TEN SOLUTIONS TO BRIDGE THE RACIAL WEALTH DIVIDE

I have had the privilege of meeting Chuck Collins ― with whom it turns out that we share some commonalities and shared experiences within our Michigan roots and certainly also in our values ― and I admire Chuck and the work he has long been doing greatly. Deep gratitude to Chuck Collins and to all who are passionately working to transform so much inequity, suffering, and injustice into radically different systems and policies and values, ones which respect and protect life rather than relentlessly work to destroy it. Another world is possible! ― Molly

Introduction

The deep and persistent racial wealth divide will not close without bold, structural reform. It has been created and held in place by public policies that have evolved with time including slavery, Jim Crow, red lining, mass incarceration, among many others. The racial wealth divide is greater today than it was nearly four decades ago and trends point to its continued widening

In this report, we offer ten bold solutions broken into three categories: Programs, Power, and Process. These solutions are designed to strike at the structural underpinnings holding the racial wealth divide in place while inspiring activists, organizers, academics, journalists, law makers, and others to think boldly about taking on this incredibly important challenge. You’ll also find a snapshot of the latest racial wealth divide data as outlined in our January 2019 report, Dreams Deferred, and a warning against false solutions.

Offered below are a number of promising solutions that could have a significant impact on reducing the racial wealth divide. Each is rooted in a public policy shift that can have a structural impact across society, not simply individual behavior changes. This is not an exhaustive or all-encompassing list, but rather a number of bold ideas that can have a systemic impact.

 

The solutions in this report include:

1. Baby Bonds
2. Guarantee Employment and Significantly Raise the Minimum Wage
3. Invest in Affordable Housing
4. Medicare for All
5. Postal Banking
6. Significantly Raise Taxes on the Ultra-Wealthy
7. Turn Upside-Down Tax Expenditures Right-Side Up
8. Congressional Committee on Reparations
9. Improve Data Collection on Race and Wealth
10. Racial Wealth Audit 

Please go here for the full report: https://ips-dc.org/report-racial-wealth-divide-solutions/