Valley Hispanics out of the equation
Afew weeks ago, while spending some of my scarce free time on Twitter, I read a post regarding a study that highlighted the state of economic well-being for Latinos in California.
The study, produced by Mindy Romero, a researcher with the California Latino Economic Institute of the University of Southern California, reports on the gap between rich residents and the largest ethnic group in the Golden State.
According to the results, Latinos are still experiencing much lower economic security in the state compared to the population as a whole.
In order to succeed, the Hispanic community needs “carefully allocated resources and investments designed” to improve its economic conditions and reinforce its middle class. State leaders need to acquaint themselves with the needs and obstacles Latinos face statewide to make strategic decisions about business ownership, education attainment, health and other topics.
The lead researcher introduced in the report the very first Latino Economic Index, which provides visual data of communities in various regions of one of the world’s largest economies.
Also, the study says that regardless of the gains achieved in the last 10 years (reduced poverty rates, increased college enrollment, better high school graduation rates an entrepreneurship), in every indicator measured Latinos are below the average population, but far below non-Latino whites and Asian-Americans.
The report underlines that the San Francisco Bay Area experiences the highest median household incomes and (ironically) the greatest disparities between Latinos and Asian-Americans.
Almost three out of every five Latino households lack adequate housing, while more than 50 percent of Hispanic renters and a third of Latino homeowners pay more than three of every ten dollars earned in housing.
“The state’s large, cost-burdened Latino renter population cannot achieve the savings and financial stability necessary for homeownership without access to affordable rental housing,” the study said.
In terms of education attainment, although only 13 percent of Latinos have a four-year college degree (about a third of the rate of Asian-Americans) Latinas are achieving college education at higher rates than their male counterparts.
Regarding business ownership, one in every four firms in California is owned by a Latino, but those businesses barely account for one in every 15 receipts and sales.
“It is crucial to help Latino business owners connect to the financial services they need and to address banking practices that disproportionally disadvantage Latinos,” the study said.
The study analyzed the differences among the seven regions included in this research. For example, household income disparity between Latinos and Asian-Americans is larger in the Bay Area and San Diego than in San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento and the north.
The report said the home ownership gap between Hispanics and non-Latino whites is larger in the Central Valley than in the Bay Area and even larger than Los Angeles and San Joaquin Valley.
The study indicates the adequate housing disparity is lower in the northern part of California than in Los Angeles, Central Coast and Bay Area. In the meantime, San Diego has the lowest Latino homeownership of any other region in the state. “In order to build and maintain a healthy economy in California, it is evident that the focus in the State needs to be on building a robust Latino middle class,” said the center’s Chief Operating Officer Juan Novello.
“Until we implement strategies and policies that can promote the economic growth of Latinos, we will be unable to fully tap into this economic influence and build towards California’s future,” added Baldwin Park Democratic Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio.
Unfortunately, the study does not include small- or middle-sized areas such as Imperial Valley. Regardless, I am pretty sure the outcomes in all the issues studied above are worse than state average for Latinos. As highlighted, our authorities need to focus in strategies to stimulate Hispanic success rather than chasing our communities with immigration raids.