Fixing wealth disparities in our cities

A recent article by Hearst columnist Hugh Bailey highlighted the wellknown wealth disparities in Connecticut and higher income towns reluctance to sponsor affordable housing. The suggestion was that lower incomes/ minorities having access to better schools in higher income towns would reduce white/ black wealth disparities over time. However, a growing literature by economists studying intergenerational wealth disparities between whites/blacks ought give us pause for recommending such an “obvious solution.”

The key findings are that white/black wealth differentials in recent decades have not been significantly reduced despite quite dramatic increases in black enrollment and graduation in colleges. Some of the suggested reasons include blacks not entering the highly paid hitech jobs in the same proportion as whites, delayed home purchases by black families owing to taking care of parents, blacks not taking the STEM subjects in high school, smaller numbers of blacks entering college compared to whites and long standing discrimination in the job market.

These studies suggest we would not see substantial reductions in wealth disparities between black and white families simply by combining high and low income school districts, even if pursued for decades. Rather than focusing on “equality of education opportunities,” we’d likely achieve better results by encouraging business investment to secure good paying jobs for our low income cities like Bridgeport. Good jobs bring about stable communities, good housing, good schools and wealth generation. Spending much larger sums on public education would not significantly reduce white/black wealth disparities.

Sadly Connecticut officials have shown only very limited interest in using public funds to bring major business investment into our depressed cities. For example, Bridgeport’s two hospitals are the largest employers followed by City Hall. Roughly onethird of the city’s residents live at or below the poverty level. Without access to good jobs, Bridgeport cannot develop into a viable city nor can its residents accumulate substantial wealth. Especially when property taxes are 4 percent to 5 percent (or higher) of assessed valuation.

The same implications follow for Norwalk’s 10 percent poverty rate. Without good jobs available to our lower income residents, wealth differentials will continue. State officials would do well to become more familiar with the growing literature on white/black wealth differentials. Education equality is not the magic bullet. Access to good jobs is required and typically that requires substantial public investments to entice new major business into our depressed communities and cities.

Those who question these findings ought reflect upon the enormous economic changes when several southern states made large subsidies to bring auto production to their previously distressed cities. It’s a good example for Connecticut’s distressed cities. Peter I. Berman Norwalk