Filed under: Immigration | Tags: article, Asian, economic, immigrants, multiracial issues, population, statistics
With the recent passing of President Obama’s new economic stimulus plan, ideas of how to rejuvenate the economy are floating around. Some people feel the plan should have more money attached to it…others feel it should be directed at more programs.
And according to a recent op-ed article from The New York Times, one guy feels that immigrants are the key to getting our economy back on track.
Columnist Thomas Friedman talked to Shehkar Gupta, an editor at The Indian Express newspaper, who said that by granting more visas to immigrants from places like India, China, and Korea…the immigrants will not only create their own jobs…but jobs for more Americans as well.
And it’s true.
Asian immigrants…basically all immigrants in general…have a huge impact on the U.S. economy. And if we take a look back…we can see that this revelation is not fairly new:
In 2004…the movie, A Day Without a Mexican, was released. The “mockumentary” showed the impact of the Mexican immigrants on California’s economy alone.
A USA Today article published back in 2006…discusses the pivotal role immigrants have on the economy. According to the Center for Immigration Studies…the nation’s immigrant population (both legal and illegal) reached a total of 37.9 million in 2007.
And that number is growing each day.
Arizona is now one of several states across the country with the fastest growing immigrant population.
Then in 2007…a New York Times article discussed a study that found that immigrants were contributing nearly a quarter of New York states’ economic output each year. And a good chunk of those people were in health care and higher education fields. I wonder how many of those were Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders…
The main point is that the immigrant population has become a key player in America’s economy. They are making waves in today’s society and have truly helped build our nation into what it is today.
These immigrants may be Mexican, African, Canadian, European…or even Asian.
Either way…we can’t deny their impact.
So maybe we should listen to Mr. Gupta from The Indian Express. Maybe by opening up our arms and embracing new immigrants…we’ll not only learn more about our fellow man, but help keep our pockets out of a pinch.
Filed under: Asian Networks | Tags: Asian, community, immigrants, networking, population, sites, statistics
So I was just “surfing” the web…and I happened to stumble upon this site for Asian Americans living in Arizona.
It’s called arizonaasians.com and it’s basically a networking site for Asians within the community to connect. They have a directory for local Asian businesses to post their information along with calendar dates about Asian related events in the community.
According to the site, they currently have over 2,000 members…and growing.
It amazes me to see sites like this because it’s evidence of the sense of disconnect felt within the Asian American community. The fact that someone needs to create a site like this to reach out to others, shows the lack of connection. And apparently thousands of people agree.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the minority of the minority in this state. According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, “Asian persons” in Arizona along with “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander” make up about 2.6 percent of the state population.
2.6 percent…of close to 6.2 million people in the state. Think about it.
This means that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Arizona add up to a little more than 160,000 strong. The entire Asian population in the state could fill the University of Phoenix Stadium two and a half times.
That’s not a lot…especially when compared to other ethnic groups within the greater community.
The Hispanic population rounds up to about 29.2 percent. That means almost a third of Arizona’s population is made up of Hispanics. They would be able to fill the University of Phoenix Stadium about 28 and a half times!
So, I guess I understand the need for the Asian Americans to find a way to connect with one another. This networking site and others like it, help them find some common ground in this desert in which we live.
