Oh Lord, Black Love Will Keep You Broke

[Live.Laugh.Love]

The inheritance of black poverty: It’s all about the men!

From the article:

"The headline finding here is that, among those who grew up poor, black women are the only group showing a marked difference between the risk of being in the bottom quintile of the individual earnings distribution (for each gender), and the risk of being in the bottom quintile of the family incomedistribution (for the whole age cohort). Whites do well on both counts; black men do poorly on both counts. Black women do reasonably well on the first and very poorly on the second. This result is probably driven by the fact that black women tend to create families with black men who do poorly on both counts and thus bring down the family income results for black women."

Further along in the article:

"Why? Various explanations could be given. The most obvious is that, assuming marriages or cohabitation mostly occur within racial groups, black women’s family position is damaged directly or indirectly by the poor outcomes for black men. If white women end up with white men, who in terms of their earnings are more than twice as likely to escape poverty as black men, their family income will be higher. Equally, if black women are more likely than white women to end up as single, they will also record a lower family income."

But wait...theres more...

Twitter post...


Full Article:
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-inheritance-of-black-poverty-its-all-about-the-men/

 

[Live.Laugh.Love]

So I was on the other site, and came across this thread that was trending and 26 pages long and you know I had to click. This article lays out some thoughts on black poverty, similar to the other article last week, but this one took it a step farther. I wonder who the Brookings Institute is and who funds them.

What say you ladies?

 

[Southernbella.]

I'm curious to see what the "let's talk about solutions" and "what can WE do?" crowd has to say about this...

 

[Live.Laugh.Love]

I'm curious to see what the "let's talk about solutions" and "what can WE do?" crowd has to say about this...

Yea me too....My jaw was on the floor as i read this. Basically as BW we can individually pull ourselves out of poverty , but when we marry/mate we are pulled back into poverty because BM aren't pulling their weight.

But, even if BW stay single, they wont re-enter in poverty, but they also won't reach white income because the lack of a financially stable partner. Two incomes are better than one.

This is info scary, but a lot of BW (as you can imagine) are pissed at this article.

This also reminds me of some other info I learned today regarding BW. Police violence affects BW just as much as men. I didn't know that BW numbers for police violence were just as high as BM. But, it makes sense because no one really talks about BW being abused/killed by the police like they do BM.

 

[brg240]

i don't think that's the conclusion that should be taken from the study

 

[Kurlee]

These findings are exhausting. What are BW to do?

 

[Live.Laugh.Love]

These findings are exhausting. What are BW to do?

I agree (and I think that’s the idea to wear us down). I wonder why folks love to “study” black people.

 

[Blessedwithabundance14]

I truly believe that a group with an agenda plants these stories to further break down black households. Everyone and I mean everyone I know has husbands whose income helps a lot and they are lower middle, middle class and upper middle class blacks. This is meant to further divide and pit bm against bw. Don’t fall for the okie dokie! We need to encourage these bm who work hard and want to live and do right by their families. There are plenty of them out there!

 

[RoundEyedGirl504]

Marry up socioeconomically if at all possible. Or if you’re not from poverty stay at your level or go up.

 

[Kurlee]

I agree (and I think that’s the idea to wear us down). I wonder why folks love to “study” black people.

And pathologize us. I really wonder what Black women are supposed to do with that information. Especially the 25+ crowd IF this is true. But then... many women on here have voiced these same sentiments (that people need to stop blaming Black women and recognize Black men's shortcomings), so I don't know what to think.

 

[Dellas]

Well. It is obvious.
1)To escape poverty it takes 20 years of nothing going wrong.
-That means not dating a player who will emotionally drain you, leave you with his seed and all the financial responsibility, delay your goals/plans because you are supporting his or dealing with drama/burnt out/not focused/trying to earn him/...
2) Did they examine people at the same level that have couple goals. I know a few that made it work. Went from working class to upper middle. But takes commitment.

Yes, it is better to be alone and have "friends" or get another pool of friends or date out if the pool of who is attracted to you is not a good fit.

I have seen time and time again motivated girls left pregnant and alone. Child support doesn't cover stress and time and the amt. of responsibility. This is why all child support should cover child care, travel, activities, health care,.....

I have known only one women who left the man and the kid....
He tried to marry my mom. My mom passed as well.

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

I'm just going to sit pretty until @Honey Bee arrives.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

I don’t talk about my dating life much but this is 100% why I broke up with my ex....my wallet is full. Amen

ETA this article or my experience in no way shape or form will ever discourage me from dating BM as a whole.

 

[cocosweet]

I mean really wtf are bw supposed to do? Die?

Most people who marry, marry same race so if a bw marries a bm (who will be paid less than a wm) that makes it harder to move up socioeconomically.

I almost think they are trying to encourage us to pursue IR marriage on the sly.


I don't know who funds Brookings, but I have long been of the opinion of their real purpose is to inform the general populace that instutionalized racism is still working effectively via their studies.

 

[kblc06]

I mean.... it is what it is.We live in a patriarchal society. As a result, the socioeconomic mobility of BW is tethered to BM. When the outcomes improve for BM, it will also improve for BW as a whole (theoretically).


I think the point of the article isn't that there aren't bm who aren't working hard at all, it's that 1.) the numbers of these BM aren't where they should be 2.) the disparity in wages forces BW net income to decrease. Additional money always helps, but if your husband is only making 40K to your 80k, that only averages to 60k for each of you- you just took a $20,000 pay cut . Essentially, you'd have more money for your needs/retirement/investment by being on your own. If he makes up for it in division of household labor and child-rearing, it may be worth it to some. For others, it may be a case of "I can do bad all by myself". YMMV

I did find these points surprising though- I figured increased marriage rates would've made a significant impact . It partially explains the thread on why generations WW & BW of the same class maintain similar income levels vs that of BM & WM:

As they conclude, “parental marital status has little impact on intergenerational gaps” (p. 25).
We also confirm that black women, despite their solid earnings mobility, have very low family income mobility. We then estimate the impact of racial differences in marriage rates by simulating higher marriage rates among black women: like Chetty, we find no significant effects."

I truly believe that a group with an agenda plants these stories to further break down black households. Everyone and I mean everyone I know has husbands whose income helps a lot and they are lower middle, middle class and upper middle class blacks. This is meant to further divide and pit bm against bw. Don’t fall for the okie dokie! We need to encourage these bm who work hard and want to live and do right by their families. There are plenty of them out there!

 

[kblc06]

I don’t talk about my dating life much but this is 100% why I broke up with my ex....my wallet is full. Amen

ETA this article or my experience in no way shape or form will ever discourage me from dating BM as a whole.

#PraiseHim

 

[qchelle]

What are BW to do? Date down like we've been doing duh! We've got the date down game on lock and we love it nothing to see here folks.

 

[Theresamonet]

Obviously every black man is not poor. I think the take away should be for black women to be more considerate of socioeconomic status when considering a partner. It seems like many black women just date/marry whomever will love or pretend to love them, without factoring in much else.

 

[qchelle]

Right on time. There's a meme circulating on Facebook about "Keith and tameka" a married couple. Keith manages a finish line and makes $44k. Tameka is a neurosurgeon making $400k. The comments are all about he loves her and her loves him, "money shouldn't matter" and love conquers all

I don't understand how people say money don't matter with a straight face. Where do people live where money don't matter?

 

[lucky8502]

This to me tells us one thing and one thing only, until our economically disenfranchised are lifted up nothing will change, we need the leaders of the 40s and 70s back because there is a long way to go like Jay said , " until you own your own you can't be free" as well as " how high is high enough? Unroll were eye to eye with the higher ups"...action that's what we need

 

[Sarabellam]

Woman regardless of race who are in surgical specialties are more likely to have a stay at home spouse than other physicians. Surgical specialties tend to be more lucrative than most other specialities. The take away that I have from this is that people who are in 1% jobs that also take up all of their time tend to get spouses that are willing to takeover household and family rearing roles as a solo job.

There are a lot of other factors that contribute to overall financial status. It’s a secret in the medical community that there are some “poor” doctors in higher paying specialties that spend more than they take in and are barely handling their mortgage, car notes, student loans, etc.

The SAHM I know are holding it down with coupon cutting, small side hustles, and only buying a couple trinkets here or there but overall low cost of living. Everything extra goes to savings and investments. Are the black SAHD and lower earners okay with mom holding the purse strings? Are they trying to live on as low a cost of living as possible to optimize investments?

Healthy investment portfolios are the only real way that we can address generational poverty. I know one black family where the husbands are busy “finding their passions” but their parents left them so much in investments and investing knowledge that they are taking care of their individual families very well.

Salaries have biases but stocks are gender and color blind.

 

[hunnychile]

Right on time. There's a meme circulating on Facebook about "Keith and tameka" a married couple. Keith manages a finish line and makes $44k. Tameka is a neurosurgeon making $400k. The comments are all about he loves her and her loves him, "money shouldn't matter" and love conquers all

I don't understand how people say money don't matter with a straight face. Where do people live where money don't matter?

I’ve honestly gotten so tired of this debate that I have just been telling people to “shut up” (deadpan, full stop) whenever it comes up.

 

[Kimbosheart]

Obviously every black man is not poor. I think the take away should be for black women to be more considerate of socioeconomic status when considering a partner. It seems like many black women just date/marry whomever will love or pretend to love them, without factoring in much else.

I second this. Maybe it’s my location or the social circles I run in but there is not a shortage of high income black men in my area. I’ll grant you that they may not all wear suits to work but I’ve found at least 3 good back up potentials should my current situation ever go left.

 

[Kurlee]

I mean.... it is what it is.We live in a patriarchal society. As a result, the socioeconomic mobility of BW is tethered to BM. When the outcomes improve for BM, it will also improve for BW as a whole (theoretically).

According to yvette carnell, there is no black patriarchy

 

[FemmeFatale]

I don’t know what the answer is collectively but I just don’t entertain bm that don’t make a certain amount because I have my offspring to think about..and unpopular opinion but there’s a bigger pool of men with means if you’re not fixated on your local AA men that may or may not have much, you don’t have to date down, equal or be single forever.

 

[CarefreeinChicago]

I am not dating anyone that makes less than me. Sorry not sorry. I will not carry the financial burden of the family on my back.

 

[Honey Bee]

I'm just going to sit pretty until @Honey Bee arrives.

I don't know this life, I always dated up.

What you want me to say? We all know the why's and the wherefore's. Most don't care. So go head on, then, chile. (rhet, not you) Marry out and go away and/ or be happy. I'm no longer interested.

There's this trend of ppl from privileged groups who don't get everything they feel they deserve taking up all the air whining- high earning bw (yes, you're included, see the data ), mtf trannies, beta wm, - and I'm over it. I'm reclaiming my time, #divest. I'd rather focus my attention and efforts on functional black families and the seeds thereof, our future.

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

I don't know this life, I always dated up.

What you want me to say? We all know the why's and the wherefore's. Most don't care. So go head on, then, chile. (rhet, not you) Marry out and go away and/ or be happy. I'm no longer interested.

There's this trend of ppl from privileged groups who don't get everything they feel they deserve taking up all the air whining- high earning bw (yes, you're included, see the data ), mtf trannies, beta wm, - and I'm over it. I'm reclaiming my time, #divest. I'd rather focus my attention and efforts on functional black families and the seeds thereof, our future.

You a mess!

Now I'm on the pro-black woman tip but even this article had my spidey senses raised. Like why the need for so many of these kind of articles? It's 2 birds with 1 stone. BM ain't sht and BW you're less than other woman, nobody want you, your families don't mean sht, etc. Geez!

 

[Black Ambrosia]

There's a level of cognitive dissonance that has to set in if you keep reading these things while personally experiencing something different.

 

[oneastrocurlie]

Right on time. There's a meme circulating on Facebook about "Keith and tameka" a married couple. Keith manages a finish line and makes $44k. Tameka is a neurosurgeon making $400k. The comments are all about he loves her and her loves him, "money shouldn't matter" and love conquers all

I don't understand how people say money don't matter with a straight face. Where do people live where money don't matter?

I'm sorry what? How'd they even meet? Maybe he said owned a stake in Finish Line and she fell in love and then... Nvm. I don't get this one.