Kerby Anderson

The charge from liberal professors and progressive activists is that this country and this president are racist. That prevents non-white minorities from experiencing true economic opportunity. Minorities face economic discrimination. Stephen Moore is a finance and economics columnist who pulled together the latest Census Bureau reports to show how well minorities have been doing. Some of that has been hard to see of late because of the economic downturn created by the pandemic lockdowns. The Census Bureau reports that from 2016 to 2019, black incomes rose more than in any three years in the history of this country. Also, black poverty rates fell to their lowest level ever recorded. It might surprise you to learn that the highest income group in America is not white-skinned workers. It is Asians. The median household income of Asian-Americans is $98,174. How did Asians (many from Japan, Korea, India, China, and Taiwan) achieve this level? He suggests it could be they have a stronger work ethic. Maybe they are more likely to go into occupations like science, engineering, or medicine with higher salaries. He says, “Who knows?” The point he is making is that this is not what you would expect from a country that discriminates against non-white citizens. It is not what you would find in a xenophobic society. What about other minorities? The average Hispanic household makes $56,113. He agrees that is not rich, but it is a massive leap forward from what Hispanics earn in Mexico, El Salvador, or Cuba. He also documents the gains Latino have made in the last three years. Economic opportunity is only one factor, but it is an important one that is rarely mentioned when the charge of racism against minorities is cited. These facts about median household income deserved to be considered.