Here We Go!

Thanks to you that took part in my poll. From it, I was able to verify that what I had suspected, was true. I have many thousands of readers, but only about 5 or so true Followers. Just like I thought, my numbers are close to that of our President's.

Speaking of Obama, I found a most interesting article in the news. Although his name was never mentioned, his influence was everywhere. Here are some of the highlights, but you can actually read it for yourself here: http://theroot.com/views/even-further-behind-joneses?GT1=38002
My responses are in Italics.

For every dollar of wealth owned by the typical white family, the African American family has only one thin dime. That makes sense because only 10 percent of Blacks actually work for their wealth. The statistics likely do not include wealth derived by stealing, selling dope, or committing welfare frauds.

At a two-day conference called the Color of Wealth summit, it was stressed that our future depends on the inclusion of all Americans in opportunities to build wealth. Obama himself must have picked the name for the summit.

The biggest predictor of the future economic status of a child is the net worth of the child’s parents. Historically, white families have enjoyed more government support and tax-paid subsidies than Blacks. Really? How did the summit conclude that? Pass along the bong and see what else they conclude. But, if true, my children might become wealthy.

For example, in home ownership, during the Depression, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation was formed to rescue families whose homes were in foreclosure. Not a single loan went to a family of color. That's because Blacks didn't own homes in the first place.

After World War II, of the 67,000 mortgages issued under the GI Bill, 66,900 went to white veterans. And today, White families are five times as likely as a family of color to have a bank account. I would think that to get a mortgage or a bank account, one would have to earn sufficient assets by working. I'm sure that home purchases obtained through narcotic sales are not included in the summit's findings.

Rules in our tax code have strengthened the hand of those who already have assets. You can get a tax deduction for the interest paid on home mortgages. But if you own a home and make too little to itemize, the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction does not help you at all. So, how is this disparity, as it seems to imply? It equally applies to all. There really are some White home owners that can't claim the deduction, namely me!

We need a Financial Product Safety Commission, to act against discriminatory lending policies. We need to revise the mortgage interest deduction so low-income homeowners (Black) are able to benefit. And mandating that new schools, transportation and commercial projects, be located only in areas with racially inclusive zoning policies (Black) would do much to create and grow neighborhoods of opportunity (Black).

Building wealth is essential to the American promise of opportunity regardless of the accident of one’s birth. And a disproportionate number of Black births are by accidents.

It’s time to start an honest game with a new deck. All of our futures depend on it. The Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland, Calif. organized the Color of Wealth 2009 Policy Summit, held in Washington on March 23 and 24.

I've walked so far to see that my children (at least one of which was planned) can receive my wealth, which was passed to me by my wealthy father, and his wealthy immigrant father. I now only need to sit on the Dock and cool those aching feet in the Lake for a bit.