Reply To: what is the cause of income inequality in the jewish commnuity?

In the early 1900s, during the first wave of European immigration to the U.S., fewer than 10 percent of Yidden living in America could be characterized as even marginally “affluent”. Among those 10 percent were an even smaller percentage (including many with Yekkishe backgrounds) who were among the most affluent individuals in America who had amassed their wealth in merchant banks and other financial institutions, retails and even a few manufacturing firms. As the numbers of low wage immigrants increased, the median incomes declined going up through WWII. In the post-war period, many of the “baby boomers” became the first in their families to go on to college and got high-paying jobs in a wide range of sectors, including science and technology. This all occurred in an economy where a college degree and graduate degree were in most cases prerequisites to economic advancement.
In those segments of the tzibur that spurned higher education and professional opportunities there were still some whose entrepreneurial skills allowed them to succeed and earn a good paranassah. Overall, however, a lack of advanced academic and job skills resulted in those segments of the tzibur having lower average incomes than MO and secular yidden and a higher dependency on government transfer payments and welfare programs. There is some indication these trends could gradually change as more Chareidi families find opportunities to pursue educaiton and professional careers consistent with their hashkafah but for now, the income gap is fairly significant.