(NNPA)—In the 1930s movie classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a family run savings and loan was the only opportunity in a town for working families to secure a mortgage and know the pride of home ownership. Fast forward to 2009, and the available financial tools to home ownership are still elusive, especially for people of color. According to the recently released Home Mortgage Data Act Report, last year African-Americans and Latinos experienced “notably higher” application denial rates than those experienced by White applicants. Moreover, this disparity existed even when taking risk factors into account whether the application was for a home purchase or refinance of an existing loan.

Retaining a diverse workforce in today’s economy is a concern of corporate leaders in major cities through out the United States.

Pittsburgh is no different.

Addressing the issue head on, the Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative recently hosted a symposium with the above named title.

SPREADING THE WORD—Diversity practitioner Tiffany Taylor Smith, M.S. Ed, owner of TRTaylor Consulting Group educates Pittsburghers about diversity in the workforce.

In attendance during a presentation conducted by diversity practitioner Tiffany Taylor Smith, M.S. Ed, owner of TRTaylor Consulting Group, more than 50 Bar Association members, educators, health care and corporate officials were on hand aiming to get the tools to help empower workforce diversity within their companies. “My goal today is to discuss the best practices in diversity retention, today’s generation of employees and cultural conversations,” she said.

Washington, D.C.— Annual data released by the U.S Census Bureau indicates that 43.6 million Americans—one in seven people—now live in poverty. This is the largest number of people in poverty in the 51 years for which the estimates are available. The figures also show that African-Americans experience poverty at a much higher rate than whites.

“It’s troubling that in one of the world’s wealthiest nations, one in four African-American households struggle to provide for their families,” said Bishop Don Dixon Williams of Bread for the World’s Church Relations department. “The vast disproportion in poverty rates between African-Americans and Whites suggests that we must urge our nation’s leaders to do more to end poverty and hunger.”

I recently received mortgage solicitations in the mail from two different companies on the same day. As a player in the mortgage industry I like to see what my competition is doing. As a result I analyze all mortgage related marketing material that comes across my desk. For some reason both mail pieces were super hyper in selling their potential customer on the idea of the mortgage tax deductions. Both mail pieces expounded on the idea that by utilizing your home to finance various goals you will, in effect, reduce your tax bill. Ironically, as I was reading various financial publications I subscribe to, I came across an article written by a financial advisor who was illustrating the benefit of making minimum payments on mortgages while investing all you can in various investment vehicles. This financial consultant reasoned that since interest rates on mortgages were averaging 6 percent and that long-term investment vehicles were averaging 12 percent, you are in effect netting a 6 percent return.