RECAP & FACT-CHECK OF PRES. BIDEN'S STAE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: Biden's claim about Black prosperity in the SOTU clashes with reality
by Mona Austin
(TSN): "The state of the Union is strong and getting stronger," the 46th Pres. of the United States Joe Biden said in his third address to the nation on March 7, 2024. In a FOX News interview afterward the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson rebuffed the president's diagnosis of the nation saying (figuratively) that the health of the USA is not strong and "everyone knows it." Within the next 24 hours Biden maintained the advantage by kicking off a tour to go sell his massage, starting in Philadelphia.
In what felt like a campaign rally, Biden fiercely defended his record addressing a potpourri of problems ranging from the economy to the border crisis in his third State of the Union Address. He energetically rebuffed notions that he has been a do-nothing leader from the moment he stood on the speaker's dais. Biden did not allow Johnson to make the traditional introduction, turf-marking behavior that signified his control and put the chamber Mike Johnson leads under his command.
The tone of the speech became the talking point of Republicans in the days after, Some said Biden was an angry old man. Some complained he over-chastised his opponent in the 2024 election, Donald Trump who he referred to repeatedly as his "predecessor," never once calling him by name. In all of the criticism the Republican sibroquet for Biden, "Sleepy Joe" was buried. showed that Biden as at least vibrant nought to convince doubters that who have held his age against him that he is not too old to lead.
Biden made the grade in his performance according to a bevy or headlines that followed.
Yet, in appealing to his strongest constituency, the Black voter, he made a faux pas. The claim that the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites has been dwindling to an extent that he felt the need to highlight it was eye-brow raising. Copious documentation contradict the statement and show a different reality about the racial wealth gap in America.
BIDEN'S CLAIM: The racial wealth gap is the smallest it has been in 20 years.
FACT: The Black wealth gap is decreasing at an unsteady pace and is not viewed as major progress by experts.
While he did not specify a racial group, when Biden used the term racial wealth gap in a political context, most people will believe it is in reference to Blacks and Whites. Biden referred to growth for minorities too broadly without providing specifics for each group. His statement implies that Black economic improvement across the board is better than what it was before he was president. It was not. To be fair, it was worst during the Trump Administration.
The president had promised to make closing the racial wealth gap a priority via an executive order that attached equity for underrepresented communities to policy-making. Indeed, the Biden Administration has taken equity actions in a variety of policies including investments in HBCUs, business, Black farmers and housing. On February 14 this year, the one year anniversary of the second executive order was released called the "Agency Equity Action Plans to Further Advance Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government." On day one he signed and EO pledging to ensure The commitment on the part of the Biden Administration is being demonstrated but results that affect the community at large are manifesting slowly.
But proof that the Blacks are not experiencing a decreasing racial wealth gap is abundant.
The Urban League Annual Report that examines Black socio-economic growth in comparison to Whites since the Civil Rights movement came out in March, covering a 60 year period. The report cites earnings data that indicates in the year 2000, a Black man earned 75 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. And then by 2024, this average dropped to 71 cents. If earnings are not equal it is hard to deduce that wealth building can occur equally by most measurements.
Moreover, Biden's claim that there has been a significant improvement in wealth building in 20 years gives the impression that Blacks as a whole are growing, which is inaccurate when considering urban populations, the biggest swath of black residency.
A reporter from Marketplace spoke to Urban League President Marc Morial about the on-going racial wealth gap confirming the continuing disparity in the pay gap. An excerpt from their interview follows:
David Brancaccio: Your report shows that racial economic inequality has, in some ways, widened in some areas. The report cites data that in the year 2000, a Black man earned 75 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. And then by 2024, this goes down to 71 cents — 75 cents to 71 cents. That seems like the wrong direction.
Marc Morial: It is the wrong direction. And it underscores that while progress has been made in opening doors, economic equality, economic parity in this country is elusive. If you look at many of our urban communities, Chicago being one, the decline of manufacturing, the decline of blue collar jobs and the continued persistence of both explicit and implicit bias in hiring and promotions. You can never discount that.
From the above perspective, it is clear that the generalization about the wealth gap does not recognize the persisting economic disparities that exist in predominantly Black communities.
In the CNN article "White People Are Far More Wealthy Than Black People" the average earnings for a Black Household is significantly less than Whites. Margins between Blacks and other groups are dismal. In fact, Asian Americans had the greatest amount of median income in 2022, with wealth exceeding Whites and being 10 times more wealthy than Blacks.
From 2019 to 2021, there was an increase in homeownership for White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian families. This increase slightly lessened the homeownership gap between Black and White households, and Latino and White households in at least 40 states. For those who have access, homeownership is a key part of their generational wealth story. Many economic experts use home ownership to measure wealth which can skew the perception of growth without taking into account the overall financial standing in a household as well as the cost-of-living and lifestyle.
Seeing growth in home ownership is promising for the Black community with home ownership being fundamental to wealth building. Access to fair housing has traditionally been an Achilles heel. Blacks were not allowed to purchase homes across the country, leading in part to the Fair Housing Act being established. When Blacks began to built their own communities in the post-slavery era racist practices up to and including the destruction of Black communities, such as Tussal Oklahoma's Black Wall Street, destroyed attempt at economic empowerment. This is an example of the systemic racism (notwithstanding slavery itself) that has created the gulf of financial prosperity between Blacks, Whites and others for centuries.
Additionally, financially literacy has been an on-going challenge for the African American community. When Black do attain money they often are not educated on how to manage it and lacka baseline to emulate within their families or the community at large. Some of this has been on display with the downfall of Black celebrities Various organizations have recognized the problem and ofer tools to assist with understanding how to budget, save and invest. The relationship between Blacks and money
The Brookings Institute further debunks the assertion that the wealth gap is closing in a research report published in January 2024. Their data reflects that since 2010 the wealth gap, specifically between Blacks and Whites has been expanding. Brookins said that while there is an increase in Black wealth, there is an increase in the wealth gap. Ther report revealed that in n 2022, for every $100 in wealth held by White households, Black households held only $15. The COVID Pandemic took a toll on Black families contributing to this bridge of financial disparity. Per the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, "between 2019 and 2022, median wealth increased by $51,800, but the racial wealth gap increased by $49,950—adding up to a total difference of $240,120 in wealth between the median White household and the median Black household."
The first Black woman to earn a PhD in economics, Sadie Alexander, couldn’t practice after earning her doctorate because of racism and sexism in the industry in 1921—the same year that Black Wall Street was destroyed. The incident took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where one of the wealthiest territories of Black-owned businesses was burned to the ground by a mob of white people.
In February 2024, the labor force participation rate for white individuals in the United States was as follows:
For current Black unemployment there is a lag that tears at the president's optimism. Black progress can not be hinged on this data point. The Labor Participation Rate (LPR) Blacks in February of 2024 was 63.9 in comparison to Whites at 62.1 With the differnce in population size the appearnace of growth is not equally comparable. As mentioned above
At this rate the goal of establising generaltional wealth will not be reached for most African Americans The inersectionality of racism. c lassicm and job discrimination dilute Pres. Biden's point.