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Hillarysworld -> Women's Issues -> "Study Finds Median Wealth For Single Black Women at $5" (The Atlantic, 3/11/10)
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TOPIC: "Study Finds Median Wealth For Single Black Women at $5" (The Atlantic, 3/11/10)
Sanders


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"Study Finds Median Wealth For Single Black Women at $5" (The Atlantic, 3/11/10)
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The Atlantic

"

Study Finds Median Wealth For Single Black Women at $5

Mar 11 2010, 6:53 PM ET

That's the headline for an article that came out in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It's based on this study written by sociologist Mariko Chang. Before I say anymore, I want to emphasize the importance of this study, and the importance of understanding the wealth gap as we try to understand racial disparities. I have seen some really good pieces on the black-white wealth gap (Dalton Conley's book is indispensable) but this is one of the first I've seen focusing on women of color, with a specific emphasis on single women of color. I highly, highly recommend that regulars here read the study.

Do that, and you'll be ahead of almost everyone writing and twittering about the study. For the most part they're reading the Gazette story, which doesn't do the issue justice. The headline--there is no other way to say this--lazily conflates black women with black women age 36-49, while the article itself lazily conflates black women in that age group with all women of color in that age group. The headline announces, presumably, that all single black women are worth $5. The article then qualifies the claim:

Among the most startling revelations in the wealth data is that while single white women in the prime of their working years (ages 36 to 49) have a median wealth of $42,600 (still only 61 percent of their single white male counterparts), the median wealth for single black women is only $5.

This is alarming. But it's also inaccurate. From the study:

Young women ages 18-35, whether white or non-white, are beginning their adult years with a median wealth of zero, meaning that at least half of women in this age group had no wealth or had debts greater than the value of their assets (see Table 3). However, while white women in the prime working years of ages 36-49 have a median wealth of $42,600 (still only 61% of their white male counterparts), the median wealth for women of color is only $5.

This is still really alarming. But obviously, conclusions about women of color--all nonwhite women and Latinas of all races, according to the study-- of a certain age, are very different than conclusions about black women in particular. Professor Chang was kind enough to talk to me this evening and verified that $5 dollar stat applied to women of color as a whole, and not just black women.

I understand the urge to dismiss this as a relatively minor error in a story, and to go to the central core truth--the wealth gap between black women and white women is, sprawling and horrifying. If we forget to dot a few I's while making that point, who cares? The problems with this kind of logic are many. It trades on the credibility of those of us who are legitimately concerned about the issue, in hopes of raising the alarm. But the discerning reader knows that if we'll fudge minor facts for a few page views, why not bigger ones? Teenage pregnancy is a problem. But it doesn't follow that we should then tell teens that sex will kill you.

Second this kind of reporting turns a serious problem into a kind of show which people from all political points of view use to graphically (if erroneously) drive home their point--mainly, it sucks to be a single black woman. Which leads to the third problem, the entire framing fits into a narrative of single black female tragedy that's been everywhere of late.

Continues @ The Atlantic

"

====================================================

Just shocking!  Wonder what that does to their sense of self-worth.. and what other outcomes may result from that.  Of course, if they get pregnant, and we have Stupakistan, forget it!

-- Edited by Sanders on Friday 12th of March 2010 01:13:39 PM

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They want to talk about the high incararation numbers among men then perhaps they can advocate getting rid of the Rockerfeller law as well as all the three strike laws.
I don't know if I would trust those numbers.  Where did they find enough hispanic women to participate in a study in Pittsburgh.  They would have been only able to get black and Asian women.
Very interesting article


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I'd think there is some hispanic population there!  Any of these cities.. we have some hispanics in our small town too.

What worries me is if the HCR goes thru with Stupak amendment, these people will be left without any means by which to terminate unwanted/untimely pregnancies. Let's face it, it is near impossible for the girls to get married with abstinence dating anymore.  Of course, they cannot afford proactive birth control with that level of income without good health care coverage. 

That article gave me a lot to think about.


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I read tht 7.8% of our population (300 m) are millionairs, meaning 23/24 million people are
millionairs. What percentage of these figures are women? I don't know, but I would say
many inherited the family wealth. Then you might want to look at the how many have
higher educational degrees? Many women are in and out of the job markets. I can't believe
the stat of $5 value for any woman, that's insane.

Last night I watched the movie Precious................and why I would be thinking to myself
that here black women/girls are worth $5, and Oprah spent 145 million to make the movie.
Damn something's wrong with the picture.


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There are two things to note about that report.

The AVERAGE is in the $40k range.

The MEDIUN (is the middle person when you put all of them in the lowest to highest order) has only $5 in their pocket.. So, there are a LOT with nothing.

The way I interpet this is there are MANY single women adults [per article linked in there, ages 36 to 49 which is prime working age group] likely without jobs, no shared bank account and completely dependent on someone else for their life.

It is an extremely sad state of affairs.

Statistics reports like this cannot be fudged. It is from a respectable source.. and also pulished in the Pittsburg Post Gazette.

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Sanders wrote:

I'd think there is some hispanic population there!  Any of these cities.. we have some hispanics in our small town too.

What worries me is if the HCR goes thru with Stupak amendment, these people will be left without any means by which to terminate unwanted/untimely pregnancies. Let's face it, it is near impossible for the girls to get married with abstinence dating anymore.  Of course, they cannot afford proactive birth control with that level of income without good health care coverage. 


We really do not have ANY Hispanics here period. There are more Asians here then Hispanics.  There can never be any credible study done in Pittsburgh when they need to look at Hispanics.
I don't care about other cities but in Pittsburgh there is no Hispanic population My poor brother in law will testify that he is all alone practically. 

That article gave me a lot to think about.



 



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Hillarysmygirl16 wrote:
We really do not have ANY Hispanics here period. There are more Asians here then Hispanics.  There can never be any credible study done in Pittsburgh when they need to look at Hispanics.

I don't care about other cities but in Pittsburgh there is no Hispanic population My poor brother in law will testify that he is all alone practically.

Interesting. How do they come up with surveys if they cannot get a minimum of 30 participants in each category?!  Otherwise it is an invalid survey.

 



-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 14th of March 2010 01:08:03 PM

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