May 30, 2019
VOL. 34, No. 22
HOW J.P. MORGAN CHASE IS FIGHTING THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP IN AMERICA
Robert Mueller, Special Counsel
BREAKS HIS SILENCE
By Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
Wealth is an important way for Americans to obtain economic opportunities, yet many studies show that wealth is not equally distributed among African Americans and their counterparts. According to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, the median net worth for Black American families is $17,600, and nearly one in five Black households have zero or negative net worth. Blacks have a $1.2 trillion buying power, yet are projected to have a zero median net worth by 2053. The lack of Black wealth is a result of systematic disparities that Black families endure daily, but how much time is spent on birthing the solution? Often, we find ourselves admiring the problems while being captivated by how discouraging the studies are. What if we took a less feardriven approach to cultivate a change in Black America? What if we found resources that help provide economic empowerment and education to those who don’t have access to it? What if there was a company that said, “Let’s utilize our resources, and get to the root of the problems Blacks are facing?” What if that company was the nation’s largest bank, J.P. Morgan Chase? 2 By combining
sued his first public statement on his “If we had had confidence that the investigation into Russian interference president had clearly not committed a with the 2016 election, emphasizing one of the key points of his report: that his crime, we would have said so.” Special counsel Robert Mueller is- office did not conclude whether or not By Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
President Trump committed a crime. In his statement, Mueller said his office could not bring criminal charges against the president because the team believed it to be uncon-
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TRUMP’S TAX CUT FOR ORDINARY AMERICANS:
No Economic Good! By Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
You may remember all the glowing predictions made for the December 2017 tax cuts by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration: Wages would soar for the rank-and-file, corporate investments would surge, and the cuts would pay for themselves. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has just published a deep dive into the economic impact of the cuts in their first year, and emerges from the water with a different picture. The CRS finds that the cuts have had virtually no
effect on wages, haven’t contributed to a surge in investment, and haven’t come close to paying for themselves. Nor have they delivered a cut to the average taxpayer. The negligible (at best) economic impact of the cuts shouldn’t surprise anyone, the CRS says. “Much of the tax cut was directed at businesses and higherincome individuals who are less likely to spend,” its analysts write. “Fiscal stimulus is limited in an economy that is at or near full employment.” There is no indication of a surge in wages in 2018 either compared to histo-
ry or relative to GDP growth. Ordinary workers had very little growth. The CRS which is an arm of the Library of Congress, reports that the tax cuts contributed to a record-breaking surge in corporate stock buybacks, which has been documented by many other analyses. The continued stagnation of rank-and-file wages is visible in monthly data computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, the GOP’s claims that the tax cuts would create an economic nirvana were 3
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