COMMUNITY : Study Finds Growing Anglo-Minority Gaps
The gap between mostly Anglo “haves” and minority “have-nots” is worsening in Los Angeles, and without changes in education, government policies and housing, the inequities are likely to further divide the city, a UCLA study found.
The study said worsening neighborhood segregation, inferior inner-city education, limited job opportunities and lower pay are causing Latinos to fall further and further behind Anglos, while blacks are stuck at the same low level they held in 1969. It found:
American-born Latino men on the average now earn 78 cents for each dollar paid to an Anglo male with the same years of schooling and experience. In 1969, Latino men earned 90 cents per dollar paid to an Anglo.
For each dollar paid to an Anglo man, Anglo women earn 62 cents, black women 56 cents, American-born Latinas 47 cents and Latina immigrants 30 cents.
Because of low pay, 14% of full-time workers live in poverty. This is particularly acute among Latinos.
City schools, where four out of five students are non-Anglo, are producing large numbers of graduates who have only 8th- and 9th-grade skills and cannot compete for college or good jobs.
Paul Ong, who oversaw the study, said the researchers’ goal was to alert public policy makers that deep problems loom ahead unless changes are made.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
