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Wealth gap widens as whites hit $89K, blacks take in $34K
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Related Topics: WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - New census data released Tuesday illustrated the stark economic divide along racial lines in the District of Columbia as whites got richer while income for minorities stayed well below the national average. Nearly 80 percent of the 108,100 District residents who live below the poverty line are black, according to the figures for 2006 released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data show the District has the second-highest poverty rate in the country at 20 percent, far above the national poverty rate of 12.3 percent. It trails only Mississippi, where 21 percent of residents are below the poverty level.
“For a long time, this has been a city divided by race, with a vast majority of the poor population being African-American,” said Ed Lazere, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. “This great divide ... is becoming even worse, and it’s becoming even clearer that it’s one of the city’s worst problems.”
Information on median income also indicates large disparities between white and black residents. The median income for the District was $51,847. However, median income for white residents was $88,969, while median income for blacks was $34,484.
If recent trends continue, this disparity will continue to grow. Median income for whites has grown by 10 percent since 2004, while black income growth has been stagnant.
“It certainly suggests that the city needs to be going the extra mile to reach out to [poor black] residents,” Lazere said.
Outside Washington, median incomes were among the highest in the country, while poverty rates were well below the national average.
In Virginia, Fairfax County had a median income of $100,318, the highest in the nation and the first time a county has broken the six-figure mark. It was followed by Loudoun County, where median income was $99,371.
Median incomes in Montgomery County reached $87,624 in 2006, the seventh-highest in the country. Only 4 percent of county residents live below the poverty line, the Census Bureau found. William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institute, said the Washington region’s median income ranks second only to Silicon Valley’s.
“It’s only a matter of time until Washington is No. 1,” he said.
dcexamiNation and poll: What do you think of the widening income gap between blacks and whites?
Comments from Examiner Readers
2:51 PM MST on Thu., Aug. 7, 2008 re: "City losing its younger residents"
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re: "Area spending on hair, parking, blood tops nation"
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6:17 AM MST on Thu., Aug. 30, 2007
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11:40 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 29, 2007
re: "Wealth gap widens as whites hit $89K, blacks take in $34K"
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11:29 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 29, 2007
re: "Wealth gap widens as whites hit $89K, blacks take in $34K"
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9:13 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 29, 2007
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Examiner Reader said:
it's a pipe dream of every young person or city resident to make it big financially. the dot.com era became a zero.dot.com. if anyone was there at schwab, they were worshipping the CEO as stocks skyrocketted. office guys were literally dancing in their skirts. welcome the younger people to the real world. get a real, steady job. forget about dreams that will only last a second. once very young, now they're getting older and hopefully wiser for it.
2 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Reminds me of the three greatest lies; Lies, Damned Lies and statistics. hey, I live in Midtown and I find this really difficult to beleive.
101 agree | 95 disagree
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Union Man said:
Pretty cool. I'm sure the reason things are getting better for Maryland is because of the excellent Democrat leadership in Annapolis in 2003 through 2006. Thank God for Mike Miller and Mike Busch. And things will just improve with Martin O'Malley as Governor.
114 agree | 111 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Stephen Janis writes stories people read. Every time.
114 agree | 127 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The increase makes the city eligible for $2 million more in federal aid, Dixon said. Sounds like Dixon is cooking the books to get more money from the Feds. Sound familar? I want more proof. After all, I pay Federal Taxes.
176 agree | 176 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Re: "I wonder how the rest of America feels knowing Fairfax's fantastic incomes are the result of their Federal tax dollars flowing to all of the government workers and contractors who live here?" The real issue is that the Gov't and Contractors who are making higher than average wages are doing so because they are more highly educated...the lesson to be learned is get thee a good education and you too can be rewarded...
204 agree | 179 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Let's see, we are the wealthiest state and pay one of the highest rates of taxes in the country. Can someone please explain to me why state governement cannot manage a budget on that level of revenue but must cointinue to increase taxes and spend uncontrolably?
187 agree | 199 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I wonder how the rest of America feels knowing Fairfax's fantastic incomes are the result of their Federal tax dollars flowing to all of the government workers and contractors who live here?
204 agree | 195 disagree
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Mike Licht said:
More detail, please. Low-income residents tend to be younger.
200 agree | 205 disagree
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Matt K. said:
The poor socio-economic plight of Black Americans is a by-product of slavery and Jim Crowism there are many sound reasons and explanations to support this arguement; Wealth is a measure of cumulative advantage or disadvantage. The fact that Black and Hispanic wealth is a fraction of white wealth also reflects a history of discrimination. (Joint Center/Oped News Citation)
217 agree | 213 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Wealth gap widens?? The Government needs to spend less time looking at the revenue of people, and more time looking at the expenses of people---as well as the competition for these scarce items! The housing market has been filled with insanely greedy people, who are flippers, dippers, and coupon clippers! Playing Las Vegas night with the housing supply, is NOT the way to go, folks! When you stop thinking how much your "investment" is worth in an insane housing market, and start thinking more about how valuable it will be, to have a nice place to raise a family, you'll be on the right track! The competition for these places is also fueled by hordes of foreigners, looking for a safe place to stash their ill-gotten cash! As well as millions of illegal aliens, who combine the cash of a couple of dozen of their fellow illegals, to buy houses next to your own. All those homes they are living in, are no longer available to true Americans, who want these places to raise families!
210 agree | 213 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Fairfax County's wealth should not be celebrated, it is fueled by misallocated resources flowing into the military industrial complex. Might as well just burn those tax dollars.
191 agree | 188 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Kaufman has devoted his life to a losing cause but, unlike successful seekers of public office, his cause was genuine.
204 agree | 204 disagree
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William Cooke said:
Ending the war on drugs would free up lots of money and would allow for tax relief as well. We could lay off at least half the cops and prosecutors (sorry guys) - most of whom don't live in the city anyway, cut crime, invest more in schools and parks, and give some money back to the taxpayers. Vote for Kaufman!
197 agree | 204 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Violence,open air drug markets, poor if any snow removal, a shakey and clueless city government, the lost of community pride in many areas of the city so when it's possible to leave folk are leaving when they can. Who in their right mind would stay and keep suffering the blight of this when they can leave.
208 agree | 219 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Happy days are here again because Robert Ehrlich is moving in. The people of Baltimore City should throw a party knowing at least one honest person will live amidst them. Hey, the way I see it, it's a start in the right direction.
208 agree | 193 disagree
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King said:
Summed up in two words.... Property Taxes!
195 agree | 210 disagree
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Fenwick said:
Lets see now; people can't be moving out because of high taxes, high crime, potholes or bad government so it must be GLOBAL WARMING!
230 agree | 215 disagree
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