The House DOESN'T Always Win

THE RACIAL WEALTH DIVIDE WHY HOUSING MATTERS www.faireconomy.org/dream IT'S NOT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The racial wealth divide is the result of a history of slavery, oppression, and the exclusion of people of color from wealth- building opportunities. Today, the average net worth of Whites is 6X the average net worth of Blacks and Latinos. INVESTING IN WHOM? The federal government invests hundreds of billions of dollars on policies that help families build financial security. Much of those investments encourage homeownership-the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction is the largest among them. In 2003, the top 20% of U.S. households received nearly 80% of Home Mortgage Interest Deduction benefits. The top 5% alo ne received more than one-third of those DEFINITION: The Home Mortgage Interest Deduction allows taxpayers to reduce their taxable income by the amount of interest they pay on a home loan. investments. THE HOUSE DOESN'T ALWAYS WIN Policies that encourage homeownership as a means of financial security place communities of color in harm's way-especially when the housing market spins into misfortune. Housing wealth is just over a QUARTER of total assets for Whites, but nearly HALF of total assets for Blacks and Latinos. The financial sector pushed housing deeper into the casino economy, and a bubble grew as housing prices were artificially inflated. When the bubble burst, families of color fell further than Whites because so In the recession, Whites lost 7% of their assets... .Blacks lost ...and Latinos lost 43% of their assets much of their more 27% of their assets... limited assets were tied up their homes. The housing crash has left families of color less financially secure and less able to endure potential economic hardship. Blacks and Latinos have debt equal to OVER HALF of their net worth, compared to just 17% for Whites. U/UNITED FAIR E ECONOMY HOUSING IS A GLOBALLY-RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHT. Housing policy should ensure safe and affordable housing for all people, not encourage high-stakes gambling. Learn more at www.fairecon omy.org/dream.