The chart above shows ethnic family income in the U.S. as published by the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau. It is surprising in many ways and, even more so, when you look at the sub-chart of ethnic groups with university degrees. Let’s start with the top and bottom of each chart. The differences are astounding; (1) Median income for Indian-Americans, $100,500, Median income for African-Americans, $35,000; (2) Bachelor’s degrees for Indian-Americans, 70%, average Bachelor’s degrees for all Americans, 28%. Those are wild variations, to put it mildly. Even allowing for any sort of statistical error, the numbers are incredible.
It is difficult to know where to begin in any sort of analysis of these statistics, apart to state the obvious, as I did above, astonishing.
One way of looking at the numbers is cultural attitude towards education, and what investment in education means for the future. Cultural norms within different ethnic groups shape whether parents, and communities, encourage their children to strive towards excellence in education, don’t care, or even denigrate such efforts. It is tempting to blame politics, social media and other outside influences but, in principle, all these groups are Americans in the United States, so those influences are similar, if not the same. So, it does come down to parents and communities. I could perhaps add here that investment in the future seems to be currently passé in our “instant gratification” world.
I’m sure the numbers in the chart above will only give encouragement to ethnic supremacists, but I would refer them to the fact that White Americans only perform in the middle of the median household income list and must be a significant contribution to the abominable last place of the average U.S. ranking in percentage of bachelor’s degrees (28%). Maybe these supremacists should pay more attention to the quality of their children’s education rather than trying to restrict it with religious-based doctrine? The whole country would benefit.
As I am writing this, I am becoming more and more convinced, if I wasn’t already, that parent and community influence of the value of education in the minds of their children has to be the fundamental basis of these statistics. If that is true, how can we change that in the bottom categories of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans? That is particularly relevant for Hispanic Americans because their percentage of the U.S. population is growing faster than any other group and is projected to be between 30-40% by 2050. That has serious consequences for the country. The answer to that question needs a lot of further analysis and thought, and will be the subject of future blogs.
In thinking about the other possible influences that could be affecting the surprising numbers in this chart, the problem of a fundamental aspect of American culture came to mind, and it is a topic I have touched on several times in previous blogs; that is, the concept of individualism against community responsibility. When children are brought up with the idea that their individual aspirations are separate from, and far more important, than any sense of community responsibility, the result has to be a denigration of the value of education in the sense of collective goals. That collectivity is true for the family, the community and the nation.
Individual educational goals may be part of individualism as a concept but education as part of responsibility to a wider group is not. Crudely put, if I want to exercise my individual right to be a layabout who could give a shit about anyone else, why should I be interested in education, let alone collective responsibility.
It used to be that the American dream was that you could achieve anything you wanted in the United States if you worked hard enough. That ethic seems to have morphed into caring only about yourself and to hell with everyone else.
If this concept of individualism does contribute to the appalling results for Black Americans, and even White Americans, on the Census Bureau Report, then perhaps this basic American concept of individual rights should be revisited. It should, at the very least, be discussed rationally in light of the damage it apparently does to nation.
You only have to look at the current chaos in the U.S. House of Representatives where the individual rights of self-centered members to be myopic, self-centered idiots have overwhelmed the common, and majority, good.
I’m sure this argument can take many forms, but the two thoughts of parental and community influence on children and education, and the detrimental effects on U.S. society of the current interpretation of individualism, seem to me to be two good places to start.
The Census Bureau Report should be a wake-up call for all of us, and our government. I wouldn’t hold my breath, however!
Thought provoking ideas that need further thought and analysis as I said.
I am grateful to one of my readers, and a close friend, for sending me the Census Bureau Report.
