Why Latinos Are Not Into Obama

President Barack Obama Approval Ratings by Race. (via Gallup)

The president has been calling on Latinos and he’s learning that they’re just not that into him.

Gallup’s latest polls show President Obama getting his lowest monthly job rating since taking office. Only four in ten approve of his job performance. The polls also reveal a precipitous decline in his approval among Latinos, a bad omen for Mr. Obama and his party who rely heavily on the community for votes. Just last January, 60 percent of Latinos said Mr. Obama was doing a fine job. Now, less than half – 48 percent – assess his performance favorably.

This should not come as a surprise for the man who once promised si se puede!

He has not delivered on his promise to reform the immigration system and comprehensive reform was not made a legislative priority. The President could not even make headway with the DREAM Act, one of the least toxic immigration initiatives. His administration is on track to deport more unauthorized immigrants during his first term than either of George W. Bush’s two terms. The desperation on the administration’s part to prove its law enforcement bona fides to conservatives has allowed immigration opponents to frame the debate.

It’s disappointing.

The tough economic times has not done Mr. Obama any favors either. Latinos, like most of us, are hurting, but they are hurting much more. The unemployment rate among Latinos is 11.3 percent, two points higher than whites. The poverty rate for Latinos in 2010 is 26.6 percent, 15.5 points higher than the national average and 16.6 points higher than whites. The median household wealth among Latinos plummeted 60 percent from 2005 to 2009; it only fell 16 percent among white households whose household wealth is 18 times that of their Latino neighbors.

No doubt the president and his party will keep on calling, meeting with Latino leaders, promising they still can and will deliver, but how can they really convince anybody considering their track record? Anything they say rings hollow and it is too late to do anything to change minds already made.

Republicans have also been calling, but Latinos hear loud and clear the anti-immigrant rhetoric that drowns any GOP offers to the Latino community.

The bad news for the president and both parties is that many Latinos will  sit 2012 out.

Originally posted on Feet in 2 Worlds, September 20, 2011. Reposted on WNYC It’s a Free Country, September 23, 2011.

The Frayed Safety Net: Strained State and Nonprofit Budgets

A friend recently emailed me asking for help. She had lost her job and, despite her vast professional experience, has been having a hard time finding work and now stands to lose her home. Unfortunately, her situation is far from unique.

The economy may officially be on the mend, but millions of Americans remain unemployed. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs the unemployment rate at 9 percent. This rate is higher for teenagers (24.9 percent), African Americans (16.1 percent), and Latinos (11.8 percent).

Unemployed individuals and their families rely on the social safety net held together by governments and nonprofits during hard times. Governments enlist human service organizations to provide employment, housing, food and other essential programs that keep people afloat.

But state governments are facing budget gaps that result in less funding for nonprofits.  For fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1 in most states, 44 states and the District of Columbia project shortfalls amounting to $112 billion. For FY 2013, 26 states are already projecting deficits totaling $75 billion. This bleak outlook is worsened by the fact that nonprofits have already been struggling with government contracting glitches and payment problems and making do with declining revenues.

It is particularly dire for nonprofits in states with the largest budget shortfalls in the nation. In Arizona, government contracting is widespread, with human service nonprofits averaging six contracts each.  In Illinois, nine out of ten nonprofits have contracts with the state, which has been late in paying its subcontractors. Four in ten nonprofits in Maine, New Jersey and Nevada are in the throes of budget deficits.

Nonprofits’ predicament doesn’t auger well for my friend and the millions of others who are out of work. The safety net they need now more than ever is frayed and there’s no recovery in sight.

Originally posted on Urban Institute’s MetroTrends Blog, May 13, 2011.