Spreading The Wealth By Affirmative Action

A left-liberal twofer! Richard Kahlenberg, booster of class-based affirmative action, continues his campaign:

In college admissionsthe subject of the ongoing litigationObama could back a vigorous program of economic preferences that indirectly addresses our nation’s history of slavery and segregation and the ongoing reality of racial discrimination.

According to a 2004 Century Foundation study by Anthony Carnevale and Stephen Rose, economic affirmative actionlooking at the income, education and occupation of an applicant’s parents, and the level of poverty in her high schoolwill produce almost as much racial diversity as current race-based affirmative action: the result would be 10 percent black and Hispanic representation at the most selective colleges and universities compared with 12 percent currently. But counting other economic factorssuch as wealth (net worth)should boost racial diversity further. Wealth represents the accumulation of income over time and thereby more closely reflects the legacy of past discrimination. Likewise, because homes represent the biggest source of family wealth for most Americans, giving low wealth students a preference will also capture ongoing racial discrimination in the housing market.