Hispanics still thriving with the economic growth of Trump era

Democrats are desperately trying to downplay the booming economic success under President Trump. This includes arguing that the economy is not benefiting Hispanics, who will be the largest minority voting bloc in presidential election next year for the first time in American history.

Representative Joaquin Castro said last week, “Wall Street doing well does not mean that a vast majority of Latino families are doing well.” Moreover, Representative Donna Shalala said, “Everybody has to be lifted up, and the president is not lifting everybody up. He is forgetting about the working stiffs that need an increase.” She added, “He is not putting out a message that resonates to people in my community because they know they are not better off.” Representative Raul Ruiz claimed that the constituents in his heavily Hispanic district “are getting by” but “not getting ahead.”

As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.” The fact is that Hispanics are flourishing in the Trump economy. Democrats asserting the contrary is a mere partisan talking point to try to deny Trump the Hispanic support he has earned and which may decide the presidential election outcome next year. Expect Democrats to increase their identity politics attacks in an effort to skew Latinos against Republicans over the next year and a half.

That will be difficult given recent economic data. This month, the Labor Department announced that the Hispanic unemployment rate fell to a record low of just 4.2 percent. Hispanic labor force participation has also increased under Trump after falling throughout the two terms of President Obama. According to the nonpartisan organization known as the Latino Donor Collaborative, Latinos are the “new face” of the American workforce, making up 70 percent of its recent surge in growth.

Contrary to Democrats claiming this is a minimum wage economy, the jobs being created are good ones. Full time jobs continue to increase at the expense of unwanted part time ones. Hispanic household income is the highest it has ever been in the United States and growing about twice as fast as the national average. Wage growth among retail and low income workers, who are disproportionately Hispanic, has been above average under the leadership of Trump. Among the 7.5 million unfilled jobs across the nation, millions pay strong middle class wages of $50,000 or more.

Where Hispanics have especially flourished is in entrepreneurship. A recent report found entrepreneurship is at its highest level in recorded history, and it is being driven by Hispanics who are nearly one-third more likely to start a business than they were in 2013 and two-thirds more likely to start a business than whites today. A recent survey found the average revenue of businesses owned by Latinos increased by 27 percent last year thanks to tax cuts. Another recent report found nearly 90 percent of Hispanic entrepreneurs plan to expand their business this year versus two-thirds for other demographics. More than 50 percent of Hispanic entrepreneurs plan to hire this year versus 25 percent for everyone else.

This picture is very different than the one Democrats and their surrogates try to paint. Unfortunately, Hispanic economic success is threatened by liberal socialist proposals such as the Green New Deal. The tax and spend agenda that Democrats push would reduce private sector opportunity and entrepreneurship because it would suck money out of the market where it is used productively and send it to Washington where it is often wasted. While Hispanics disproportionately benefit from the booming economic success under Trump, the flip side of this coin is that they would indeed be disproportionately suffer under another stifled era like under Obama.

Ironically, many Hispanics in the United States have actually fled socialism or have ancestors who did in order to pursue the American dream. For them, the free market is not a given, but something to be cherished and protected. This is especially the case under the stewardship of Trump.

Alfredo Ortiz is president and chief executive of the Job Creators Network.