The US tends to turn a blind eye to class, but it is getting harder not to see our class divisions, in a country where 28 million are on unemployment insurance and more than 30 million are in danger of losing their homes, even as the stock market reaches record highs and billionaires’ wealth grows. There have been a lot of myths we've been told about the economy. The three stories here try to pierce some of them. The first article looks at how class inequality has led to widening racial wage gaps not seen since 1950. The second article looks at how, amid COVID, inequality in the US is getting worse, not better—at record speed. The third item, a webinar, looks at how frontline housing activists are addressing these challenges in real time. (A second free webinar next Tuesday, September 1, will continue this discussion). The battle for a more just economic order, in short, is ongoing, and we will continue to feature not just stories about the challenges, but also the many emerging creative solutions to reduce our class divide.
In June, David Leonhardt in the New York Times noted that “the black-white wage gap is roughly as large today as it was in 1950.” One driver of this is that a huge number—a third of Black men ages 25-54—remain outside the formal labor force. But, bottom line, in 1950, the average working-age Black man earned 51 cents on the dollar to what a white male worker earned. In 2014, the ratio was exactly the same.
That’s astonishing, even if the wage gap’s persistence is well known. The nation also has a widening racial wealth gap. If current trends continue, the median wealth of a Black family will be zero by 2053—with Latinx family median wealth also zero by 2073.
Back in May, we ran an article in NPQ that noted that “discussion has abounded as to whether the economic recovery might take the shape of a V (quick recovery), U (long recession), L (very long recession or depression), or W (double-dip recession).”
Now, five months later, it appears that the economic “recovery”—such as it is—matches none of these letters. Instead, reports Heather Long in the Washington Post, economists have started to label our economic path a “K-shaped” recovery, so called because of the “diverging prospects for the rich and poor.” The upward sloping part of the “K” represents improving fortunes for the well-to-do; the downward sloping part represents the fortunes of near everyone else.
The COVID pandemic has highlighted just how much our entire housing system is dependent on rent—rent that many people couldn’t afford even before the pandemic. But a housing justice movement has also gained ground. We’ve seen a national movement arise—and unprecedented housing policy breakthroughs.
NPQ's Leading Edge Membership program Become a Leading Edge Member to take advantage of all upcoming and past webinar series, gain access to 20 years of archived educational content and a digital subscription to the Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine.
