EL AMERICAN: “Hispanics Embody the American Dream. Political Parties Must Realize Their Potential
Social Capital Campaign Director Chris Bullivant writes for El American on our upcoming policy reports, and their focus on hispanics.
I have been a frequent visitor to the United States since the year 2000: a country with an enormous scale of wealth, a dependence upon the car, and a confusing relationship with Hispanics. In Southern California, for example, I noticed Hispanics were highly visible in labor, agricultural, construction, and service jobs; but less visible eating at fine dining restaurants, shopping in high-end stores, or sharing small talk at art exhibits.
There are 60 million Hispanics in America today, making up 18.7% of the population. Yet Hispanics make up 28.1% of those in poverty. And as Ruy Texeira puts it, Hispanics are “overwhelmingly working class”, keeping the American labor force growth rate from shrinking. In fact, partly because of their youth, Hispanics are projected to make up 78% of net new workers this decade.
More controversially, the system is willing to accommodate 12 million undocumented workers (6.85 million of which are from Mexico and Central America) as long as they supply taxes – who don’t qualify for rebates or tax credits. The dysfunction of the system is widespread: more than 16.7 million people live in a home with at least one family member, often a parent, who is undocumented.
Yet this almost two-tier society doesn’t seem to concern many “right-thinking” citizens preoccupied with systemic injustice. Perhaps because their own affluence is kept afloat by the surfeit of cheap labor made available through, in part, Hispanic residents – legal or otherwise. The Hispanic construction worker makes houses more affordable, the agricultural laborer foods cheaper. The skilled landscaper and cleaner further liberate the wealthy couple from domestic chores, without whom there would be less time for hand wringing about “injustice anywhere”, while Marta changes the diaper and the TV shows the First Lady comparing Hispanic minorities to a breakfast taco.
