The Lie of Race

Much has been made of the Sudeep Reddy article in the Mach 25, 2011 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Latinos Fuel Growth in Decade.” While factually true, it is also fundamentally misleading. There is an inherent falsehood that supersedes any honest discussion of race in America: How we define “race.”

A simple illustration is our President. Barak Obama is not our first Black President. He is our first half-Black President. It is well understood that his mother was White. The lie, simply put, is that anyone with any ancestor who was Black is considered by the Census Bureau to be 100% Black. It is this same logic that suggests that any children born to an interracial couple where one of the ancestors is Black is, well, Black. Tiger Woods is lauded as being a great Black athlete. It is undeniable that his is a great athlete. It is arguable that is 25% Black racial background really makes him Black. Is it any wonder that the “Black” population in the U.S. appears to be growing? True, people with Black ancestry may be increasing but it is wrong to suggest that this is a major shift in the population.

The lie is even more pervasive when it comes to Hispanics. All demographers acknowledge that Hispanic is not a Race. It is a Cultural Identification. All Hispanics are a mixture of one degree of another between other races. Hence, there are Asian Hispanics (4.7%) and Black Hispanics (12.2% both based on figures in the article). But to hear the media expounding on what it means, there is an assumption that Hispanic means Mexican. There is also the notion that they are a monolithic population with a particular political point of view rather than a more realistic assessment that there is variety of thought and self-identification in the population.

In terms of how the U.S. Census Bureau recognizes “Hispanic” as anyone who claims to be Hispanic. The self-proclamation is enough. Hence, knowledge of Spanish is not required. Neither is any kind of racial or country of origin. For those of us who have lived and worked in Mexico or any other “Hispanic” country, we know first hand the divisions within those societies are based upon how much “Indian” blood one has. Those who claim no Indian blood tend to be regarded as belonging to an upper class. Indians in much of the Americas represent the lowest class. But to come to America means that you are now, for the first time, part of a larger group that some believe has a political agenda, cultural imperative, and ethnic identity. There they are divided; here there are suddenly united.

So, what do the families who have lived in Los Angeles since the 1890s have in common with the newly arrived illegal aliens of 2011 in Tucson? Not very much! And to suggest they do is to promote a lie that only furthers the political aims of a race-based “club.”

What is so great about Sioux Falls, SD?

It isn't the weather. It isn't the skiing. It isn't the "culture."

This community Lincoln County (and Minnehaha County) has had the fastest and most significant job growth in the last three years. Since 2000 jobs have increased by 67%. It is the corporate headquarters of Citibank and Wells Fargo Bank along with a string of other financial institutions and nation-wide businesses. The John Morrell meat packing plant is located here. In fact, it has the lowest unemployment in the United States.

So, what does this remote location have the you might want to consider when you are picking a place to practice?

For one thing, the politicians in this area knew that if they didn't do something to change the calculations on how they competed to get employment, this was going to be a backwater community forever. So, knowing they had a disadvantage or two (or ten), they decided to make this community friendlier to businesses than any other. Corporate taxes are non-existent. Local financing for businesses is exceptionally easy. The cost of living is so low that even middle-income managers in other communities can come here and buy a huge home in a great neighborhood. Personal income taxes and property taxes are the envy of most American cities.

In short, this community has done everything it can to show employers it wants to have them set up shop here. They are making it easy for their employees to live here. The retail situation is not a reason by itself to move to a community but without regional shopping centers like the Empire Mall, it could be more challenging.

We have been saying that Chicago is doing just about everything it can to tell businesses that they are not wanted, that employees are not welcome, and that consumers should look elsewhere to buy. In the end, we have to believe that even little Sioux Falls may have a greater leadership role in the next 100 years in business than Chicago. What a shame! We love that Windy City.

California Update

As reported by Jim Carlton in the Wall Street Journal this week, Hispanics increased their percentage in the California population. That is no great surprise. In the last decade they have increased by 27.8%. But what seems to have been ignored by many is the 30.9% increase in Asians in the State.

These increases are significant, it is true, but they require a little perspective. California is growing but very sluggishly. For the first time since 1890, the State has failed to pick up a new Congressional district. The White population is simply not having sufficient numbers of children to replace themselves. By contrast, the Asian and Hispanic populations have a far greater birthrate. There are also indications that the rate of increase in the last several years of non-White populations is slowing down.

Why the decrease? Jobs.

Those with low education achievement (and the majority of new immigrants of all races fall into this category) look at construction and service industries (like restaurants). Both sectors of the California economy are in trouble. Where are they NOT in trouble? North Carolina has grown at a rate that is twice the national average.

So, what if you want to practice in California? Go to the Central Valley. Between Riverside County to Placer County this is what accounts for almost ALL of the growth in the State. The outskirts of these Central Valley population hubs are where residents can afford to live and to find jobs. They are also the first to likely come out of the economic downturn.

Riverbank, Clovis, Manteca, Tracy, and Merced may not be well-known places right now but they soon will be.

What's In a Name? For your Practice, a Great Deal

I was approached by a really talented and lovely young dental student a few weeks ago who wanted to know if her last name which is Russian (and darned hard to spell correctly) was going to be a problem for her.

My answer was, "Yes." It somewhat surprised her. She had assumed that in a fairly metropolitan location that the race or ethnicity of the doctor was becoming less important than it was in a more "white bread" America. Actually, she is both right and wrong on that count.

The problem with using her last name is not so much an "anti-Russian" bias. It is a matter of packaging. The name has four syllables. Dues to its origin it also lacked sufficient number of vowels in the right places that are most common in Romance-Based names. The bottom line is that it is both hard to remember (for most people) and nearly impossible to spell.

Think of a moment how often people are using the Internet to find people and professional services. There is no "auto-spell" feature on Google when it comes to proper names. This makes it hard for people to find her. And as our marketing psychology friends keep telling us, if a name seems too long or difficult to pronounce, the brain will just bounce it out the left ear, never to be remembered.

The option that we think is strongest is to use the first name (or a variation on it) as the identifier for the doctor. While we do not love most fictitious names, they may be the best option when a last name won't work.

But back to the question, are there populations out there that will put off by an name that appear to be too "ethnic"? Absolutely! And let's get over the notion that this kind of ethnic preference is reserved for White populations. If anything, we have seen this bias among every ethnic, language, and cultural group out there. In fact, last week we heard a Korean professional say that he didn't want to refer to a particular doctor because he sounded "a little too Japanese for my tastes." Take that for what it is.