White households out-earning minority counterparts

Since the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting data by race some 30 years ago, there has never been a larger gulf of difference in regard to household wealth among America’s ethnicities and races as there is now. According to new research from the Pew Foundation, white households have a net worth 20 times larger than African-American households and 18 times that of Hispanic households. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu finds the statistics “increasingly alarming” and is hosting a roundtable discussion on the topic this week on Capitol Hill. Rep. Cedric Richmond, the only other Democrat representing Louisiana and a fellow New Orleans native, is expected to take part as well. Landrieu chairs the Senate Small Business Committee and has already held four previous hearings to address the needs of minority business owners. “To find solutions, we must continue to evaluate and examine the role minority-owned businesses can play in creating jobs and closing the wealth gap,” Landrieu says. “The roundtable will build on our previous work, formulating how Congress and minority small businesses can work together to close and eventually erase the wealth gap identified by the Pew Research Center, NAACP and other economists.” The panel of experts being assembled for the roundtable will consist of researchers and leaders in government and business who will review the 2011 Pew Research Center Study entitled “Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics” and discuss the factors contributing to the ever-widening gap. “Minority-owned small businesses not only generate wealth for the owners, but also create jobs for the often not hired—racial and ethnic minorities and ex-offenders,” Richmond said. “We have a unique opportunity to reduce America’s unemployment rate across all races and close the wealth gap by investing in these firms.” The roundtable has been scheduled to help jump-start the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 41st annual legislative conference this weekend. —Jeremy Alford