Responding to "My Parents, My Landlords"

The New York Times recently ran an article entitled “My Parents, My Landlords.” Intending to be humorous while showcasing an important issue, the article fails in both respects. It fails in its humor by discussing the lack of housing affordability for today’s college graduates in a flippant way. It fails in its content by refusing to acknowledge the luxury of parental assistance for wealthy families, especially when viewed in context of America’s socioeconomic state.

Wealthy families are compelled to buy apartments for their children because rental costs are at historically high levels, wages are stagnant, and college debt is soaring. These are serious issues that should not be reduced to a chat on parents as a “benevolent landlords.” The Times seeks to comfort its affluent readers in this humorous analogy instead of discussing the real issues that threaten the socioeconomic foundations of the United States. Shame on the Times.

Here are a few recommendations to the article’s author, Joanne Kaufman. This piece needs a follow-up that details the strife experienced by Communities of Color. If this article is described as humorous, a companion article describing the experience of Communities of Color could be labeled as despairing. Instead of quotes like, “My daughter was looking on 10th Avenue and on 12th Avenue. I didn’t want her walking those streets at 3 a.m.,” perhaps you’d hear something like, “Even though it was more than 30% of our income, and not the safest, we were lucky to find an apartment on 10^th Avenue and 12^th Avenue.” Please note in your article that from 2007 to 2010, the median income of black families fell 10.1%, double the rate of white households. The median wealth held by black families was $4,900 in 2010, compared to a net worth for white families of $97,000.

For me, what has really been humorous has been to watch the pundits on TV puzzle over the cause of Ferguson and the origins of Black Lives Matter. The numbers speak for themselves. I do appreciate your acknowledgment of intergenerational wealth transfers in the perpetuation of wealth inequality on racial lines, but I think you could explore this further (and differently) in your next piece.

So, Ms. Kaufman, perhaps it would be fitting to follow up your article on the unfortunate situation of America’s wealthy (read: largely white) advantaged college graduates, with an article on the inequitable and unacceptable situation faced by Communities of Color. I do suspect, though, it will not be met with the same feelings as your “My Parents, My Landlords” article.