Where do we go from here?
When the Supreme Court decided to block President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan, it placed a huge financial burden on highly educated black women across the country. Black women own a disproportionate amount of the $1.6 trillion in total federal student debt, and the average amount of debt is higher than any other group. These well-educated black women have 43% more undergraduate debt than their white counterparts.
Breakdown you need to know:
Student debt relief had the potential to act as a catalyst to stem the spread 6 to 1 racial gap between rich and poorreported NPR.However, most black women Graduate school debt increases by 99% A study by the Education Trust found that 12 months after graduation, they outperformed white women. Culture Banks reported that this means it is difficult, if not impossible, for black women to save, invest, and accumulate wealth.
Herein lies the problem for black women, according to research. This means that wages are less likely to increase as a result of education. Specifically, black college-educated women earn on average 10% less than college-educated white women and 34% less than college-educated white men.
White Americans own 84% of the total wealth in the United States, but only account for 60% of the population. on the other hand, Black Americans control 4% of the wealth and account for 13% of the population. This is the wealth of the 400 richest Americans. 43 million black Americansaccording to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Where student loans fall:
Student loan debt is a huge problem for the entire Black community. It would have immediately canceled up to $50,000 of student loan debt per borrower, according to the Roosevelt Institute’s brief. Wealth of black Americans increased by 40%.
Needless to say, four years after graduation, The average black borrower owes $53,000Meanwhile, the average white borrower carries $28,000 in debt, according to the Brookings Institution, which prevents them from focusing on other financial goals like buying a home, paying off credit card debt, and saving for retirement. It means. If this debt could be eliminated, the racial wealth gap for young families would begin to close. 86.6% of black students took out federal loans. Attend a four-year university.
What’s next:
The similarities between student loans and the racial wealth gap are striking, with many black student loan borrowers regretting their higher education loans. More than half of black borrowers 58% disagree that student loans contribute to racial equity Or help them build wealth.
It is definitely possible to have a long-term positive impact on the racial wealth gap by addressing the inequalities that cling to students’ college loans. In the meantime, student loan interest and payments will resume on September 1, 2023. The deadline is October 2023.
