Recently, a 54-year-old multi-issue research center, The Institute of Policy Studies https://ips-dc.org/ and Prosperity Now https://prosperitynow.org/ conducted two decades of path-breaking research on inequality. In the 65-page report, “The Road to Zero Wealth – How the racial wealth divide is hallowing out America’s middle class” https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Road-to-Zero-Wealth_FINAL.pdf, the two agencies analyze the racial wealth divide at the median over the next 4-8 years. If nothing is done and without serious changes being made to trend courses, the county is heading towards a racial and economic apartheid.

It can be said and even proved; within every problem lies the solution which most often is the opposite of the problem. In other words, since poverty manifested in society, the solution to it has always been “the ability to accumulate wealth”; however, for decades economist, the government and other countless agencies provide non-wealth building solutions. Talks about increasing the minimum wage is good; however, this place focus on “income” instead of “wealth”. There is a huge difference between the two; economically speaking, wealth is defined as the net worth of an individual’s assets minus all liabilities – it represents what a person owns. In contrast, income is what a person earns from the inflow of cash; overtime and if properly managed, income can generate wealth.

Because the study focuses on wealth, it brings to light the overall impact of trends from the past three decades and the impact on African Americans if these trends are not properly addressed and acted on today.

By 2020

If current long-term trends continue, Black households (at the median) are on track to see their wealth decline by an estimated 5% from where it stood in 2016; at the same time, median White and Latino household wealth would increase by an estimated 4-6%, respectively.

By 2024

Current long-term trends suggest that median Black household wealth will decline by an estimated total of about 10% from where it stood in 2016; at the same time, median Latino and White household wealth would increase by an estimated 8-12%, respectively.

By 2049

If these trends continue to repeat, by 2049 median Black household wealth would decrease by $1,704 while median Latino wealth would increase by $3,278. Median White household wealth would increase by $46,112.

Shocking Statistics on Black Households - The Road to ZERO Wealth