The Race Tax & Upward Mobility
Summary: Focuses on the Sticky Floor and Concrete Ceiling that prevent families from escaping asset poverty.
The Sticky Floor: 81% of low-wealth White households and 61% of low-wealth Black households remained at the bottom between 2021 and 2023.
Concrete Ceiling: Leaping from the middle class (Q3) to the top 20% is a statistical fiction, with less than a 5% chance for both races.
Ladder of Instability: Shows that even when households move up to Q2 or Q3, they overwhelmingly stop at a position of high financial instability.