Median Household Wealth For Black Families In Boston Is $8

Median Household Wealth For Black Families In Boston Is $8

In the city of Boston, the median wealth of Black families amounted to just $8, according to a report issued by the Boston Federal Reserve. The calculation to come up with this figure was quite straightforward. Surveys were issued to communities to gather information about the assets that people owned, and the liabilities that they had.

Assets could include checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. Liabilities included mortgages, student loans, medical debt, vehicle debt, among other forms of debt.

When the liabilities are subtracted from the assets, the median wealth for black households in Boston was calculated at $8. For white families, the median wealth figure came out to $247,500. As we can see from the data, there is a massive discrepancy in wealth based on race. In a purportedly progressive city with the idealist values of diversity and inclusivity, we still see mediocre results in terms of actual equity of wealth.

Under the capitalist economic system, it is impossible for communities of color to achieve equality. The capitalist class by necessity divides the working class on the basis of race. The bourgeois class deliberately bribes a stratum of the working class by giving these workers access to stocks, bonds, and various other forms of investments and property. As we can see from the data, the bribed labor aristocracy is predominantly white.

Even according to this bourgeois source, white families in Boston are more likely to own every single type of asset. This means that white families have access to credit to purchase property and sufficient incomes to invest in financial assets.

Private employers and state institutions are responsible for hiring workers and providing incomes, whereas banks and lending institutions provide access to credit. Therefore, the issue of disparate inequality is systematically rooted in the class-nature of capitalism.

The bourgeois class, due to their relatively small size when compared to the working class, is required to bribe a portion of workers. This is done to align the interest of some workers to the interests of the capitalists. It is quite evident from the data that this unequal division of wealth can be done on the basis of race.

The bourgeois class can then use the racial tension and animosity between white and non-white workers to further fracture the working class. The capitalist class will be successful in their attempt to divide the working class only to the extent that workers are not conscious of their chicanery.

https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/color-of-wealth.aspx