The difference in net worth between the typical white family and black family is $131,000, ProPublica's Paul Kiel reports. As a consequence of that racial wealth gap, black families have smaller financial reserves to fall back on and more likely to be sued over a debt or land in jail because of unpaid tickets and court fines.
Kiel and a reporting partner found that debt-collection lawsuits in three U.S. cities were twice as high in mostly black communities than they were in mostly white communities.
He suggests reform to debt collection laws, such as reducing the amount of income subject to garnishment or setting a small sum in bank accounts as off limit to collectors.
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
