From his research, Sugrue has many arguments for why there is such a tremendous difference in the wealth gap between races. Much of his arguments originate from historic racial issues such as the exclusion of all blacks from the Homestead Act in 1862, redlining of neighborhoods and more (Sugrue). One big issue stems from the 2007, sub-prime mortgage crisis, which worsened the wealth gap between races. In this crisis, banks offered sub-prime loans to individuals who did not qualify for loans, these were targeted to minority groups. It has been shown, that half of the loans offered to African Americans in 2006 were sub-prime loans (Sugrue). As homes began to foreclose, the value of the neighborhood and houses within the neighborhoods began to decrease. This meant that the families that took out this sub-prime loan were paying more for their home than its actual value. One can see how this is an issue since one’s assets are invested in their homes.
Sugrue provides a shocking actuality to his readers, that the racial wealth gap has not actually improved over the years, but has only worsened. Our society today has the ingrained belief in the American Dream and that anyone can achieve success with enough effort. Yet, you have these families that are not able to get out of the poverty they have been placed into for generations. Our belief in meritocracy and the idea that anyone can make it does not allow us to see the abiding issue of the wealth gap and particularly for minorities.
I chose to do a true summary, because although I analyze and relate the information from the article back to our main research question, I mainly state the information that the author presented.
Sugrue, Thomas J. "A House Divided." The Washington Monthly. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. 05 Mar.
2016.