At Monroe County Community College, we celebrate all cultures on a regular basis, and Hispanic Heritage Month is one we celebrate this month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. There are numerous presentations and interactions as we strive to ensure that everyone who interacts with our college feels that sense of Belonging (what we call our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan).
Here are a few definitions to inform this discussion. According to various sources, Hispanic is language based and refers to a person with ancestry from a country whose primary language is Spanish. Latino and its variations are geographical, and refer to a person with origins from anywhere in Latin America (Mexico, South and Central America) and the Caribbean. While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, as you can see, they are different.
Here are some information and data gleaned from various sources, under the assumption that they are true to the above definitions.
From the Hispanic Outlook website, “National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week was expanded in 1988 to cover a 30-day period and enacted into law on August 17, 1988.”
So, as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I would like to delve a little into only some of the economics of Hispanics in America. My frame of reference throughout this article will be a comparison of the Hispanic numbers with the majority (whites). Most of this information is from www.jec.senate.gov.
- The total economic output of Hispanic Americans is estimated to be well over $2 trillion and Hispanic Americans alone accounted for over half of all the population growth in the United States over the last decade.
- Nearly 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses contribute over $800 billion to the U.S. economy annually. Hispanic employer businesses employ about 3 million workers.
- The overwhelming majority of Hispanic-owned businesses employ at least one employee, and more than one-third of these businesses employ five workers or more.
- Hispanic businesses struggle with barriers to financing. The most common source of capital for nearly 70% of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the U.S. is personal savings. Despite faster revenue growth and comparable credit performance, less than one-quarter of Hispanic-owned businesses receive funding over $100,000 from national banks, compared to an approval rate of nearly 50% for white-owned businesses.
- The median wealth, or net worth, of white families is five times higher than the median net worth of Hispanic families.
- While an increasing number of Hispanic Americans own their homes, they lag behind white Americans in home ownership. Less than half of Hispanic families own their homes, relative to nearly three-quarters of white families.
- Given disparities in employment, earnings and wealth, Hispanic Americans are generally less financially prepared for retirement than any other racial or ethnic group. Only about a quarter of Hispanic Americans have a retirement account, compared to almost 6 in 10 white Americans.
In a September 2022 article by Carmen Sessin on www.nbcnews.com, recent research shows that “If U.S. Latinos were an independent country, their gross domestic product would rank fifth in the world, surpassing those of the United Kingdom, India and France…. The economic output of Latinos in 2020 was $2.8 trillion, up from $2.1 trillion in 2015 and $1.7 trillion in 2010, according to a report by the Latino Donor Collaborative in partnership with Wells Fargo. LDC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group focused on reshaping perceptions of U.S. Latinos through data and economic research. In terms of personal consumption, U.S. Latinos ‘represent a consumption market larger in size than the entire economy of nations like Canada or South Korea.’”
In Monroe and Lenawee Counties, as in many parts of our nation, Hispanics are recognized as an immigrant population who work in agriculture in our orchards and greenhouses – essentially, they help feed us, But they do much more than that as reflected above.
The economic power of Latinos/Hispanics has continued to increase over the years, but there is still a long way to go as they lag the majority. Let us together celebrate their progress with them during this Hispanic Heritage Month and thank them for their numerous contributions.
Kojo Quartey, Ph.D., is president of Monroe County Community College and an economist. He may be reached at kquartey@monroeccc.edu.
