The headline today in The New York Times says it all: “Immigrants Make Paths To Suburbia, Not Cities.” The implication of the article is that the immigrants referred to are blue collar workers who sought work in the construction and food service industries. However, missing from the article is any discussion of the high concentration of recent immigrants who have settled into million dollar neighborhoods throughout suburban America. Many of these people are highly skilled professionals, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives. America continues to be the land of opportunity for a wide socioeconomic spectrum. In fact, as I pointed out in Stop Acting Rich:
. . .the concentration ratio-the percentage of a particular group living in homes valued at $1 million or more-is highest among the more recent immigrant groups, such as Iranians [14.7%], Iraqis [11.3%], Taiwanese [10.5%], and so on. . . .
Overall at number one are South Africans [21.6%]. Contrast this to the number one ancestry group in terms of the total number living in million dollar or more homes, the English [2.8%].
What the data seems to suggest is that new immigrant groups rise quickly in the United States while more established groups fall in wealth.
I am not certain how many recent immigrants live on Nantucket but according to the article it has the highest median homes values in America “at more than $1M.”
It seems to me that when someone comes from a place where there is no opportunity to a place where opportunity is bountiful, they are able to see it more easily. Those who are born into a land of opportunity (such as myself), can’t see the forest for the trees. Thanks to you Dr. Stanley and Dave Ramsey, the forest has never been clearer!
I want to point out the fact that as the quality of education and the percentage of educated people in the US deteriorates the demand for “highly skilled labor” as defined by the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) will go up. Numerous warnings by top executives including Intel have warned about this. The competitiveness of this nation depends on it.
Amen Chris Polk! Dave Ramsey’s “common sense” financial lessons should be taught in schools. I sure wish I’d at least been presented the ideas earlier in life. I may have come around sooner.