The latest news relating to the political world as it impacts the US Latino community.
Despite making up only a seventh of the entire U.S. population, Latinos took 60% of the 2.3 million jobs added in 2011. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, the Latino labor force has grown by 2.4 million since January of 2008. As previously reported on La Plaza, the Latino community is still [...]
As Americans continue to struggle with high unemployment and underemployment at record levels, President Barack Obama has made building a stronger economy, a central theme in his re-election campaign. This should resonate with all American’s in these trying economic times. The country needs an economy built on American innovation, increased development of workers skills and [...]
José Díaz-Balart, chief political analyst for Telemundo, had one important task during the September 7, 2011, Republican debate—to ask the candidates about immigration. Díaz-Balart asked his question, got his answer and was dismissed from the stage. The stereotype was fulfilled; a Latino asked one question and the one question was about immigration. With that box [...]
Despite the U.S. economy’s addition of 243,000 jobs in January, the Latino community is still struggling with an unemployment rate of 10.5%. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s January report, the country is experiencing its strongest job growth since April of 2010, while minority groups bear the burden with above-average unemployment rates. “This is an [...]
Congress is considering a policy this week that will put a burden on over 5 million immigrant children across the country. By getting rid of the Child Tax Credit for families who pay taxes with an Individual Tax Identification Number, they hope to offset the cost of extending the payroll tax holiday. These immigrant families, who [...]
Americans often think of lawsuit abuse as a problem associated with larger businesses. But small businesses bear a large portion of the lawsuit burden in the United States. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses create 64% of new jobs in America, and yet, frivolous lawsuits cost small businesses collectively over $100 billion in [...]
If you missed the press conference after the State Department announcement that the Keystone XL pipeline had been canceled, you missed a heck of a show. House Speaker John Boehner was mad. And the Republican lawmakers behind him were furious. Over and over, Boehner and the gang asked angrily “What happened?” knowing full well that [...]
To enhance focus on the needs of Latina women in the U.S., the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) has announced the start of a campaign entitled “Trabajadoras.” The mission of this campaign is to raise awareness about how Latina women fare in U.S. society. This campaign combines research, policy, advocacy and mobilization around [...]
In the largest residential fair-lending settlement in history, Bank of America’s Countrywide Financial Corporation has agreed to pay $335 million to settle a dispute over allegations of systemic discrimination against qualified Latino and African-American borrowers. Latinos made up about two-thirds of the cases investigated by the Department of Justice, which reviewed over 200,000 cases across 41 [...]
