Asian Pacific Americans and the Crisis
September 24, 2008
What effect will the current economic crisis have on the Asian Pacific American community? No matter what happens with the proposed “bailout” of Wall Street (what some people are referring to as taxpayers being extorted to pay “cash for trash”), I can foresee many negative impacts for Asian Pacific Americans in the coming years, no matter who wins the White House on November fourth. Let’s explore some of those impacts, and then review seven things that can be done to mitigate them.
The current economic crisis has been affecting Main Street for many months now, even if some economists refuse to concede that we are in a recession. The hurt being felt by members of our community include income cutbacks, career derailment, housing losses, education postponements, infrastructure decay, service cutbacks, organizational defunding, increases in violence and scapegoating.
Income cutbacks have come in many forms, whether by losing a job outright or having the number of hours cut back. Many low-income laborers in construction trades, for example, are not working full work weeks, despite the good weather. Those living on fixed incomes, who have lost stock value and who face increasing costs, are also in a bind.
Career derailment includes the many APAs who will experience layoffs as a result of the Wall Street fallout. It also includes students, such as recent graduates from the University of Maryland, who are having difficulties finding positions in jobs for which they are qualified.
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Housing losses result from loss of jobs but also come from a loss of credit. Credit is very difficult to come by today, so those living on credit cards or credit lines will be facing tough times. A related issue is that, as the economy worsens, fewer people will keep their health insurance, and some of these people will lose their homes because of bills from a catastrophic medical emergency.
Education postponements are increasing as education loans and part-time jobs suitable for college students are becoming harder to find. Another issue is that, as colleges are hard hit by financial cutbacks, they offer fewer courses, so students may not be able to take required courses that would allow them to graduate on time.
Infrastructure decay is more than the bridge that fell in Minneapolis or the pothole in the road near your house. The inner-city neighborhoods where many Chinatowns are located are serviced by water, sewer, telecommunications and other infrastructure that need to be upgraded. A 2005 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, for example, found that 38 percent of New York’s bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 67 percent of New York’s schools have at least one inadequate building feature, and New York’s drinking water infrastructure needs $13.15 billion over the next 20 years.
Service cutbacks can be expected from both government agencies and the non-profit sector. Republican mismanagement and privatization of our federal government has led to more responsibility pushed to state and local governments, which are themselves struggling with decreasing tax bases due to the cutbacks in wages and corporate profits. As corporations and foundations experience decreasing profits and stock portfolios, they will cut their grants to non-profit groups, which will struggle to find individuals and profit-making services to fill the gap.
Organizational defunding will make more of our community’s social, civil rights, professional and service groups starved for resources. Already we are seeing a well-respected non-profit here in Washington struggling to fill seats at its annual dinner, with a recent email notice urging prospective attendees to call and name the amount they want to pay so that they can fill the tables at the event.
Increased violence and scapegoating historically accompany economic downturns, especially in economically hard-hit and transitional communities. Some restaurants in the San Francisco East Bay area are already suffering from increased robberies, and more can be expected.
Scapegoating also is a certainty when the economy worsens, as unprincipled politicians look for someone to blame for their own lack of leadership. Some Republicans tried to float the idea that the worsening economy was due to poor African American people defaulting on their mortgages, but the concept got little traction because most people realized that it was greedy rich people more than unscrupulous poor people who were at fault in this crisis.
To survive this crisis, we all will have to work together and look out for one another. On the job front, mentoring and networking will help our youth and our older friends to find jobs. House sharing may be a way to avoid foreclosure or to lower costs until the economy improves.
Barter exchange is a time-tested way for people to exchange baby sitting for carpentry services, for example, when everyone is low on cash. Organizational mergers may allow community organizations to save on rent and overhead costs when its missions are similar. Community awareness and increased political participation are the best ways to combat the violence and scapegoating that comes in hard times.
Our ancestors lived through the economic crises of 1837, 1873, 1893 and 1929, and we will survive this one as well.
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2 Responses to “Asian Pacific Americans and the Crisis”
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Bravo !!!
“Asian Pacific American community” is a too complicated term.
It would be as saying “European Atlantic American community” instead of whites.
For the common citizen it is easier talking just about whites, blacks and yellows…