A new economic study, sponsored by RBC Capital Markets (RBC) and the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), challenges the narrative about Latinx-Americans, from a problem to be solved to an economic solution hiding in plain sight.
The study, Making America Rich Again: The Latino Effect on Economic Growth, shows that the Latinx community is younger, more educated and more entrepreneurial than many might expect, and is driving job creation, income growth and new business formation for the entire country. “We’re using this as a big opportunity to tell the story about the new mainstream economy, built on this phenomenon of massive demographic change,” says Sol Trujillo, co-founder of the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-partisan group dedicated to changing the perception of Latinos in America.
Trujillo, a former Fortune 500 CEO, adds the big goal of the study is “to gather real data rather than perceptions or opinion.” The study was authored by NERA economist Jeffrey Eisenach.
Although the current rhetoric from the Trump administration about immigration and wall-building isn’t helping perceptions, Trujillo says negative stereotyping has long been a problem. “It’s everywhere – look at entertainment. Either the bad guys are Latinos, or its ‘Maria the nanny’ or ‘Pablo the gardner,’” he says.
Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country, accounting for 53% of U.S. population growth since 2000.
From the study:
- As consumers, Latinos wield more than $1.3 trillion in buying power, and the number of affluent Latinx households is growing much faster than for the overall population;
- Latinos are creating new businesses faster than other Americans. Latinx-owned business grew by 46 percent 2007-2012. Hiring in Latinx-owned businesses increased 22 percent;
- Latinos were responsible for 29% of real income growth in the United States 2005-2015, with the number of Latinx households with incomes over $150,000 growing 194 percent;
- The median Latino age is 28 years old, nine years younger than the U.S. population at large.
Trujillo says that employers should be taking notice. “Look ahead to 2020 and beyond,” he says. “The new labor force entrants are going to be Latinos.”
Educated, tech-savvy Latinos are going to be bringing an instant boost of innovation and energy to corporations who understand the business case for diversity. “This is important for states that are looking to shrink unemployment and not having to bribe companies to stay on old technology and old platforms,” he says, referring to President-elect Trump’s recent negotiations with Carrier in Indiana.
The study was shared with representatives from media and corporate America yesterday, as part of an ongoing strategy to keep the conversation about the future of the American Latinx population focused on facts. “We will be working with the new administration and identify the issues we need to work on,” says Trujillo. “But I know from many years as a leader – when we share the same data, we can reduce the amount of dissonance very quickly.”
On Point
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| Congress released the final version of the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act on Monday, which includes a $170 million package for Flint. But unrelated provisions designed to address California’s drought threaten to delay or derail its passage. California Senator Barbara Boxer said the new language impacts thousands of fishery jobs and the environment. “I will use every tool at my disposal to stop this last-minute poison-pill rider,” she said. |
| Detroit News |
| Encouraging more teachers of color |
| Here’s one way: Get them into teaching jobs early. That’s the solution of one California charter school network; they’ve been offering their high school graduates teaching jobs along with their diplomas – as soon as they complete their college education. It’s one of several alumni-to-teacher programs popping up in school systems. “There’s no better role model for our students than teachers who have sat, literally, in the same chairs,” said one administrator. |
| The Atlantic |
| Lydia Polgreen is the new editor-in-chief at Huffington Post |
| Polgreen is a big get for HuffPo. She was most recently the associate masthead editor and editorial director of NYT Global at the New York Times. Polgreen has extensive international experience and is an insightful observer of digital trends and a sharp critic of journalism. “I feel like we’re living in a moment right now where media has to fundamentally rethink its position vis-a-vis power,” she said. The appointment feels like an intersectional celebration: Polgreen, gay, black and raised mostly in Ghana, was lauded on Twitter by former colleagues and fans. |
| Huffington Post |
| A study from UCLA reveals resilience among black and brown young men |
| A new study of black and Latino high school students living in the Los Angeles area shows that although many come from homes with single and/or overworked parents, they had high grade point averages and felt supported by families and communities. “They are impressive, and a counter to the fear, misunderstanding, and ignorance that exists about young men of color,” says UCLA Professor Tyrone Howard. |
| UCLA Black Male Institute |
| Malta’s government bans gay “conversion therapy” |
| Earlier this week, Malta’s parliament passed a bill that bans “conversion therapy,” also called “reparative therapy,” which are programs seeking to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals. The practice has been widely criticized by experts for being deeply harmful and ineffective. Malta is the first European country to do so. |
| Mic |
The Woke Leader
| Graduation is different for first generation college students |
| College doesn't resemble the TV version, according to poet and writer Soraya Membreno. “There was no carefully packed minivan or raucous family escort into the chaotic, half-empty cement dorms,” she writes. She arrived alone and without fanfare; nobody in her family had any idea how to prepare her. It ended similarly: Her mother missed graduation because of immigration issues. Her overwhelmed father, who spoke no English, spent the night before in a threadbare dorm, the accommodation provided to low-income parents. “He missed the hand-off of the diploma; he couldn’t quite follow the ceremony while trying to narrate it to my mother over the phone,” she writes. |
| Catapult |
| On being the only black friend, in real life and on Twitter |
| After a white woman tweeted Gene Demby, the co-host of NPR’s Code Switch podcast, asking for “his take” on a recent New Yorker cartoon, he got a little salty. “A request for a break from being y’alls racial confessor and the black person you’ve race-inflated into “friend,” he responded. That exchange begat a complex conversation about white allyship and tweeting while black in a divisive age. Four of my favorite thinkers, Jamelle Bouie, Gene Demby, Aisha Harris and Tressie McMillan Cottom extended their conversation on Slack. This edited version of their exchange is a must read. |
| Slate |
| The best reason to learn another language |
| It’s a Christmas commercial produced by a Polish online auction site. It’s going viral and deserves to. No jokes, just watch. |
| Mashable |
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