Opening Our Eyes to Human Suffering

Wealth Inequality – a world of concentrated wealth & poverty  More people have died from hunger in the past five years than have been killed in all the wars, revolutions, and murders in the past 150 years.  Malnutrition is the underlying cause of 55% of deaths of children under five.  The accelerating decline in wealth over the past 30 years has left many Black and Latino families unable to reach the middle class. Between 1983 and 2013, the wealth of median Black and Latino households decreased by 75% (from $6,800 to $1,700) and 50% (from $4,000 to $2,000), respectively, while median White household wealth rose by 14% (from $102,200 to $116,800).  By 2024, median Black and Latino households are projected to own 60 ‐ 80% less wealth than they did in 1983.  If the racial wealth gap is left unaddressed and is not exacerbated further over the next eight years, median Black household wealth is on a path to hit zero by 2053 – about 10 years after it is projected that racial minorities will comprise the majority of the nation’s population.