The American tax code distributes wealth toward homeowners because the most significant tax deductions for the middle class are related to mortgage interest deductions. These tax benefits cost the government over $130 billion a year, and their benefits flow to the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans. This redistribution of wealth operates as a significant disadvantage to blacks, who have much lower rates of homeownership than whites. Over 70 percent of white families but only 40 percent of blacks own homes, according to the 2016 census.44 Meanwhile, welfare, affordable housing subsidies, and
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