Personal Finance Is Political: Racism and Money
By Literally Broke
“It’s a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his bootstraps.
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Is personal finance political?
This question is dividing the personal finance community and so it’s time we addressed it.
At Literally Broke we view personal finance as an innately political topic. Discussing personal finance in the United States in any meaningful way means contending with the student debt crisis, rising health care costs, and gender and racial pay gaps (to name just a few). In doing so, one also must honestly confront the ways these crises affect marginalized communities, specifically poor women and POC.
How can we talk about student debt without also talking about the fact that Black borrowers, on average, owe $7,400 more than Asian, white, and Latino students? This is not an accident. It is the result of decades of conservative fiscal policy that allows banks to profit off the destruction of poor and working-class communities.
We can talk all we want about personal responsibility, but the things that a person must be responsible for are a consequence of decisions that happen on a political level.
If the personal finance community is truly interested in financial equity for all we must address the systemic racist policies that got us here.
So yeah. Personal finance is VERY political..
This guide is for those of you interested in exploring the intersection of race, class, and personal finance, both historically and in the present.
Systemic Racism In The Economy and Personal Finance:
NY Mag: The American Economy Isn’t Getting Any Less Racist
JSTOR: The Devastation of Black Wall Street
Candice Latham (YouTube): Why Race Matters in Personal Finance
Journey to Launch (Podcast): Black Lives Matter & The Black Tax
Journey To Launch (Podcast): The Impact of Income, Privilege, and Race on the Path to Financial Freedom
Marketplace (Podcast): Structural Economic Racism
Racism in Education and Student Debt:
JSTOR: School Suspensions and The Racial Discipline Gap
Business Insider: How America’s Student Debt Crisis Affects Black Borrowers
Inside Higher Ed: Student Debt Reinforces the Racial Wealth Gap, Study Finds
Racism in Homeownership and Mortgage Lending
The Guardian: Black-Owned Businesses Face Hurdles In Getting Stimulus Loans
NY Times: How Redlining’s Racist Effects Lasted for Decades
The Root: Redlining: The Origin Story of Institutional Racism
JSTOR: The Latent Racism of the Better Homes in America Program
Racism at Work:
Forbes: Invisibility of Race in Gender Pay Gap Discussions
Pew Research: Racial, gender wage gaps persist in U.S. despite some progress
CNBC: Race doesn’t impact how job-seekers negotiate salaries—but it does affect how much money they get
UVA Darden: A Hard Bargain: Race and Salary Negotiations
Racism in Healthcare:
CNBC: Racial health disparities already existed in America— the coronavirus just exacerbated them
Harvard Business Review: The Costs of Racial Disparities in Healthcare
JSTOR: Why Racism Is Terrible For Everyone’s Health
JSTOR: Covid-19 Is Hitting Black and Poor Communities The Hardest
Racism and the Prison Industrial Complex:
AJ (Youtube): How America’s Bail System Is Rigged Against The Poor
Ted (Podcast): Robin Steinberg’s Passionate Quest to Reform Cash Bail
Time: States Are Profiting from Prisoners’ Calls to Family
The Atlantic: Prison Labor in America: How Is It Legal?
