Another Tragic Gap

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Melissa Harris-Perry made her debut as a substitute host for Rachel with a stunning segment, exactly what is missing from the dominant news media.  As a woman of color, Professor Harris-Perry had the chops to analyze the Pew study released Tuesday that calculated the dimensions of the "wealth gap," with median white wealth at about 20 times that of median black and Latino families.  The above video is that segment, and the transcript is here.  Two points stand out: the wealth gap was seeded a few generations ago when federal programs (especially in housing) that paid for the basis of the white middle class, discriminated against black and Latino families and mostly did not include them.  And that, with America set to be a non-white majority country by mid-century, if the weath gap were closed, there would be plenty of new tax and other revenue sources from people of color, as well as greater economic activity, to erase deficits in the federal budget.

Apart from what this portends for public policy and the public debate (which is mostly depressing), this debut more than suggests that there is a place for Melissa Harris-Perry (or "Melissa" as she will be called) on MSNBC--and that there is a crying need for such a presence in the media.  It may be that Melissa's academic responsibilities preclude a nightly gig, but at least a weekend program.