The poor

In A Poverty Issue Left Untouched Robert J. Samuelson, one of Tyler Cowen's favorite economics columnists writes,

Hispanics account for most of the increase in poverty...

To state the obvious: Not all Hispanics are immigrants, and not all immigrants are Hispanic. Still, there's no mystery here. If more poor and unskilled people enter the country -- and have children -- there will be more poverty...

Now, this poverty may or may not be temporary. Some immigrants succeed quickly; others do not. But if the poverty persists -- and is compounded by more immigration -- then it will create mounting political and social problems. One possibility: a growing competition for government benefits between the poor and baby boomer retirees.

I dunno. Their poverty is a problem because we insist on seeing as a problem. Assuming he's right and we're talking about immigrants, they've come to the US because conditions here are better than where they were. So as long as they remember to compare with life back home, they won't be so resentful. Plus if they're illegal, they can't vote anyway. Hey, it's a win-win situation...until their kiddies are born here as American citizens and become as lazy and resentful as the rest of us.

The Economist says, speaking of education ,

Latino teenagers are twice as likely as blacks and three times more likely than whites to drop out of school.

(Latinos, not Hispanics--the Economist is pc!). It also says of education that it

is a major determinant of both poverty rates and the growth of inequality. The median earnings of those with a high-school diploma or less have declined over the past 25 years, while those with college and graduate degrees have seen a sharp increase.

So the poverty of latinhispanicos is also a cultural problem.