In 2018, the median income for white households was $65,777. This is substantially higher than the worldwide median household income, which in 2013 was listed as hovering around just $10,000. Ask a conservative and they’ll point to this as evidence of how great and privileged it is to be an American. Ask anyone else and they’ll point to white privilege and systemic advantages.
No doubt, a median income of $65,000 affords a lot of opportunities. Even after accounting for taxes that siphon 25% away from the principal, an average mortgage payment of $1,100 in 2020, and an average monthly car payment of $350, there is still about $31,000 left for other expenses. It doesn’t offer a lavish lifestyle, but with proper budgeting and fiscal responsibility, it’s not terrible either.
Still, there is nothing glamorous about $5,000 per month, and if there is privilege to talk about living on $65,000 annually, that’s where the argument of inherent white benefits falls apart.
The extreme ends of a median household income chart tell a different, more complex story than the simple yarn being spun by a despicable class of media and elite. If white skin were so important, why do those identifying as English-Americans come in at the 85th position on a list totaling just 98 ethnicities? Their median household income is a scant $47,663. Moreover, their Scottish brethren to the north fare little better, garnering just $51,925 and placing 78th.
Where this data dive gets really interesting is that a group identifying as American-Americans, and who place just ahead of the Scottish-Americans at 77th on the list of median household incomes, earn just $51,601. They have both white and American privilege, and still can’t do better than Peruvian-Americans, who earn $52,000 annually as a household.
Scotch/Irish-Americans, British-Americans, and French Americans also earn less than the overall white population. Is everyone on this list doing the white thing wrong, as Don Lemon suggested?
On the top of the list, and nuking the average median household income of everyone, are Indian-Americans. This subsection of the population boasts a median household income of $123,453. Second place isn’t even close, with $102,328 going to Taiwanese-American households. Filipino-Americans are third with $92,328.
Sure, there are Australian-Americans and South African-Americans near the top, but doesn’t that even help disprove the notion of systemic racism here? American-Americans created this whole racist and inherently biased mess, and they barely earn half of what those foreign whites do.
The claim of Islamophobia doesn’t even stand up to the test; Iranian-Americans households take home $75,905 and Lebanese-Americans are right behind at $75,337. American society hates these people so much they pay them more than their own white population.
The real litmus test falls upon the black population. Given that the median white household income is $65,777, and remembering that many Anglo-Americans do much worse (English, British, Scottish, Irish) when there isn’t even a language or cultural barrier for immigrants from these nations, it would be expected that the black population suffers tremendously. It would almost be scripture to believe that black immigrants do the absolute worst, given that this is a racist society and one that hates outsiders.
What do the numbers show?
Ghanaian-Americans out-earn their white American peers with $66,571. Although not ahead of whites, not too far behind them either are Nigerian-Americans with $60,732 of median household income. Haitian-Americans, who come from a country that is repeatedly identified as one of the poorest countries in the entire Western Hemisphere and where 80% of its population lives in poverty, manages to earn a respectable $47,990. That’s one spot higher than the white English-Americans. That’s also 24 times higher than the median household income in their native land.
Astonishingly, despite other black populations thriving compared to their white neighbors, African-Americans earn just $33,500. Out of 98 ranked population groups, the only hyphenated nationalities below them are Iraqis, Dominicans, and Somalis. It is this figure that gets touted as proof that America was built on racism, is racist, and always be racist unless we fundamentally transform it.
Of course, the question should not be “Why do African-Americans earn so little” because we already know the answer. Fatherless homes, black urban culture that prioritizes vulgar music (which celebrates the abuse of drugs, alcohol, and women), sports, abysmal education statistics like reading skills and high school graduation, and the acceptance of a victimhood narrative all play a role in the population.
The real question should be “Why do black immigrants do so well?” because once we again focus on positive traits such as hard work, no excuses, and prioritizing educational outcomes (African students comprise 40% of black Ivy League students), then the nation can begin tackling real issues.
Are white privilege and white systemic racism real? If they are, no honest person has yet been able to explain the wide disparities between white and non-white incomes, particularly when the non-white incomes are significantly higher than whites and black immigrant incomes soar above American blacks.
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