# Why do blacks and hispanics have such low net worths compared with whites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 12, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-and-hispanics-have-such-low-net-worths-compared-with-whites/681108 "2014-02-12T01:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Joshuagenes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Joshuagenes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joshuagenes)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-and-hispanics-have-such-low-net-worths-compared-with-whites/681108/81 "2014-04-07T06:26:09Z")
I am white and have a similar net worth to Blacks and Hispanics. While Market conditions and banking policy most certainly contributed to my poverty it was ultimately my fault for over extending my credit in a financial move that failed to pay off. You win some, you lose some. What is true for me is probably also true for many Blacks and Hispanics. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-and-hispanics-have-such-low-net-worths-compared-with-whites/681108/82 "2014-04-07T12:48:20Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > I’m cynical on this. > > In my view this is exactly the way the government, and especially liberals and dems, want them to be. Keep em poor, strung out on government benefits, and on the liberal plantation. You do know that cynicism isn’t always the most rational default position, right? I mean, it beats unbridled optimism or trust, but let’s not forget that we’re not dealing with some massive system. We’re dealing with _people_. And a lot of these people are decent people with good intentions. I mean, let me put it to you this way - if the goal was to keep them poor and intentionally screw them, [they failed miserably](http://gawker.com/study-the-war-on-poverty-works-1480364346)! And never mind that the theoretical basis for that being the goal never made the slightest bit of sense to begin with. > [@davida03801](#): > > As I said it is the cynic in me that made that comment, but think of it in another way. > > Medieval lords really did not want the serfs rising up too much, as they were needed to do all the grunt work of the princedom, work the fields, common labor and cannon fodder when needed. The serfs remain poor and down trodden and the lords can stay in the high towers. > > Have things changed all that much ? > > The lords have changed, but in the end they have the same common interest to keep themselves in the high towers. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. “Have things changed all that much?” since the age of serfs and lords? mm, let’s see… We’ve had no less than three massive revolutions in how we think about the world, the propagation of one of the most successful political theories in the history of the world, an improvement of across-the-board standard of living to the degree that even those in the lowest quintile in America today live better than the mightiest of lords in the medieval times, numerous changes in philosophy and within established religions… …So, to answer your question, _YES!_ Things have changed massively. Your cynical rambling does nothing to actually provide evidence to your point. > [@Joshuagenes](#): > > I am white and have a similar net worth to Blacks and Hispanics. While Market conditions and banking policy most certainly contributed to my poverty it was ultimately my fault for over extending my credit in a financial move that failed to pay off. You win some, you lose some. What is true for me is probably also true for many Blacks and Hispanics. I wrote this blog a while back… [You should read it](http://www.dcjunkies.com/showthread.php?49667-A-Hard-Truth-of-Econimics-You-Got-Lucky). Or the far better-written, more funny [“6 things the rich really need to stop saying” by David Wong](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-things-rich-people-need-to-stop-saying/). For many of those who are in a tough situation, economically, they were fucked by situations largely or completely outside of their control. And when it comes to disenfranchised minorities, it’s even worse. I’d get into it, but I have a better idea - how about you _read the thread_ first before posting in it? There are countless reasons why minorities have far worse net worth that have specifically to do with their skin color, and a lot of that has been brought up here in this thread. Your opinion is really uninformed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-and-hispanics-have-such-low-net-worths-compared-with-whites/681108.md?page=4)