A week ago the New York Times published an article titled “Hopes Frustrated, Many Latinos Reject the Ballot Box Altogether” The article describes the disappointment of a Hispanic leader who belongs to a local immigration group called “Rights for All People” close to Denver, Colorado. According to the report from nearly 50 young Latinos who participated in the interview no one showed interest in voting in future elections.
Based on this experience the author of the article goes on to conclude that Latinos in the U.S. are disappointed with both political parties. From one side Republicans, for their stance on immigration. From the other side Democrats, given the mass deportation of illegal immigrants by Barack Obama once he was elected president.
Apparently the disappointment over President Obama was so serious that a Hispanic leader called him “Deporter in chief” for allowing the deportation of nearly two million illegal Latinos. Finally the article analyzes the importance of the Latino vote and the growing concerns of the Democratic party regarding the possible outcome of future elections in the U.S.
According to the organizers of the local group in Colorado the low Latino participation in upcoming elections could be exacerbated in the future and it is “absolutely imperative that this does not happen.” Basically the Times article focuses on the increasing importance of the Latino vote in determining the outcome of the U.S. elections and the effect that the immigration crisis could potentially have on the Hispanics when it comes to casting their votes.
From reading this article it appears that the author’s analysis focuses on the Latino vote based on a single parameter, the immigration crisis. Immigration reform may plays an important role in the way Latinos vote, however several reports in the past have shown that the overall view of the economy and jobs are higher priority concerns for the Hispanic community.
The article does not mention that currently one out of four Hispanics live in poverty in the U.S. It also fails to recognize the continuous high unemployment rate among Hispanics since Obama was elected in 2008. Another important factor that could very well determine the way Latinos feel regarding their participation in the electoral process is the negative effect ObamaCare had on them for several years already.
The Affordable Care Act was implemented under the premise that nearly 50 million people had no health insurance in the U.S. From this number one third was estimated to be Hispanics. If this was the case the numbers are clear. There are approximately 16 million Hispanics in the country without health insurance.
ObamaCare did not do for Latinos what it was supposed to do, neither in terms of health coverage, economy or jobs. Actually it did the opposite.
Ironically the government recently celebrated the welcome of ObamaCare when apparently seven million people were enrolled. However as soon as the president celebrated his Health Care achievement many legitimate questions started surging. How many of them actually have access to health insurance? How much do they have to pay in the future? What kind of coverage will they have or what hospitals or doctors will they be allowed to visit? How many already paid the first month premium to be considered enrolled? In reality nobody seems to know the answer to those questions so far.
What we know now according to a recent report from Univision before the deadline date (March 31) is that Hispanics are the group with the least enrollment in ObamaCare.
Since the health care reform was passed 4 years ago millions of people have lost their health insurance, hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs or ended up working part-time and millions have left the labor force all over the country. Indeed the negative impact of ObamaCare has been felt in every social and ethnic group across the U.S. and Hispanics were no exception by any means.
In this regard the Labor Department reported last week that the unemployment rate in the country was 6.7 % without counting people who were forced to work part-time or those who do not participate in the labor force any more. Considering that more than 50 million Hispanics live in the U.S. and that the Latino population depends primarily on small businesses the negative economic consequences of ObamaCare can not be ignored among them, whether they are legal or illegal immigrants.
Also let’s not forget that millions of Latinos in the U.S. are disappointed with the extreme political philosophy and liberal-socialist agenda of president Obama. It is well known that 80 to 90 percent of Hispanics are Christians, Catholics or non-Catholics. How many of them remember when the president said that America is not a Christian nation? We should also keep in mind that the vast majority of Hispanics are conservative and do not sympathize with the extreme liberal ideas, policies or philosophies of the far left.
The New York Times should ask Hispanics if they agreed when President Obama sent a special U.S. delegation to the funeral of Hugo Chavez but not a single person to the funeral of Margaret Thatcher. Sadly, the leftist liberal media in the U.S. deliberately ignores the reason why millions of Latinos see America as the promise land, the land of free market and capitalism, opportunities and freedom that led this country to become the dream destination for millions of Hispanics.
People should also wonder how many Hispanics remember that president Obama received the Chinese dictator on a red carpet at the White House but wanted to reduce Israel’s borders, a country which by its religious history is closely linked to the beliefs of millions of Hispanics.
And what about the U. S. Government silence while Venezuelan students are being taken prisoners and murdered on the streets by communist Cuban mercenaries and forces loyal to socialist Nicolas Maduro? Are these atrocities and violations of human rights important facts to Venezuelans and other Hispanics living in the U.S.? Of course they are!
The mainstream media should not be calling anti-Latino or anti-immigrant to those who encourage and defend the immigration process through the legal channels already established in the country. Many Hispanics know this because their original countries enforce the immigration rules. In this case should a Mexican living in his native country be labeled as anti-American just because he defends his border laws? Of course not. We should wonder if the real anti-Latinos are those whose policies promote government dependency, abuse of power, poverty, economic stagnation and unemployment anywhere, in the U.S. or abroad.
At this point let’s be honest and realize that most Latinos come to the U.S. seeking a better standard of living, job opportunities and freedom. Thinking that illegal immigration is the main priority in the mind of millions of Latinos living in the U.S. is undermining and dismissing the truth behind the massive immigration to this country. The great majority of Latinos in the U.S. are hard working people, have a legal immigration status and see America for what it is, a place of opportunities, freedom and a free market like no other in the world.
Hispanics do not immigrate to socialist or communist countries, they escape from them. Without any doubt the number one concern of millions of Latinos who moved to the U.S. is the economic well-being of themselves and their families. For leftists, liberals and unbelievers who live in this country they can ask any Latino if they would prefer to move to Cuba, Venezuela or the United States and see what they have to say.
We should also remember that the annual income of Hispanic families in the U.S. have declined 4.5 % since Barack Obama was elected president. As mentioned earlier the Hispanic working class in the U.S. depends primarily on small business. With the imposition of ObamaCare, higher taxes, increased regulations and the reduction in the number of hours per week that many companies and businesses across the country adopted because of ObamaCare it is not a surprise that the economic situation and financial burden for many Hispanics went from bad to worse. In addition, most U.S. Hispanics are young or young adults. These Latinos, under the current economic circumstances, have serious difficulties in covering the rising cost of health insurance premiums following the implementation of ObamaCare.
With all the problems Latinos are facing and the uncertain future it is expected that the Hispanic community in the U.S. is increasingly disappointed. Their disappointment with the current administration has been revealed through several recent surveys. The disapproval of president Obama increased significantly among Hispanics, especially after his second term. A survey conducted in California, a historically Democrat majority state revealed that the discontent among Hispanics almost doubled in less than a year.
Another important aspect that the New York Times article ignores is the fact that the majority of Hispanics in the U.S. especially those who are registered voters oppose Obamacare and approve border control over immigration reform. I do remember one occasion, when president Obama was campaigning in Florida with a specific target audience of Hispanic people. He did offer free products, housing, unemployment benefits and other entitlements. Some people were in shock and left the room humiliated. One of them stated “I came to this country to live in freedom and work hard, not be treated like a parasite living off its host”.
We should not forget the fact that free enterprise and small business are crucial for the prosperity of the Hispanic family. Within this context small business participation and contracts with the federal government have been seriously compromised during the Obama administration. In fact, the federal government contracts to companies owned by Hispanics decreased dramatically shortly after the president took office.
Six years into Obama’s Presidency the million dollar question for Hispanics living in the U.S. is: “Are you better off now than before Barack Obama was elected”?
Sooner or later liberals and leftists in the U.S. should recognize that Hispanics come to this country fleeing oppression, lack of opportunities, unemployment, socialism and communism. They should also remember that many Hispanics now living in the U.S. had been victims of Marxist Socialist governments in their own countries and they know well what leftist regimes are all about.
Many Hispanics are well aware that the famous phrase of “Wealth Redistribution” is the key of socialism. They also know that ruling by decree or executive orders is a political maneuver typically used by leftist governments in Latin America which have no respect for their Constitution. They do recognize that gun control, progressive taxation and attacks on freedom of religion are well known tactics of the left as well. Many Hispanics know all of these facts well for one simple reason, they experienced them firsthand.
In conclusion, the disappointment of many Hispanics in the U.S. is well-founded. Their frustrated dreams and the list of problems they face goes far beyond the immigration crisis. We all know that immigration reform is a necessity but it is not the most important priority for millions of legal Hispanics suffering economically in the country. Nor is the main cause why many of them are uninterested in participating in the political process.
Hopefully soon the two political parties recognize the real reasons why millions of immigrants, Hispanics and Non-Hispanics have come to the U.S. The immigrant’s dream is the American dream and we must preserve it. The “American dream” was never the nightmare of socialism. I consider this imperative and this is what we should not allow to happen.
