own. Some of it is stuff they bought with their own money. Why should it be taken away? "Wealth transfer" sounds a lot like "take from the rich and give to the poor". This doesn't sound in any way fair. I recognize the problem, but the only solutions I can see that are in any way fair are to increase inheritance taxes for everyone, to tax everyone based on their wealth and use that money to help the poor find housing or get a job, or to encourage the wealthy to give some of their money or stuff voluntarily to those less fortunate than themselves. I'm not poor, but I'm no where near wealthy, either. I don't think the large disparity in wealth is great for the country, but I don't like seeing people's rights trampled upon, even with good intentions.

beej71 4y ago
> How do you do this in a way that respects the idea of property rights? Sounds like a good question from the French aristocrats. :) Whatever the answer to your question is, the aristocrats say we'd better step on it.
- marcusverus 4y ago
  In any context other than left-wing politics, this comment would generally be considered to be ghoulish and psychopathic. The contextual distinction is a mirage, of course. It's still ghoulish and psychopathic.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

marcusverus 4y ago

> The wealth passed down by their ancestors in their communities propels them through the hardship; whereas those who had their wealth and livelihoods stolen for generations of slavery have had nearly nothing to provide their communities to accommodate these downtrodden from within. You seem to be suggesting that the black-white wealth gap is the result of some sort of generational wealth transfer, harkening back to the ante-bellum days, but this is not supported by the data. According to the Fed, whites are ~20% more likely to get an inheritance, with the median amount being the same for whites and blacks (85K)[0]. The median inheritance of 85K, applied to 20% of white households can't begin to account for the fact that the median of all white families wealth (at $188K) is 7x that of black families' (at $24K). Further, the white-black wealth gap appears long before folks start receiving inheritances. Most inheritance comes from dying parents, which normally occurs when the heirs are in their ~50s. Even so, among older millennials (who are in their 30s) the median wealth gap is already 83K (7x).[1] [0] https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disparities-in-wealth-by-race-and-ethnicity-in-the-2019-survey-of-consumer-finances-20200928.html https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/disp... [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/racial-gap-typical-wealth-black-vs-white-millennials-2021-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/racial-gap-typical-wealth-bl...

birdyrooster 4y ago
It's also largely about marriages of families that pass wealth through a community. In talking about the wealth of the community, it includes several ways of wealth transfer other than through an estate. Certainly another large factor are businesses that service black communities that extract wealth and don't reinvest it in the communities. Many many symptoms that all point back to the underlying weakness having been victims of slavery.

specialist 4y ago

> How much longer will we go like this until we recognize we need massive wealth transfer? As you know: We're currently experiencing a generations long transfer of wealth. In the wrong direction. The wealthy aren't going to recognize their parasitic relationship to society, much less forfeit their advantages. "Power concedes nothing without a demand." -- Frederick Douglass