America has the worst income inequality among the developed world because it has failed to honestly and boldly address its legacy of slavery. Since the Civil War, America managed to make cosmetic changes to absolve itself from its shameful history of enslaving millions of Africans.  COVID-19 brought to the front that legacy that many Americans hoped to forget, but never sought to address.

Now many Americans including Anthony Cararamuchi, former Trump White House Communication Director and managing partner of investment firm Skybridge, Ray Dialo, largest hedge manager in the U.S., want it acknowledged and addressed.

 Research shows this tragic legacy is harmful to the U. S. economy and has become a stain to the American reputation.

The passing of the CARES Act to soften the economic blow from the pandemic was necessary, as was the case in U.S. rescue of Europe after World War 2,  and the rescue of banks during the Great Recession, albeit a controversial one.

The current pandemic disproportionately hit minorities, especially blacks who remain in the bottom of the economic ladder. The pandemic also exposed the economic disparity that translates to inadequate access to education and healthcare.

Ray Dialo added, “Widening income inequality and under-investment in public education pose an existential risk for the U.S.” and “leaving so many children in poverty and not educating them well is the equivalent of child abuse”  

 Larry English, Special to the Times said, inequality is a disease that passes down through generations and now partnered with COVID-19   became a toxic brew killing the old and weak.  

Income inequality is also hurting America’s ability to grow its economy and utilize its citizens gainfully and productively. Recent research by McKinsey found this economic disparity has other consequences. It has a dampening effect on consumption and investment costing the US economy between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion in the next ten years. This is equivalent to 4 to 6 percent of the projected GDP in 2028. Closing the racial economic gap is a win for African-Americans and for the economy.

Anthony Cararamuchi thinks the coronavirus crisis could be an opportunity to close the economic gaps in our society. He also thinks this should be “a wake-up call” for policymakers, politicians, macro-economists, the very wealthy, and the Forbes 400 to do something about it, as the pandemic exposed the gap between the haves and have-nots.

COVID’s disproportionate killing of African-Americans is not a coincidence. It only shows their economic standing and vulnerability in this society. McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm found that African-American’s net worth is one-tenth of white people.

Many countries, and businesses under duress often get subsidies or relief from the U.S. government.  The majority of Blacks in America have been under duress and in jeopardy under the current system, facing abject poverty and injustice just to name a few.

Since the beginning of this great nation justice and economic parity for Black people has yet to come despite its great motto “justice for all and under God”

A bill for the rescue of the poor and blacks from their current predicament is a moral and economic imperative. It does not have to include handouts. How would the rescue program be handled? It will include funding Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), distressed schools, and establishing vocational and STEM centers in minority districts.

Nonprofits like Appropriate Development Technology, Inc., promote and encourage underprivileged children to gravitate towards STEM-education so that they can become future engineers and scientists in order to break the cycle of poverty that is prevalent in the African-American community.  Many nonprofits have a problem of scaling such program for lack of funding. Increasing minority presence in STEM to 12-15% from 3% where stands now can have a dramatic effect. The absence of African-American in STEM is a factor exacerbating income disparity and a barrier to bridging income inequality.

The rescue plan is not a handout, but for a lasting solution, where underprivileged adults are given a chance for vocational training, and children to immerse in STEM education to improve their economic standing. This will reduce welfare, unemployment, and the prison population.  

Some kind of intervention is overdue because it’s a moral and economic imperative. The African-American community needs a rescue plan because it’s in jeopardy and under duress.

When a member of a family is under duress, the whole family is under duress. Blacks are a member of the American family whether we like it or not, when they are under duress the whole country is under duress.

The fact that COVID is killing more blacks is no coincidence, but it means they remain vulnerable to any economic and health shocks. Poor education, poor health services, and living in high crime area are contributing factors.  It is simply their economic standing that made them vulnerable to COVID. It may be now or never for President Biden and Congress to consider a rescue or a CARES Act for African-Americans. It will be a sad moment and a great moral failure if this opportunity is missed.

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