FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A Minority Baby Boom

According to the US Census Bureau, nearly half of all American children under 5 are of a racial or ethnic minority background... with 70% of those children of Hispanic origin.

The implications of this are not lost on those who study demographics and its impact not only on current needs such as education, but on future populations:

William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution, predicted that the United States will have "a multicultural population that will probably be more tolerant, accommodating to other races and more able to succeed in a global economy."

There could be increased competition for money and power, he added: "The older, predominantly white baby-boom generations will need to accommodate younger, multiethnic young adults and child populations in civic life, political decisions and sharing of government resources" in places such as the Washington suburbs.

Source: Washington Post (via MSNBC)