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Articles by Margaret Simms
Minding the Wealth Gap: Putting Policy in Place to Increase Black Wealth
The wealth gap between white and African American households is large and is likely to grow as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Policy interventions can be used to reduce that gap and increase the wealth holding of African Americans. These include programs or policies that would reduce student debt, increase homeownership, and put African Americans on track to better jobs and health care coverage.
Racial Inequities Will Grow Unless We Consciously Work to Eliminate Them
The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic promises to affect families across the United States and future generations for years to come. The downturn will likely hit African Americans hardest, exacerbating large, long-standing racial wealth gaps. Because these inequities have historical roots, looking at how they contribute to intergenerational inequality can help citizens, policymakers, and stakeholders create policies that move the country toward racial equity.
After 50 years of progress and protest, America is still a land of unequal opportunity
Forty-eight years before the Black Lives Matter movement began, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission, issued its final report. It shocked many (and irritated President Lyndon Johnson) when one of its main conclusions was that the United States was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal” and that this was the underlying cause of the riots and rebellions that had occurred in urban areas.
Don't applaud the drop in black unemployment just yet
(CNN Money) -- Margaret C. Simms is an economist and institute fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute, where she directs the Low-Income Working Families initiative. The opinions expressed in this article are her own.At first glance, last week's jobs report seemed very upbeat.The overall unemployment rate in February stayed at 4.1%, the lowest it's been in 17 years, according to the Labor Department's report.
Don't applaud the drop in black unemployment just yet
At first glance, last week's jobs report seemed very upbeat. The overall unemployment rate in February stayed at 4.1%, the lowest it's been in 17 years, according to the Labor Department's report. And there were other near-record lows: Black unemployment ticked down to 6.9%, just slightly higher than the record hit in December.
US economy adds 313,000 jobs in February
Margaret C. Simms is an economist and institute fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute, where she directs the Low-Income Working Families initiative. The opinions expressed in this article are her own. At first glance, last week's jobs report seemed very upbeat. The overall unemployment rate in February stayed at 4.1%, the lowest it's been in 17 years, according to the Labor Department's report.
Say African American or Black, but first acknowledge the persistence of structural racism
In February, Urban Institute researchers writing on Urban Wire will explore racial disparities in housing and criminal justice and the structural barriers that continue to disadvantage the black population in the United States. In February, the United States and several other countries celebrate black history. In the United States, this time is also called African American History Month.
Lending practices leave entrepreneurs of color on the starting block
Politicians often tout owning a business as a way for Americans to advance economically. But a report recently released by the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Atlanta shows that limited access to credit may be keeping entrepreneurs in less-advantaged communities from achieving that goal. The findings reinforce and add to findings from an Urban Institute study of structural barriers to racial equity in Pittsburgh.
Identifying Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Human Services
When there is evidence of racial and ethnic differences at any point in the service delivery spectrum—for example, in access to and take-up of human services, in the nature and quality of services received, or in the outcomes of services—it can be challenging to interpret what those differences mean. In particular, it can be challenging to understand whether and to what extent those differences represent disparities.
Trump’s budget deals a double whammy to people struggling to gain a foothold in today’s economy
This week, the White House is emphasizing jobs, workforce development, and the skills gap, topics that President Trump has turned to many times during his campaign and presidency. His proposed budget reinforces this theme by emphasizing work incentives for those receiving support from public safety net programs. But his budget proposal also has huge cuts in funding for employment and job training programs, making it more difficult for people to improve their skills and find work.
“Model minority” myth hides the economic realities of many Asian Americans
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the collective identity and diversity of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Over the next month, Urban researchers explore data that shed light on challenges faced by distinct AAPI groups and how these groups strengthen their communities. Other posts in this series: Asian Americans have been referred to as a “model minority” based, in part, on easily available statistics.
Structural racism places the burden of proposed budget cuts on people of color
President Trump’s budget proposal released last week seeks to pay for an increase in defense spending by dramatically reducing discretionary domestic expenditures, a category that includes most of the social support and workforce development programs that help low-income people support their families and provide them the resources to get ahead in life.
A Vision for an Equitable DC
In the November 29 version of this feature, we explained that our racial equity focus was limited to Washington, DC’s, black and Hispanic residents because reliable data estimates are not available for Asians, American Indians, or other races and ethnicities. This focus is not meant to imply that other groups do not also face barriers to equity. The feature has been revised to correct that implication. What would an equitable DC look like?
An Evaluation of the Impacts of Two “Rules of Thumb” for Credit Card Revolvers
An Evaluation of the Impacts of Two “Rules of Thumb” for Credit Card Revolvers
An Evaluation of the Impacts of Two “Rules of Thumb” for Credit Card Revolvers
Over half of all credit cardholders in the United States carried a balance from month to month in 2010, a financial habit that can get expensive quickly. Financial education programs can help people improve these behaviors, but they can be costly and results have been mixed. In this Urban Institute study, we found that simple rules of thumb about credit card use can be an effective and inexpensive way to help people make better financial decisions.
It’s about more than just bathrooms
The NBA recently announced that it was moving its 2017 All-Star Game from North Carolina in protest of a state law requiring people to use public bathrooms that correspond to the gender listed on their birth certificates. With that decision, the NBA joined several organizations and corporations that have taken action in response to North Carolina’s House Bill 2. Opponents of the law have called for boycotts of the state, urging people not to travel to North Carolina for business or pleasure.
Sharing responsibility for boys and young men of color
The White House's My Brother’s Keeper Initiative and the MBK Alliance call for public and private efforts to help boys and young men of color achieve milestones at the same rate as others in the United States. This blog series discusses strategies that could be effective in meeting those goals.
Martin Luther King’s campaign for the poor
Nearly four years after President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty, Martin Luther King called on poor people to come together and demand their economic rights. The campaign was simple, he explained, ‘‘as pure as a man needing an income to support his family.” So why does financial independence still remain out of reach for so many men, even 45 years later, and what can be done to change that?
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