After recent indications and trends regarding the “Hispanization” of the United States, much of the vaunted economic gains made byLatino Americans have been vaporized by the most severe economic downturn the US has seen since the late 1920s. According to a US Census data-based study conducted by the Pew Research Center, Latino households’ median wealth fell by 66 percent from 2005 to 2009. Household wealth is defined as assets like houses, cars, savings deposits, and equities minus debts likes credit card debt, student loans, car notes, and of course, mortgages.
Latinos showed the steepest drop in median wealth among America’s major minority groups. Other groups didn’t fare any better but had less dramatic drops in median wealth: African-Americans saw their median household wealth dip by 53 percent while Asian-Americans suffered a 54 percent rollback.
In comparison, white American households’ median wealth fell by only 16 percent. Because of this disparity in wealth reduction rates, white households’ net worth is now eighteen times more than Hispanic households’ net worth. Worse, African American household worth is 20 times less than the majority population’s.
All told, these declines represent the biggest downward shift since the Census Bureau began tracking this data 25 years ago, accordingto the Pew report. Some observers pointed out that Hispanics were hit harder by the recession because they tended to be employed in the very industries heaviest hit by the recession – agriculture, hotels and restaurants, and, most of all, construction. Other observers point to more sinister reasons like a backlash against the rapid shift in the Latino percentage of the US’ population,which is projected to reach 25 percent in as little as 20 years from now. According to this group of analysts, the backlash and fear fuel the recent anti-immigrant sentiment in Arizona and other states. However, this analysis still doesn’t provide a concrete connection between such a backlash and the across the board decline in Latino household wealth.
