Is there any truth to this newspaper editorial about Latinos?Idaho Latinos: Economic dynamo, political mystery?

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Idaho Latinos: Economic dynamo, political mystery
http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2009/05/24/opinion/editorials/162607.txt
It’s a formidable economic, social and demographic force, Idaho’s Latino population. So why isn’t a political force too? The state’s Latino population grew 5 percent last year. Three in 10 people in Minidoka County now are Latino. In Cassia, Gooding and Jerome counties, the ratio is one in four.

Latino buying power in Idaho soared 11.3 percent last year, faster than the purchasing power of Latinos nationwide and the state’s non-Latino population, according to a new report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

The largest ethnic minority in Idaho is spending 486 percent more on things like food, clothing, housing and vacations than in 1990. Latinos now account for a .3 billion share of the state’s total .9 billion purchasing strength, compared to 8 million 20 years ago.

State Farm Insurance and high-tech employers Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard are among companies that have sought guidance from the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs during the past five years while attempting to tap into the Latino market.

In Boise, a television station announced in January it would offer a new channel devoted solely to the region’s Latino community. KIVI-Channel 6, the ABC affiliate, launched Mexicanal, which features programming from central and southern Mexico.

And yet …

There are three Latinos in the Idaho Legislature, and not a single Latino county commissioner anywhere.

It’s not that Latinos aren’t rapidly integrating into Idaho society; it’s that they’re not the force of change non-Latinos often believe them to be.

IdahoLatinos tend to be socially conservative, and their political allegiances aren’t easy to peg.

Canyon County, the most Latino in Idaho, is among the most conservative in the state. Tiny Clark County in eastern Idaho, where Latinos make up 40 percent of the population, even more so.

Latinos who are not U.S. citizens don’t turn up at the polls, and there are relatively few Spanish-language media outlets.

So the more Idaho’s Latino population grows – and the more prosperous it becomes – the more Idaho Latinos become like other residents of the state.

There’s no doubt that more Latinos will become a greater part of the political conversation here in the Gem State. That’s a natural and positive progression that should be welcomed by all Idahoans.

3 Comments so far

Joel W on August 30, 2010 4:53 pm
I can only congratulate you on having the only Illegal Alien Population in the United States that actually doesn’t run a huge net deficit. One thing is clear… you must have a huge illegal alien population in place up there.
? on August 30, 2010 5:27 pm
latinos are gods chosen children.
Charles on August 30, 2010 5:45 pm
latinos need to be shot and slatered for the perpouse of man they are machinse of distuction and death is their middle name

Is there any truth to this newspaper editorial about Latinos?Idaho Latinos: Economic dynamo, political mystery?

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