Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies Hispanics and the American Future (2006) / Chapter Skim
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6 Uncertain Destinies
6 Uncertain Destinies
Pages 113-128
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From page 113... ...
Ixrael Elements (2004) Copyright by the artist; used with permission of Tropico de Nopal Gallery -- Artspace.
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From page 115... ...
. For the nation, the youthful Hispanic population represents a significant demographic dividend not available to other industrialized countries 115
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From page 116... ...
With a median age of 12.6 in 2000, the majority of the Hispanic second generation is now of school age; by 2030, the majority of the Hispanic second generation will be in the labor force, with a median age of 24.3 Because most young people have completed their formal schooling by this age, the long-term economic future of Hispanics depends crucially on the educational progress of the second generation, both in absolute terms and relative to other groups they will compete with in the labor, housing, and consumer markets. Certain aspects of Hispanics' social and economic future can be predicted with some confidence by extrapolating the likely consequences from well-defined trends.
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From page 117... ...
Since 1970, the Hispanic population has become appreciably more diverse in nationality, social class, legal status, and generation, challenging the cohesion of Hispanicity as a cultural identity. Four mechanisms are particularly important for understanding the construction and persistence of Hispanicity as a panethnic identity: the extent to which Hispanics accept and self-identify using panethnic labels, trends in intermarriage, the extent of Spanish-language use, and the proliferation of panethnic labels through the media and official classification schemes.
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From page 118... ...
First, continued immigration from Latin America will slow the rate of language shift, but how much, in what ways, and for what groups will depend on settlement patterns of the foreign born. Second, the geographic dispersal of Hispanics may accelerate the process of linguistic assimilation, which may also dilute the development of a panethnic identity if accompanied by higher rates of intermarriage with non-Hispanics.
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From page 119... ...
Continued demographic growth coupled with unprecedented geographic dispersal might increase the need for multicultural marketing strategies, at least temporarily, but the long-term demand for Spanish-language outlets will depend on the future course of immigration and the rate of linguistic assimilation across generations.8 Less debatable is the increased purchasing power of Hispanics as their numbers grow and as greater numbers ascend to the middle class.9 Government institutions also encourage a slow shift toward panethnic over national-origin identities through the use of the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" in their data collection activities. The absence of questions about national origin or options to report national origin as an ethnic identity reduces the salience of a national identity relative to panethnic identities for some Hispanics, particularly those from nations with low representation in the United States, such as Uruguay and Bolivia.
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From page 120... ...
Hispanics also may soften racial boundaries by infusing Latin American meanings of race into the blackwhite racial divide. This latter possibility is highly tentative at this time, however; the dimensions of racial identity will depend in part on Hispanics' continued geographic dispersal to areas historically segregated along racial lines and future patterns of intermarriage.
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From page 121... ...
Young age structure, low education, and high poverty levels largely explain the low voting rates and low rates of office holding, but the net result is relatively little political influence, particularly noticeable in areas of high Hispanic concentration. That electoral participation and civic engagement of the foreign born rise with time spent in the United States and also across generations imply that Hispanics will have increased political influence as the second generation comes of age.
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From page 122... ...
Averting those health risks will require strategies that both target obesity among Hispanic youths and attempt to preserve the positive health behaviors of Hispanic immigrants. Trends in Hispanics' utilization of quality health care services also raise several issues for policy makers, health care providers, and the health care system in general.
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From page 123... ...
Closing the gap in Hispanics' education would require placing students in high-quality scholastic programs, reinforced by early intervention initiatives, strong dropout prevention efforts, and strategies that promote college attendance and graduation. Hispanics' low levels of formal schooling and proficiency in English jeopardize their labor market prospects, as reflected in their employment rates, occupational standing, and earnings.
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From page 124... ...
born, to the middle class. Still, partly because of the weak economic position of immigrants and partly because of persisting education gaps among the native born, Hispanics as a group are losing economic ground relative to whites.
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From page 125... ...
However, this opportunity will be short-lived because continued declines in Latin American fertility will not only alleviate labor pressures south of the border, but also shrink the migrant labor streams on which the U.S. economy has come to depend.15 As growing numbers of Hispanics join the labor force and replace white retirees, Hispanic workers should be able to attenuate labor shortages such as those experienced by other Western, industrialized countries.
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From page 126... ...
The effects of Hispanics on U.S. schools, health care systems, labor markets, and political organizations are occurring even as their own ethnic contours are being reshaped by immigration, intermarriage, new settlement patterns, language shift, and the adoption of collective panethnic identities, as well as by changing definitions of race and emergent racial identities.
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From page 127... ...
8 A recent Pew Hispanic Center report claims that Hispanics' views on many topics are influenced by the language in which they obtain news.
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