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Journal Summary

Cheryl Coronel

California State University San Marcos

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The Economist March 14th, 2015 special report on “America’s Hispanics” was

enlightening on many levels. The sheer statistics, such as, “with a combined purchasing

power of $1.1 trillion, if Hispanic-Americans were a country they would rank 16th in the

world,” (p. 4) laid the foundation of why understanding this great demographic shift is so

critical. The origin of the term Hispanic and controversy surrounding it further highlighted

the highly emotional aspects of this subject. This article covered the societal impact

Hispanics have in politics, as workers, and in their education. Hispanics have been part of

America since before its independence.

The politics of Hispanic Americans was well balanced, illustrating their vote as “up

for grabs” (p. 7) with generally socially conservative views weighing against positions on

immigration and perceptions of the Republican Party “orientated to Anglos of upper

income.” (p. 8) Ultimately, the report highlighted that both parties will have to work much

harder to get their vote because Hispanic Americans consider many issues when voting.

Although Hispanic Americans have firm moral beliefs, their view on immigration is a red-

line issue for their vote.

The piece on “casual workers” (p. 9) showed the human side of the issue of

undocumented workers. The success of Burbank’s Home Depot “temporary skilled workers

center” (p. 9) resonated as I live a few miles from Burbank. This program demonstrates

that with creativity and open-mindedness, difficult issues might be able to be solved. Most

Hispanic Americans want to work for their livelihood, however, the circumstances are

difficult for them to flourish.

Education is one of the most important contributors to success, so I was particularly

interested in the report on schooling. While some critical issues were raised including; teen
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pregnancy, poverty, and legal restrictions on higher education, I was disappointed that the

article did not offer any clear proposals to address this paramount challenge.

I believe the most critical issue raised by the report was the positive effect that the

increasing Hispanic American demographic can have on population aging and decline. The

power of “millions of energetic young people filling its schools with kids who will

eventually pay taxes and fund pensions and health care for the old” (p.15) is something that

many developed countries such as Western Europe and Japan, are struggling to maintain.

This argument can be a key uniting voice in the debate over immigration.

The report ended on a very powerful note, providing several key factors to assuage

the fears of immigration skeptics. That Hispanics are “kindred spirits” (p. 16) of American

sharing many of the same values and the American Dream was thoughtful and something

that is often missed in the emotionally charged immigration discussion. Further, that

“Americans should have more confidence in their melting pot…” (p.16) and “people do not

leave their countries to reproduce the pathologies they left behind” (p.16) are powerful

arguments for allowing time and patience to prevail on this great demographic change.

As this report was written in 2015, I thought of all the rhetoric that we see regarding

this issue just two and a half years later. As the article pointed out “rigid ideology” (p.16) on

both sides of the political spectrum “has often hurt Hispanics.” (p.16) Despite all the

bitterness, I am confident in America’s ability to positively confront the challenging

questions of immigration and harness the exciting potential of a changing majority. As the

report ended, “there are many grounds for optimism.” (p.16)

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References

Rennie, D. (2015). From minor to major. The Economist, March 14th 2015, 3-16