Guest Column
REPORT: Census, Students, Poverty
REPORT: Census,
Students, Poverty
July 2006
The US population is on track to surpass 300 million in October 2006.
In 1967, when the US population reached 200 million, there were fewer
than 10 million Hispanics and 10 million immigrants. In 2006, there
are 43 million Hispanics and 38 million immigrants. In 2000, there
were 282 million residents, including 36 million Hispanics.
Latinos accounted for nearly half of the nation's population increase
of 2.8 million from July 2004 to July 2005, as 500,000 Hispanic
immigrants arrived, bringing the Latino population to 43 million in a
nation of 296 million (there were 194 million whites (67 percent), 40
million Blacks, and 14 million Asians. The median age is 40 for
whites, 30 for Blacks and 27 for Hispanics. The Census reported
800,000 births to Hispanics between July 2004 and 2005.
About 45 percent of the nation's children under five belong to racial
or ethnic minorities. They are a majority of young children in many
cities, from Miami to Los Angeles. The overall fertility rate for US
women is two, and 3.5 for Mexican-born women in the US; women in
Mexico have a fertility rate of 2.6, according to PRB.
A March 2006 National Academy of Sciences report, "Multiple Origins,
Uncertain Destinies: Hispanics and the American Future"
(http://fermat.nap.edu/catalog/11314.html#description), emphasized
that the number of Hispanics increased from less than four million in
1950 to over 40 million by 2005. Almost half of US Hispanics were
born abroad and 40 percent of the foreign-born Hispanics are
unauthorized.
The National Academy report emphasized three issues for immigrant and
US-born children of Hispanic immigrants: not completing high school,
not earning college degrees and not mastering English. The report
(p93) says that there are clear gains in educational attainment and
earnings growth between first- and second-generation Hispanics, but
not necessarily between the second and third generations.
Furthermore, "deficiencies in education and language skills will
remain a formidable obstacle to the labor market success of
Hispanics, especially for immigrants, and will continue to hamper
their economic progress."
Students. Immigrants are about 12 percent of US residents, and their
children born inside and outside the US are 20 percent of US
residents under 18. About 80 percent of the children of immigrants
were born in the US, but five million have at least one unauthorized
parent. Over 90 percent of children under six with at least one
immigrant parent were born in the US.
In 2000, half of the children of immigrants in K-5 grades were low
income, that is, in families with incomes of less than twice the
poverty line. Poverty and parents with little educationÑ a third of
children of immigrants in K-5 grades had parents who did not complete
high schoolÑ combine to limit academic achievement. Over half of the
parents of immigrant children reported difficulty speaking English,
and immigrant parents are more likely to keep children at home rather
than put them in Head Start programs and child care centers.
How many US students graduate from high school? The National
Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) tracks individual students over
time, and found that within two years of normal graduation age, 82
percent of those first tracked in eighth grade had normal high school
diplomas, including 85 percent of whites, 95 percent of Asians and 74
percent of Blacks and Hispanics. NELS found that an additional
seven percent of whites, 14 percent of Blacks and seven percent of
Hispanics got GED diplomas by age 26.
Many K-12 and college students seek private tutoring. Firms that
provide such help are increasingly outsourcing to tutors in India and
China. Indians with Master's degrees earning $300 a month to tutor
American children in math and science earn twice the average pay of a
high-school teacher in India. The number of outsourced tutors is
expected to increase as the No Child Left Behind Act provides
additional funds for remedial education.
The US issues about 250,000 visas to foreign students each year, and
there are almost 600,000 foreign students in the US at any one time.
Almost 60 percent of US student visas are issued to Asians, including
25 percent to Koreans and Japanese. About 15 percent of foreign
students become immigrants, half via marriage or US employers and
half after first becoming a temporary worker, as with an H-1B visa.
Adjustments to immigrant status are most common for Chinese and
Indian doctoral students, 80 percent of whom stay (about half of all
foreign students who complete US graduate degrees remain in the US).
Foreign student graduates of US universities are seen as desirable
workers and immigrants. Perhaps 20 percent of US H-1B visas are
issued to previous holders of F-student visas; the US grants up to
20,000 H-1B visas a year to foreign students who earn MS or PhD
degrees from US universities.
State governments traditionally supported public universities, but
the state share of funds spent at many flagship campuses (University
ofÉ) has declined sharply, especially in the past decade, to less
than 25 percent of their budget. Public universities, including
community colleges, enroll about 80 percent of US college students,
and many are raising tuition to generate revenue.
Federal, state and local governments regulate particular occupations
by requiring certificates or licenses. About 20 percent of US
workers are covered by state licensing laws, and federal, county and
city regulations add more requirements. About 50 occupations are
licensed in all states, and 800 are regulated in some states and not
in others. Comparisons of occupations that are licensed in some
states and not in others find that prices (wages) are 10 to 20
percent higher and employment lower in the states that require
licenses.
Poverty. There were 37 million US residents with incomes below the
poverty line in 2004, that is, below $19,157 for a family of four.
Another 54 million people were in households that had incomes between
the poverty line and an income that is twice the poverty line. The
poverty line is not adjusted for the cost of living. If it were
adjusted, California and New York would have the highest poverty
rates because living costs in these states are higher.
About 50 million US residents receive federal-state health care
benefits each year because they are poor. Beginning July 1, 2006,
those applying for Medicaid must prove they are US citizens or legal
residents, and states must check applicants or risk losing federal
funds. Until now, states could allow applicants to assert that they
were US citizens and not check documents.
Wal-Mart is often considered the prototypical early 21st century US
company, much as GM was the behemoth of the mid-20th century. With
1.2 million employees, Wal-Mart is the largest private US employer
and, with stores in 15 countries, had global sales of $312 billion in
2005. Wal-Mart is praised for reducing costs but also blamed for low
wages and the trade deficit with China. Wal-Mart began as an effort
to sell lower-priced goods in rural areas, and used its expertise in
logistics to expand into urban areas.
_______________________________________________________
SOURCES: Amit R. Paley, "Homework Help, From a World Away," Washington Post,
May 15, 2006. Kleiner, Morris. 2005. Licensing Occupations:
Enhancing Quality or Restricting Competition? W.E. Upjohn Institute.
www.upjohninst.org
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