Citigroup study: Racism allegedly cost the US economy 16 trillion dollars

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Protesters in New York in June 2020: Remembering victims of racial violence such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor

Photo: John Marshall Mantel / imago images / ZUMA Wire

According to a study, racism has caused enormous damage to the US economy over the past 20 years.

Lower wages and more difficult access to credit for blacks and Latinos would have resulted in losses of 16 trillion dollars (13.7 trillion euros), according to a study by the New York financial services company Citigroup.

In addition to the wage gap, the study's authors point to a number of other reasons for economic inequality.

These included, for example, discrimination in the world of work and poor access to education for many blacks and Latinos.

Because of the lower income, the affected population groups have difficulties in getting a loan and are more often at the mercy of dubious creditors.

Even companies run by blacks are therefore more difficult to obtain a loan.

Against this background, Citigroup announced that it would invest a billion dollars in business areas related to the black population.

A good half of the sum should flow into home loans for blacks.

There should also be more investment in black-owned companies and anti-racism practices in the financial services industry.

The authors also point out what happens if the wage and credit access gap narrowed over the next five years: Then the US economy could grow by an additional five trillion dollars.

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