As has been widely reported by the media, the latest 2010 U.S. Census Bureau numbers are confirming the growing number of the Hispanic population in our country. According to some estimates, this number is set to total 50.5 million Hispanics, accounting for nearly 1 in six Americans now of Hispanic stock.
While Europe ages and other countries look enviably at our demographic gains, what’s particularly interesting about these numbers is less about the growth of the overall Hispanic population (that was widely predicted) – but where the Hispanic population increase is most pronounced.
As the Wall Street Journal explained “Many of the [Hispanic] biggest jumps were in the South, including Alabama, North Carolina and Louisiana…..” Read: the South. As even the most casual observer of politics knows, the South is not necessarily known as being a bastion of liberalism. And thanks to a steady stream of conservatives occupying the majority of the Governor’s mansions in many of these states, conservative economic policies have been paving the way for much of this growth.
In this light, Hispanics flocking to economic growth areas, where jobs abound, is obvious. Hispanics, like the rest of us, will go where the jobs are.
And as we have been reporting, there is a reason why Hispanics aren’t flocking to Detroit that has been readily embracing the liberal economic dogma of higher taxes and a bigger government for the past few years. Suffering from high levels of unemployment, high crime, high taxes and a decrepit public education system, is it little wonder why the city population plunged 25% since the last Census?
Of course, this is an important issue to consider as our country faces a mounting national deficit and a federal government that continues to spend and borrow with wanton disregard. If we are to change course from this disastrous path, it is vital that our elected officials get our financial house in order. At both the local and federal level, liberal economic policies are leaving disastrous results in their wake.
In short, the real story from the Census numbers is not the growth, but the location of the growth – and the economic policies that created the conditions for the growth.
