AUSTIN, Texas - Middle-class families have taken the biggest hit during "The Great Recession," according to a Federal Reserve Bulletin report on family wealth. Expects think declining home values and the foreclosure crisis are largely responsible, since home ownership is the main source of wealth for most Americans.

Algernon Austin, director, Program on Race, Ethnicity & the Economy, Economic Policy Institute, says for people of color, the decline is even worse, since many minorities have been the targets of descriminatory lending practices.

"Following the Federal Reserve data for African Americans, we saw that the home ownership rate actually peaked in 2004, and we've been seeing a rather strong decline since then."

Texas has weathered the foreclosure crisis better than most states, with home values remaining relatively stable. However, many non-white borrowers in the state were handicapped by unfair lending practices going back at least a decade, according to U.S. Department of Justice complaints filed against lenders. Just this month, Wells Fargo agreed to pay out $175 million after being accused of targeting minorities for low-quality loans in 36 states - including more than 1,000 borrowers in the Houston area alone.

Because of such practices, the decline in minority wealth is not surprising, says David Berenbaum, chief program officer, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, given the lax underwriting standards of big financial institutions for home loan products.

"African American and Latino consumers were often steered into products - frankly, subprime loans or nontraditional loans - when they qualified for prime, high credit, high-quality products."

While the Bush administration promoted minority home lending during the last decade, some critics blame the Democrat-sponsored Community Reinvestment Act for the crisis. It's a charge Berenbaum rejects.

"The myth out there is that low incomes from consumers who were not ready for home ownership created this crisis. In fact, most of the subprime loans were refinanced loans, not loans designed to expand home ownership."

The Federal Reserve report says average middle-class net worth rose significantly during the first half of the last decade, then dropped off, with Hispanics and blacks experiencing the sharpest losses.

The June 2012 Federal Reserve Bulletin report is available at http://tinyurl.com/ch2arax.






With the housing bubble responsible for much of the recent decline in middle-class wealth in the United States, some experts say discriminatory lending practices over the past decade have led to an especially sharp wealth drop among people of color. Comments from Algernon Austin, director, Program on Race, Ethnicity & the Economy, Economic Policy Institute; and David Berenbaum, chief program officer, National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Middle-class families have taken the biggest hit during "The Great Recession," according to a recent Federal Reserve report on family wealth. Experts think declining home values and the foreclosure crisis are largely responsible, with home ownership the main source of wealth for most Americans. Algernon Austin with the Economic Policy Institute says, for people of color, the decline is even worse, as many minorities have been the targets of discriminatory lending practices.

"Following the Federal Reserve data for African Americans, we saw that the home ownership rate actually peaked in 2004, and we've been seeing a rather strong decline since then."

Texas has weathered the foreclosure crisis better than most, with home values remaining relatively stable. Still, many non-white borrowers in the state were handicapped by unfair lending practices going back at least a decade, according to U-S Department of Justice complaints filed against lenders. Just this month, Wells Fargo agreed to pay out 175-million dollars after being accused of targeting minorities for low-quality loans in 36 states - including more than a thousand borrowers in the Houston area alone.

Because of such practices, the decline in minority wealth isn't surprising, according to David Berenbaum with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

"African American and Latino consumers were often steered into products - subprime loans or nontraditional loans - when they qualified for prime, high credit, high-quality products."

While the Bush administration promoted minority home lending during the last decade, some critics blame the Democratic-sponsored Community Reinvestment Act for the crisis. It's a charge Berenbaum rejects.

"The myth out there is that low incomes from consumers who were not ready for home ownership created this crisis. In fact, most of the subprime loans were refinance loans, not loans designed to expand home ownership."

The Federal Reserve report says average middle-class net worth rose significantly during the first half of the last decade, but then dropped off - with Hispanics and Blacks experiencing the sharpest losses.

Middle-class wealth is on the decline, and many say the housing bubble is the primary reason. With the decline even worse for people of color, experts are pointing to unfair lending practices. Peter Malof has more.

Peter Malof reporting.

Reach Austin via Karen Connor at 202-775-8810; Berenbaum at 202-628-8866. Federal Reserve Report: http://tinyurl.com/ch2arax. DOJ suit: http://1.usa.gov/MU3rys.






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Missouri residents are gaining new insights into the powerful role of food in health care as experts and organizations advocate for a shift toward food-as-medicine initiatives.

Kelsey Gardiner, assistant professor of nursing and health studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, emphasized the critical link between access to healthy food and improved health outcomes. She noted individuals facing food insecurity often experience higher rates of chronic diseases, highlighting the urgent need for systemic changes to enhance food access.

"There are things we can do and there are certain shifts nationally that are happening, whether that be through policy or through infrastructure changes," Gardiner pointed out. "We can be doing more in the state of Missouri in order to help increase access to healthy food that can directly tie into better health outcomes."

Gardiner underscored the potential of food-as-medicine interventions in preventing chronic conditions and reducing health care costs. She said recent studies show such interventions can lead to $13.6 billion over one year in cost savings and several improved health outcomes, making them a valuable addition to health care strategies.

Kael Martin, people impact strategist for the Health Forward Foundation, said focusing on communities affected by structural racism, socioeconomic challenges and limited health care access is paramount. Food as medicine is seen as a strategic approach to promote health equity, particularly in areas where systemic barriers hinder optimal health.

"We know that eating healthy can prevent chronic disease, but it can be a treatment option as well," Martin stressed. "To have that connection within our health care system, to really integrate these interventions, can be really impactful for many patients."

While progress is underway nationally and in other states such as Massachusetts, California and North Carolina, Missouri is still developing its approach to integrate food as medicine into health care systems and policies. Efforts to push for legislation supporting these initiatives are in progress, with some federal legislation around medically tailored meals garnering support.

As many Wyomingites await their 2023 federal income tax refunds, a new National Priorities Project report breaks down how the money they won't get back is being spent.

Co-author Lindsay Koshgarian, program director for the National Priorities Project, said this year's Tax Receipt shows that - while many school districts in Wyoming and across the U.S. are facing major budget cuts - the average taxpayer is contributing thousands of dollars to military contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.

"So whereas the average Wyoming taxpayer was giving almost $2,300 to corporate pentagon contractors," said Koshgarian, "they were giving only $455 for public education in our K-12 schools."

The average American household paid over $5,000 for militarism and support systems, but invested just $110 in the Child Tax Credit - which cut child poverty in half during pandemic era changes.

The Pentagon has failed to account for money spent in audits for the past six years. But its defenders argue tax dollars create jobs and maintain global security in the face of competitors, including China.

Koshgarian said corporate contractors can create jobs, especially in key Congressional districts.

She pointed to Brown University research showing that $1 billion in military spending adds roughly 11,000 jobs.

By comparison, $1 billion would add nearly 27,000 education, and 17,000 healthcare jobs.

"But if we put that same money into other things like education or infrastructure or healthcare," said Koshgarian, "we could actually create more good jobs with the same amount of money."

The U.S. Department of Defense has known about the existential threat of climate change for decades, and wildfires now cost upward of $394 billion in damages each year.

But the average taxpayer invested just $14 in wildfire management.

Koshgarian said she believes concerns about protecting international security, which largely serve corporate interests, are overblown.

"The U.S. is already the top military spender in the world by far," said Koshgarian. "We spend more than the next 10 militaries combined. We have the most capable military by far in the world, and no one disputes that."




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A New Mexico resident will attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address tonight as legislation is pending to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The measure was passed in 1990, with money going to residents of the Southwest who were harmed, either from uranium mining or atomic tests in 1945. The original legislation included "downwinders" in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. But New Mexico was left out, despite the state being home to the world's first atomic bomb testing and explosion.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, has made it her life's work to get New Mexico families compensated.

"I've been working for 19 years to bring attention to the negative health effects the people of New Mexico suffered," Cordova explained. "The Trinity bomb was detonated in the middle of our state and adjacent to a bunch of towns where 13,000 people lived in a 50-mile radius."

Cordova was invited to the annual Presidential address by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. In the coming days, the Senate is scheduled to vote on legislation to reauthorize the act, now scheduled to end in June.

Cordova pointed out the more than 30-year-old compensation program was an admission of guilt on the part of the government but left out many of those harmed. She knows families who have lost relatives to cancer, some within 10 years of the nuclear bomb testing.

"I just hope that people who know I'm present, realize that we will never give up the fight," Cordova asserted. "We will work very hard to get the RECA amendments passed this year, but if by some chance that doesn't happen, we will continue to fight this fight for justice as long as it takes."

This Sunday, the Hollywood blockbuster, Oppenheimer, about the creation of the atomic bomb, is a favorite to win best picture at the 2024 Academy Awards. The film did not address effects to those downwind of the bombing site.


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