OP-ED: “The Rio Grande Rises: Why hasn't anyone noticed the drop in Hispanic poverty,” by Douglas J. Besharov, New York Times, 1 October 2007.
Besharov notes that those living in poverty (less than 20k for family of four) in 2006 is down to 12.3% from 12.6% in 2005, meaning 500,000 fewer people.
The news coverage spoke only to the "intractability" of the issue, but Besharov notes that Hispanics prove that assumption wrong.
As a group, Hispanics are enjoying substantial economic progress. Their poverty rate has dropped by a third from its high 12 years ago, falling from 30.7 percent in 1994 to 20.6 percent in 2006.
That growth occurred across the years encompassing a huge uptick in Hispanic immigrants, both legal and illegal. As Besharov puts it:
[The data] show that although Hispanics still have a long way to go to achieve the full promise of the American Dream, as a group they are clearly on the economic up escalator."
Hispanics are just 5% of the population in 1975, but now make up roughly 15% (growing from 11 million to 45 million). That influx resulted in a rise in poverty in America, to no surprise, since we're talking more low-end labor.
But clearly we're seeing some steep rise in income among these people, which results in the remittances effect. About 70 percent sent something back last year. The total was a stunning $45 billion, which is only roughly twice as much as our entire aid budget to the Gap. As Hispanic educational levels continue to rise, this flow is only likely to get that much stronger. The average Hispanic household now earns about $38k.
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