Cyrillic Partners

The income gap between black households and white households has widened over the past 30 years according to a recent study by the Brookings Institute, covered by the AP. The key statistic is below, from the AP story:

In 2004, a typical black family had an income that was only 58 percent of a typical white family’s. In 1974, median black incomes were 63 percent those of whites.

What’s driving this change? The empowerment of white women, whose salaries have increased an average of five-fold during the time period. White men didn’t improve their incomes significantly. Black men lost ground, but black women made up for the loss, the study says. You can download the study and come to your own conclusions from this site.

It’s important for policy makers to keep an eye on earnings disparities. All groups must be treated equitably and a widening income gap may suggest that there are government policies keeping people from reaching their full earning potential. It’s something to be mindful of.

(Thanks to the Mr.BrownShow for the image).

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