American Banker, February 2, ‘The second way’ to close the wealth gap
Politicians of all stripes appeal to the virtues of “small business” (variously defined) as a matter of course. In a two-year stretch between 2010 and 2012, the phrase appeared in the U.S. Congressional Record more than 10,000 times, according to a contemporary analysis from National Public Radio.
But while exhortations over the virtues of American entrepreneurship can be overdone, the role that small businesses will have in America’s economic recovery from the pandemic — particularly in communities of color — cannot.
“Intergenerational wealth gets passed down — or not,” said Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a network of consumer advocacy organizations. “People are running the same race, but some people are starting 100 yards behind the starting line because they’re born into a low-wealth family. That’s a consequence of historic discrimination, and until and unless you address that, you’re always going to have different outcomes at the finish line.”
