Both groups also saw the wealth they acquired evaporate almost over night. Hispanics lost 66 percent of their wealth and Blacks lost 54 percent. And, as I explained in "White/Minority Wealth Disparities: The Rest of the Story," both minority communities experienced disproportionate losses not only because their wealth was locked into their homes, but also because Black and Latino assets are more vulnerable in economic downturns.
The American Jobs Act does little to address the disproportionate harm experienced by these communities. Extending unemployment insurance was a necessity, lest more Black and Latino families slip into poverty. But of the almost 3 million unemployed Blacks and 2.6 million unemployed Latinos, less than half will be immediately helped by the extension of UI. And this does not include the more than 11 million Blacks and Latinos over 20 who are not in the labor force at all. They need more than UI to pull themselves up and out of this recession.
