HispanicTrending

Latinos in the US struggle to build savings

Recession makes it even harder for Hispanics to save for their children’s education and build wealth

September 10, 2009
By Adriana G. Martinez*

NEW YORK - As a single mom of a six-year-old boy who just started school,  New York-based waitress Yania Mena is starting to worry about saving for her son’s future. At 29, this immigrant from the Dominican Republic knows thet task is a difficult one.

Making $22,000 a year in one of world’s most expensive cities, she does not qualify for foodstamps, and her salary barely covers her basic bills.

She shares a one-bedroom apartment with her sister in Washington Heights, in the north area of Manhattan, and her only luxury is a $15 hairbrush at the local hair salon every other week..
Mena is not being able to save because, like more of one third of Latinos in the United States, she uses her credit card to make ends meet. And, although she wants to save, she finds it increasingly difficult to change this situation in this economy.

“Everytime I manage to get out of credit card debt I fall on it again, and it’s always money to buy necessary things for Ariel, like clothes, because every year he needs new ones, or school supplies,” she said.

Mena has $4,000 in credit card debt. She is concerned about her debt, but she seems even more worried about her boy’s future.

“I know I need to start saving money until my son is 18. I don’t want him to be like me, I want him to have a career,” said Mena, who also dreams of getting a scholarship herself to apply for a degree in graphic design.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States, a group of more than 46 million, or 15 per cent of the population. But their are poorer in comparison with other families and struggle to build wealth, a study said.

According to the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SFC), a triennial interview survey of US families sponsored by the Board of Governors of  Federal Reserve System with cooperation with the Department of the Treasury, the median worth of nonwhites or Hispanics was $31,000, at least five times less than other American families, and their means were $237,900, far less than the average $701,800 for other families.

“Latinos are able to save, but many can’t do it because they have big families,” said Juan  B. Gonzalez, a housing counselor at Cypress Hill Local Development Corporation  in Brooklyn, who offers financial and housing advice to low-income families in Brooklyn.

“And everybody is under the pressure of consumerism, so people get overwhelmed by debt,” he added.

IMMIGRANTS
The lack of information on how to manage personal finances is also a hurdle for Hispanics, specially with so many of them being immigrants.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based think tank, 39.8 percent of them are foreign born.

“People who come from other countries don’t know how finances in the United States work, it’s all too different from their culture,” said Graciela Aponte, wealth-building legislative analyst at the National Council of La Raza, U.S. main Latino civil rights and advocacy group.

Aponte said the council backs around 50 community centers that focus on helping people get rid of debt, improve credit scores, start saving and eventuallly buy a house, but she recognizes the task is harder than ever for Latinos as the United States faces it's worse recession in decades.

“Saving for their children is not at their budget at all, and in this economy it’ll be increasingly difficult to get scholarships,” she said. “It will be also very hard for students to pay for their own education,”, she added.

Financial help is exactly what Mena is looking for to go back to school, and, in the future, her son will probably request it too. If she manages to pay her debt and increase her income, either by  getting a new career, a second job, or working extra hours, she'll be able to build a cushion for emergencies. She might even consider buying a New York state tax-deferred education savings account, known as 529 plans, to finance her son's education.

But she should take that road only if she, as many other Latinos, realizes her son would not qualify for financial aid, points Van Grevenhof, a senior tax analyst for Thomson Reuters.
“For a student who is unlikely to qualify for financial aid, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), 529 plans, and assets positioned in the name of the child should be incorporated as part of an effective college funding strategy,” he said in a recent report on the subject.

In New York, the direct, government-backed program for this type of plan is the 529 College Savings Program (www.nysaves.org). It offers various investment choices and tax-free withdrawals, but only when the funds are used for "qualified higher-education expenses".

The initial investment amounts start at $ 25.00 a month, with a manage fee of 0.49 percent.
Possible drawbacks are the risk of a poor performance in comparison with other funds and the strict rule that the money can only be spent in education-related expenses to be free of taxes.
That's why sometimes it's better to aim for an overall savings strategy that would include savings accounts, certificates of deposit, Treasury bills and other safe investments, with part of the money invested in stock-index funds, said Chris Farrell, an economics editor for American Public Media's "Market Place Money" in a recent column about college funds.

"This mix of secure and riskier savings can be tapped penalty-free to pay for everything form career changes to medical emergencies to, yes, college tuition bills," he said.

*This story was reported with support of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)

Hispanic Online Publishers Get Social

September 10th, 2009
By Lee Vann

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Conroy, President of Univision Interactive Media and Mark Lopez, COO of Terra Networks about the current state of the Hispanic online market and how the each company is responding to the fact that Hispanics are extremely engaged with social media. Both Mark and Kevin are upbeat about the market and acknowledge that the key to effectively providing value to Hispanics online is being able to tap into their strong cultural propensity to share with one another. That said many advertisers have been hesitant to invest in online advertising within a social context representing a challenge for Hispanic online publishers.

Hispanics are in the online driver’s seat

Kevin, a long term executive of AOL joined Univision early this year and was “blown away by the opportunity” to join the company. “I see the Univision brand more like a consumer products brand than a media brand” explains Kevin, “we have a unique opportunity to leverage our relationship with Hispanics to endorse other brands.” Kevin has implemented many changes at Univision.com but the addition of direct links on the Univision.com page to Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Facebook and other third party providers represents a radical shift for the company. Kevin points out that “there is a culture of family and sharing” among online Hispanics and that Univision “is striving to redefine the circle of online activity”. Kevin elaborates that Univision “embraces today’s online behavior and gives its users easy access to the things they want”.

Mark echoes Kevin’s enthusiasm about the Hispanic online market and pins Terra’s success on culturally relevant, high quality content wrapped within a social context. Mark sees “Terra as a premium content platform that puts the user in the driver’s seat.” He goes on to explain that Terra’s goal “is to strike a balance between quality and user engagement”. Terra has made several recent moves to achieve this balance including freshening up the Terra.com home page with video, dynamic content and links to their social network, Espacio Terra. In addition, Terra has dabbled on Twitter with a couple accounts that “Tweet” US news and Sports in Spanish and has a Facebook Page. Terra has also partnered with social networking site, MiGente.com giving Terra access to over one million English preferring Hispanics. On the content side, Terra powers the online presence for Reggaeton super star Daddy Yankee and has a partnership with Telemundo, called “Futbol Estelar” that produces and distributes online soccer content.
Creating innovative social advertising opportunities to reach Hispanics

At the end of the day, striking a balance between providing user value and driving advertising revenue is the top priority for Mark and Kevin. With online Hispanics increasingly taking control of their online experiences, creating valuable advertising opportunities within the social context has become a top priority. According to Mark, “about 50% of the requests for proposal we get from advertisers specifically exclude social networking”. To address this challenge, Terra is striving to “socially enable content” and create “controlled user experiences for advertisers”. For advertisers, Kevin points out that it is critical to “connect engagement to highly valued inventory” and that web publishers must “embrace the openness of the web and innovate advertising vehicles accordingly”. He elaborates by indicating that Univision will create opportunities for brands to “rub up against the social media experience”.

As Hispanics continue to turn to the Internet to express their cultural identity, advertisers will be sure to follow. This combination bodes well for Mark and Kevin and I have no doubt that they will continue to innovate to create online experiences that provide value to online Hispanics and advertisers alike.

Source: Hispanic Online Marketing

Hispanic leaders hope to boost Latino response to census

September 9, 2009
By JUAN ANTONIO LIZAMA

The census count begins in April, and Spanish-speaking communities have been identified as hard to reach because there's a lot of fear of government.

To get the message out about the importance of being counted, about 30 Hispanic leaders from across the state gathered today at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond to create the first Hispanic Complete Count Committee in Virginia and other Southern states to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I think that we, as Latino leaders, can step up and help with this effort," said Michel Zajur, the committee's co-chairman.

Zajur is founder and CEO of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is governing the committee.

Census Bureau officials have some serious challenges in counting people in Hispanic communities, said Juan J. Callejas, a partnership specialist with the bureau.

He has been working in the rural areas of Virginia and has found that many Hispanics live in the shadows, he said.

"I asked a Latino person in the Northern Neck, 'Of the Latinos that you know, how many do you estimate are invisible?' She said, 'I estimate from five to seven,'" he said.

In the urban areas, Callejas said, the challenge is that many Latinos fear being caught by immigration authorities. Some are violating housing-occupancy ordinances and are afraid government employees will report the violations to authorities, he said.

Another challenge is posed by the Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the Washington-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which claims to have a network of 20,000 churches with 3 million to 4 million members across the country.

He is encouraging his listeners through his paid Spanish-language radio programs, including one that airs on Radio Poder 1380 in the Richmond area, not to fill out the census forms unless the government approves immigration reforms.

He also has warned them that the government can use that information against them later.

"I think that's dangerous that they do that," Zajur said. "Who's going to pay the consequences? Are they going to come in and support the community? For every person that doesn't register, that's $2,600 that the local government loses."

Every year, about $400 billion in federal money is awarded to the states and communities for new hospitals, roads, schools and other facilities based on the data collected, according to census officials.

"Every 10 years, the census numbers have to be adjusted because there's a gross undercount of Latinos, and I don't think this coming year is going to be an exception," said Andres Tobar, chairman of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations. "There's a tremendous amount of fear out there; the immigrant community is under attack, especially in Virginia."

Committee members will be responsible for organizing activities in their respective communities to carry the Census Bureau message of how important it is to be counted, said Bernadine Anthony, a partnership team leader for the Charlotte, N.C., Regional Census Center.

"If you are documented or undocumented, that's not our concern," she said, adding that census employees are sworn to confidentiality.

Anthony said Spanish-speaking people are being recruited to help with the count. Census forms will be sent out in several languages, including Spanish, and an ad campaign launching in January will be in multiple languages.

Leni Gonzalez, a committee co-chairwoman, said the committee needs to spread a message that the census counts people, not immigration status.

"We will have to reinforce the message that this is confidential information."

Source: Richmond Times Dispatch

The Latina Army's Looking for Young Latinas

Sep 10, 2009
By YVONNE NAVA

Nancy Roldan Johnson and Beatriz Rodriguez may be ages apart, but a common story brings them together.

Growing up in inner-city Bridgeport, Roldan Johnson was the first of her extended family of 70 to graduate from college.

“It was a very lonely process for me.  They didn’t understand why I wanted to break free from the status quo,” said Johnson.

Beatriz, 17, also felt alone -- but by choice.  She quit competitive swimming to avoid overwhelming anxiety.

“I’m very conservative and its nice to meet new people but I was just like, I just want to stick to my school work. I just want to do my own thing,” said Rodriguez.

Their paths crossed in a classroom workshop when the West Haven high school senior was introduced to “The Latina Army.”  It’s a volunteer-based organization Roldan Johnson created.  The mission is to empower young Latinas to put themselves out there and become accomplished women.

“I wanted to help girls that were like me. Kids who are lost and lonely to let them know that it’s not impossible and there are ways to do it,” said Roldan Johnson.

The Latina Army gave Rodriguez the confidence to get back in the water and compete.  She's now captain of the girls swim team.

“We have a great group of girls and we are all close to each other we are kind of like a close little family,” she said.

Rodriguez recalls the ways the Latina Army changed her life. She not only met role models but was encouraged to express herself in the right ways.

“There are little things like journaling and stuff like that where [we write] whatever is on our mind. Things in particular, we jot them down and once we are done we go over it and share what we feel,” said Rodriguez.

 And it was that push she needed to come out of her shell and stay there.

“At least 98 percent of the girls that have gone thru the program say that it has helped them feel better about themselves and build their self-esteem,” said Roldan Johnson.

“I know I can take challenges.  Whatever comes my way I want to do it and I want to keep going forward and keep succeeding,” added Rodriguez.

The Latina Army is working together with the Girl Scouts of Connecticut to host a state-wide self-esteem conference.  Girls from 6th grade to 12th grade can attend -- Saturday, Nov. 7 at Central High School in Bridgeport. 

Solurce: NBC Connecticut

Latinos don’t need Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrate language and roots

September 10, 2009
By Victor Landa

Here we go again. It’s time to start preparing for the annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s set to begin Saturday, September 12th, and it’ll end roughly four weeks later, on October 14th.

There are some givens in the yearly celebration of all things Hispanic, and one is the inevitable discussion about the name. There are many members of the Hispanic community who prefer to be called Latino. Others prefer a hyphenated approach because it specifies an origin; there’s a big difference between a Mexican-American and a Puerto Rican, and a utilitarian lumping of both in the same pile is seen as a disservice.

 The problem is made worse when the month-long celebration becomes an advertising and marketing event in which all “Hispanics” are rendered in the backdrop of their potential for consumption. They become what they can probably buy.

For one month, all Hispanics, regardless of their nuanced differences, become a homogenized mass of beer drinking, car buying consumers. Sure, there are all manner of cultural events and civic recognitions that are part and parcel of the event, but who are those events really for?

A Latino knows he or she is a Latino. One doesn’t don the trappings of culture for a month and then tuck them away in the attic for the rest of the year. I’ve said in the past that the act of looking in the mirror is for me an event of Latino Heritage.

I don’t turn on my “Latino-ness” when the beer companies roll out their mariachi commercials.

Hispanic Heritage Month is for non-Latinos. It’s a time for the rest of the American mosaic to look our way, eat our food, enjoy our culture and understand us a little better. And that’s not a bad thing. Book stores have special Hispanic literature displays, television stations run special Hispanic programming, and every retailer worth its weight in smart marketing executives will run special advertisements and in-store events to lure the fabled Latino spending capacity.

So here we go again, ready or not. And there’s not much we can do about it.

The good news is that mixed with the commercials and the beer and the marketing frenzy there will be noteworthy events of cultural awareness and sophistication. We need to be on the lookout or those. Art exhibits, cultural programs, political panel discussions and community events are all part of the mix but tend to get little promotion.

My advice is to look beyond the predictable events and find the ones that promote learning and understanding. After all, if you’re no Hispanic, this month’s for you.

Source: San Antonio Express-News

Hispanic-America: Historic roots in U.S. history and culture

September 10, 2009
By Barry Abisch

Hispanic Heritage Month begins with a history lesson.

It is not by accident that the month starts on the 15th day of September, rather than, more conventionally, on the first. Sept. 15 is independence day in five Spanish-speaking nations: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. (Mexico and Chile also celebrate the anniversaries of their independence from Spain during this month, on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.)

When Hispanic Heritage Week was initiated in 1968, Congress required that the week would always include Sept. 15. Twenty years later, when the commemoration was expanded to a full month, the dates were fixed as Sept. 15 - Oct. 15 to help fix attention on an important date in the history of Hispanic America.

President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the first Hispanic Heritage Week at a time when migration from Central and South America was beginning to expand. Yet, there have been Spanish-speaking people in what now is the United States for almost 500 years, ever since California, Florida and the Mississippi River were "discovered" by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s.

Although Spain was unable to establish enduring colonies in North America, the early attempts at exploration and settlement did have a lasting impact. Researcher Robert Suro, writing on the facts.com Web site, says that some 30 percent of today's Hispanic-Americans can trace their ancestry to forebears who lived in Texas, New Mexico and California, among other places, when those states were territories.

But the majority of Hispanic-Americans arrived in the U.S. more lately, though it is only in the last quarter-century that the U.S. Census Bureau has tracked that migration. In 1930, the Census Bureau added "Mexican" among the ethnic origins it included in the national headcount. In 1940, a category for "persons of Spanish mother tongue" was added to Census forms. In 1980, the description was broadened again, to "Spanish/Hispanic" origin.

No matter how Hispanic-Americans are categorized by the Census Bureaus, it is evident that Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates a growing segment of the American population and culture. Today, there are more Hispanics in the United States than there are in Spain. Mexico and Colombia are the only nations with larger Hispanic populations than the U.S.

In 1970, there were 9.6 million Hispanics in the United States, according to the Census Bureau. By 2000, the number of Hispanics had grown to 35.5 million, or 12 ½ percent of the total U.S. population. In 2006, the Bureau estimated the Hispanic population as 44.3 million, 15 percent of the total.

During a single year, from July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006, the Hispanic population added 1.4 million people, accounting for half of the total increase in population during that period. By the years 2050, the Census Bureau predicts, Hispanics will represent one-fourth of the U.S. population.

It is the growing place of Hispanics in American culture and community which Hispanic Heritage Month commemorates.

In 1989, the year the commemoration was expanded from one week to a full month, President George H. W. Bush said "Perhaps no single ethnic group has had as profound an impact upon our Nation as Hispanic American ... Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Rican Americans and other men and women of Hispanic descent have not only demonstrated the power of individual enterprise but also added to the cultural diversity that so enriches American life.'

Source: KTVQ.com

What Social Media Can Learn From Multicultural Marketing

September 8, 2009
by Christine Huang

Listing: Blue Chip company seeks experienced Online Community Manager/Social Media Strategist/person who understands the Internet to develop company's integrated marketing initiatives across new media channels. S/he will be responsible for monitoring Twitter, making a Youtube channel, adding friends on Facebook, and managing intermittent "blogger outreach". 3+ years experience in updating status messages required.

Sound familiar? If you're working for any brand with a half-functioning marketing department, it should. Even amidst the downturn, companies are clamoring to get in the social-media game by hiring social-media managers or looking in-house to indoctrinate their own. The question around social-media strategies is no longer if, but how: How can we acquire more Twitter followers than rival Brand Y? How can we tap into our Facebook fans to promote our new product? How can we use social media to tell our story?

Any brand that considers itself competitive is already engaging in social media on several levels. And even if they haven't answered the "why" of it all, many have already launched headfirst into the how, getting their logos and well-briefed spokespeople on every social networking site/platform/channel they can, spreading the message of their latest promotion or new campaign.

Of course in the growing flurry of tweets and blog-buzzery, separating the signal from the noise has become an increasingly difficult task for consumers. Brands tirelessly pump out their messages across the standard platforms, but many users are often left wondering what it is they're "friending" and whose purpose it ultimately serves to do so. What does it mean to become one of Brand X's 7,000 Facebook friends, and why should we read its CEO's latest blog?

For most businesses, being part of the social-media evolution is no longer a new opportunity; it's a necessity. And yet for many, one of the most basic elements of a successful strategy seems dangerously undercooked: the "what?" What exactly is this currency we're now wielding? What are its different forms, how do they travel, and do we have a real understanding of them? What makes the content we're creating socially, culturally and distinctively relevant?

For multicultural audiences, this is an especially crucial consideration. For the growing "non-general market," social media means much more than just Twitter, Facebook and blogs. It includes a wide range of content and channels, paths to entry more nascent than the staid mediums and content we're all familiar with.

African-American, Hispanic, and Asian consumers download more mobile ringtones, games and images than their white counterparts. They share shopping and entertainment advice and consume a wider range of mobile media (from Internet to live TV to streaming audio) than their peers. They engage in niche social networks that are grounded in offline interaction. They're more likely to store and share photos, contacts and calendar information on their mobile phones than anyone else.

Hispanics, in particular, are more likely to befriend a brand on a social-networking site than non-Hispanics. And African Americans as well as Hispanics are more likely to use social-networking spaces to share opinions with friends about products, services and brands than "general market" consumers.

Needless to say, when speaking to a multicultural audience, research into the different content and mediums most valued by these segments is a necessity. This is particularly important in the social-media game, given the minority market's high adoption rate of new means of accessing and sharing content, entertainment and opinions -- often about brands. Understanding these morphing modes and pieces of cultural currency is the first step for any brand trying to truly resonate with a highly differentiated audience.

But this culture-based approach shouldn't be limited to the multicultural sphere -- especially when dealing with media designed to be social. All brands and agencies should be thinking beyond Twitter updates and Facebook pages when considering their interactions in the social media space. Every user today has a voice, a culture, a distinct perspective. For a brand's efforts to be meaningful and worthwhile, it must explore the diversity of its audience -- and strike up relevant, authentic conversations founded in a true understanding of their cultures. From multicultural to general, the market today must be spoken to via media that is more than social -- but cultural, as well.

When we think about social media, for any type of audience, we must consider the spectrum it represents, and which pieces are most relevant and valuable to the consumers we're trying to reach. This means thinking about:

    * Culture-based insights about your audience: What kinds of content are they consuming and sharing? Why, where and how?

    * Using these clues to guide the content you offer: Does a viral video make sense for your audience? Or should you consider a niche community outreach? Or, both? (Scion has been successful in this area: From its design-your-own coat of arms to its fine arts events to its extreme sports sponsorships, the brand has taken a culture-based approach to reaching its heterogenous audience while maintaining its brand's core values)

    * The relevant pathways to entry: Should you invest in a Twitter promotion? Or would a mobile entertainment campaign make a bigger impact? What mediums and networks do your most loyal consumers use and trust?

Of course, none of this is easy. It requires a keen understanding of what lies beyond the known conversation and its oft-used channels. But we present this challenge to brands and to agencies: to think outside of the social-media template, to venture beyond the conventions already established and to create fully-considered strategies that speak to their increasingly diverse audience in more meaningful, relevant ways.

Source: AdAge

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008

September 10, 2009
Source: Census Bureau

Between 2007 and 2008, the real median income of Hispanic households declined 5.6 percent (to $37,913); for blacks, it declined 2.8 percent (to $34,218); for non-Hispanic white households it declined 2.6 percent (to $55,530).

In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in 2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in 2007). The poverty rate in 2008 was statistically unchanged for blacks (24.7 percent).

The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for non-Hispanic whites increased in 2008 to 10.8 percent and 21.3 million, from 10.4 percent and 20.5 million in 2007. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for blacks in 2008, meanwhile, were not statistically different from 2007, at 19.1 percent and 7.3 million. The percentage of uninsured Hispanics decreased to 30.7 percent in 2008, from 32.1 percent in 2007. The number of uninsured Hispanics was not statistically different in 2008, at 14.6 million.

“Fusioning”Across Texas (and New Mexico and Colorado)

By Juan Tornoe

During late July and early August I had the chance to drive a brand new Ford Fusion Hybrid literally across Texas, from Austin down to McAllen, and then all the way up North to Amarillo, as a way point to beautiful Lake City, Colorado.  After putting 3K+ miles into it in a couple of days, with my entire family on board, we can say we intimately know this vehicle. Yes, we played with every single gadget it has and loved it! Please do keep in mind that I am NOT a car freak, and I won’t share with you details on gears, torque, horsepower and the sort. I kinda focus (pun intended) in all the cool gadgets it has and, of course, in how much I’m spending on gas.

That said, I could not find a thing missing on the Fusion that would not make it the perfect car for me. I tell you, this geek was on cloud nine with all that this vehicle has to offer.

For starters – must admit it was my first experience driving a hybrid – turning it on is funny! I mean, you turn the key and “nothing” happens, yet the car it ready to go. Actually a little light with the form of a car lights up on the dashboard to let you know the car is on. Once you get the hang of it, it is hysterical to see passengers’ reactions to the whole process.

I’m somewhat ticked off with my friends at Ford… After spending more than 40 hours inside their car, I’ve become addicted to Sirius Radio; for any fellow Gen-Xers out there, I really, really recommend the 80s on 8 and Classic Rewind, stations that we listened to like 90% of the travel time. Having several NPR stations is also awesome, but the outstanding music programming prevented me from changing stations for several hours in a row, even though I am quite picky with my music. I think I’ll ask Ford to pay for my rehab back into broadcast radio!

There were other things that my family and I begin noticing after the first 500 miles or so… As amazing an invention as the GPS is, wouldn’t it be cool if you were able to choose between several voices to guide you? I mean, the lady is OK for a while, but wouldn’t it be comical to switch into let’s say, a Sam Kinison-like one? "Ahh, Ahh, Ahh! Make a legal U Turn Noooow!" It would certainly break the monotony.

Gas-wise, you just get a good feeling all over after pumping about 17 gallons of gas into the car and having it tell you that you are 560 (give or take a few miles) away from an empty tank! On top of that it has an “EcoGuide” feature which basically trains you to drive as efficient as possible, through the use of “Efficiency Leaves” which multiply or disappear from the dashboard depending on how well or bad you are driving. After a while it turns into a very entertaining game… you trying to get as many leaves as possible on the dashboard and wonder how much of the dashboard you could actually cover with them.

Looking at it from the outside, the Fusion was designated by my kids as “the cool car”, to which I must agree… It looks awesome. That’s all you’ll get from me on this regard.

The interior was impressive, and I’ll let it “talk” for itself:

Briefly wanted to mention some other cool features that blew my mind:

• It has a radar that identifies when another vehicles enter your blind spot, triggering an indicator light on the corresponding side-view mirror warning you that a vehicle is approaching.
• The SYNC system seamlessly integrates any “Bluetooth-enabled” cell phone with the car, enabling you to make and receive hands free calls.
• A reverse camera system turns on when you shift the car into reverse, giving you a clear view of what’s behind you.

Bottom line, driving the Fusion Hybrid was a great experience. Until the next one…

Race in America: Three of four Mexican immigrants report some discrimination

September 9, 2009
by Angela Sustaita-Ruiz

Mexican immigrants see more discrimination against immigrants in America than do other foreign born adults, even though they’re no more likely to say they encounter it personally, according to a new survey by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization.

The report released follows up on a groundbreaking 2002 survey and tracks immigrants’ shifting attitudes during a tumultuous period. Conducted in May 2009 and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, ‘A Place to Call Home: What Immigrants Say Now About Their Life in America’ is based on a survey that utilized landline and cellular telephones along with oversamples to provide the widest perspective possible from more than 1,100 foreign-born adults overall. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish with 140 Mexicans — 38 of whom are undocumented.

Three-quarters of Mexican immigrants say there’s at least “some” discrimination against immigrants in the United States, compared with 57 percent of other immigrants. The gap widens when the question focuses on discrimination against people from the country where they were born (73 percent of Mexicans say there is at least some, compared with only 31 percent of other immigrants).

However, Mexican immigrants are no more likely to report encountering “some” or “a great deal” of discrimination personally than any other group; 24 percent of Mexicans say this, compared with 27 percent of other immigrants.

“Mexican immigrants express the same values, the same desire for a better life as other immigrants,” said Scott Bittle, Public Agenda executive vice president. “But the financial and language barriers they face are higher, and, clearly, reports of discrimination resonate with them, even if they don’t experience it themselves.”
Part of the reason for this perception may be that Mexican immigrants are more likely to be undocumented (33 percent, compared with 7 percent of other immigrants) and less likely to be citizens (27 percent, compared with 54 percent). Roughly half of Mexican immigrants (52 percent) say that most of the immigrants they know are here illegally, compared with only 16 percent of immigrants from other countries.

This association may help explain why Mexican immigrants are more likely than other immigrant groups to support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants (84 percent, compared with 67 percent of other immigrants), a “guest worker” program (73 percent, versus 56 percent of other immigrants agree “strongly” with the proposal) and to believe that illegal immigrants become productive citizens in the long run (72 percent, compared with 50 percent of other immigrants).

It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that Mexicans are more likely than other immigrants to cite practical reasons for pursuing U.S. citizenship.
– 92 percent of Mexicans cite having better legal rights as a major reason to become a citizen, compared with 72 percent of other immigrants.
– 87 percent cite not having to worry about immigration status as a major reason, compared with 62 percent of other immigrants.
– 86 percent say making it easier to get certain jobs is a major reason, compared with 62 percent of other immigrants.
– 78 percent cite easier travel in and out of the United States, compared with 59 percent of other immigrants.
– And 69 percent say bringing other family members to the United States is a major reason, compared with 41 percent of other immigrants.

Mexican immigrants are different in other ways that point out the particular challenges they face. A staggering 9 in 10 say they came to the United States with “very little money.” Fully 75 percent of Mexican immigrants said they couldn’t speak English at all upon arrival, compared with 33 percent of other immigrants.

Source: Hispanic PR Blog