On the recordFebruary 5, 2018
Let me first thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for hosting tonight's Special Order. I am glad to see that his celebrating allowed them to get here on time, since his team was victorious yesterday in the Super Bowl. {time} 1945 Let's see. For 84 percent of the American voters, the economy is the number one issue to care about. Tonight's Special Order is made even more important after the huge drop in the stock market today. But, of course, the stock market is not the only measure of a healthy economy or economics of our community. Building wealth matters. Wealth is what families accumulate and pass down generation after generation. It is the house you pay for and give to your children so they can grow their families without paying rent. It is the retirement fund you live off of and pass on to your children so they can pay for their own children's college education. By building wealth, we are building a safety net that allows us to start a business or survive if we lose our jobs. Yes, building wealth matters, but the Black community has been shut out from building its wealth. More than 25 percent of the Black community has zero net worth or has a negative net worth, and the median Black family is worth 12 times less than the median White family. Why is that? One reason for the vast majority of households in the United States, two-thirds of the family's wealth is tied up in the value of their home.…
