Born on Third Base: Part 3

For my part of Born on Third Base Chuck Collins describes the realities of privilege. Collins writes whether we choose to acknowledge it or
not many of us have been endowed with the  “wind at your back” as Collins calls it based solely on your
gender, your sexual orientation and most overwhelmingly the color of your skin. For centuries certain
people have been playing a rigged game refusing to accept their advantage which has stopped many
others from being given equal opportunities.

One of the stories Collins recounts is the time he gave a talk at the Norwood Retired Men’s Club.
Most of the men there had served during World War II. His talk addressed the disparity between the rich
and the poor. He focused specifically on the way World War II was a direct contributor to the wealth gap
between white people and black people. He discusses how many of the men benefited directly as a result
of subsidies for soldiers coming home after the war. Collins recounts the various subsidies that were
offered during that time such as the mortgage subsidies offered by the Federal Housing Administration
or the loans for a small business or even the free education and job training programs. When Collins
asked how many men had benefited from at least one of these almost the entire room held up their hand
prompting responses like “ I’d still be renting without that.” Collins explains that these were important
initiatives that allowed many of these men and their families to succeed catapulting them into the middle
class. Despite some feeling uncomfortable to admitting they had been helped with these subsidies, he
says that it is important to acknowledge that these funds existed because without them many of these
men and their families, “second-generation beneficiaries”, would not where they are today. Collins makes
this point to explain that despite the black and Latino soldiers having served along these men they were
not as fortunate. Non-white soldiers were excluded from these subsidies and that exemption continues to
affect the success and the widening wealth gap of black and Latino individuals today.

Another example that Collins uses to showcase this intergenerational help is the situations of four
children of family friends. All of them graduated from Boston public schools and were hardworking
students but he says that likely only one of them will reach the top income while the other three will
struggle in the middle or working class. This outcome he says is based solely on “inherited advantage”.
One of the students will graduate from a good college with no debt and because her family could afford to
support her was able to complete three unpaid internships and will pay the deposit on an apartment
when she graduates allowing her to attain the best job possible while the other students will face much
different circumstances. One of the other students will have around $85,000 to payback for college and
has been forced to work many part-time jobs during school and over the summers resulting in lower
grades and no internships. The reality of the other two students is even bleaker with one of them not
even attending any college at all, despite graduating high school at the top of her class. Collins says that
despite these students all being equally capable the wealth and position their parents hold has practically
determined their futures.

After reading this part of Born on Third Base it has become even more obvious how wide the wealth gap is especially for the black and Latino
communities as a result of this intergenerational help. Many individuals have huge advantages based on
things entirely out of their control and by telling these stories Collins helps us understand the ways people
continue to profit from advantages of the past as well as advantages that continue to occur today. Based
on these stories and the likely millions of other individuals who are in the same position as the three
other students this intergenerational wealth and advantage needs to be addressed and improvements
must be made to equal out the system.