NATIONAL HISPANIC INSTITUTION: THE GREAT DEBATE

Defense
Evidence Packet: Mock Trial
Lawyer: Witness:

July 2011

Economy:
Capitalism/Recession

Cause of the Decline of the Latino Male

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Exhibit 1 a) There is a widespread belief in the United States, fostered by the Reagan and Bush administrations, that capitalism is "colorblind." Race is supposedly irrelevant to the market, which is only concerned with accomplishment. In the absence of discriminatory legislation, abolished by the U.S. government in the 196Os, the operations of the competitive market ought gradually to lead to racial equalization. In fact, conditions for people of color have deteriorated substantially since Reagan took office in 1980, despite increased reliance on the market. True, a few individuals have managed to move into the middle class. But for millions of people of color, poverty and despair have intensified. b) Checks on the worst excesses, whether by the state or by opposing forces, are weak or non-existent, in part because capitalists are able to exert considerable influence over the government, and through it subvert the efforts of the opposition. The result is massive social decay: a dog-eat-dog world in which the unprotected are left to be ravaged by the strong and powerful Source: Bonacich, Edna, University of California, Los Angeles Date of Publication: 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ Exhibit 2 a) During these early times children were financial assets to a family. In 1860 children were economic assets by age 7 in all regions of the country. Teenagers may still be economic assets in some rural farming areas today, though this is rare. Today children cost $250,000 on average to raise to age 18. In the 1700s and 1800s a child would have represented a handsome profit to their family by age 18. b) This is because industry has moved from being home-based to being to being based outside the home, and because children are increasingly playing the role of consumers in the economy, because capitalists target them as such. c) The truth is, however, that the labor of raising a family is valuable, but our capitalist system does not recognize it as such, because it is not a commodity. d) Capitalism is, therefore, resulting in the transformation of family development into commodities. Instead of a woman or man staying home to raise children, they go to work, where their labor is quantified and returned to them in the form of a paycheck, which is recognized by themselves and society as a measure of selfworth. e) The issues for the family go well beyond this however. The biggest issue really is that, ultimately, shared labor creates social bonds. This is a sociological and psychological fact. When people labor together to produce something that they feel is valuable, this creates a bond between those people. We all know this. Capitalism destroys those social bonds by transforming labor into a commodity and by externalizing our productive efforts outside our family and community units.

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f) We no longer live and work together as family members and neighbors, and this is perhaps one of the most corrosive social problems faced by capitalist societies today. The sense of community is inherent in shared labor, in fact some argue that a community is defined by its sharing of labor. Traditionally, throughout all time prior to the Industrial Revolution, people lived and worked together in close proximity to one another.

Source: R.G Price, Understanding Capitalism Part IV Date of Publication: February 2011

Exhibit 3 a) Among married couples with their own children under 18 at home, the share with a working wife and unemployed husband went up in 41 states in 2009, compared with the year before, according to a new Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey. Nationally, the share of married couples with minor children where the wife was employed and the husband was not rose to 3.4% in 2009, compared with 1.8% in 2008. b) The Census Bureau analysis links the rise to the Great Recessions harsher impact on male-dominated industries, such as manufacturing, compared with femaledominated sectors such as health care. It also notes that the number of women older than 25 with advanced degrees (which can buffer against unemployment) rose from 2008 to 2009, while the number of men with advanced degrees did not change. A Pew Research Center report earlier this year reached some similar conclusions about marriage and gender; it found a rising share of U.S.-born women ages 30-44 are more educated and earn more income than their husbands. c) Impact on relationships: Nearly half (46%) of those unemployed six months or more say joblessness has strained family relations, compared with 39% of those who were out of work for less than three months. At the same time, more than four- in-ten (43%) long-term unemployed say they lost contact with close friends d) Loss of self-respect: Nearly four- in-ten (38%) long-term unemployed report they have lost some self-respect while out of work, compared with 29% who were jobless for shorter periods of time. The long-term unemployed also are significantly more likely to say they sought professional help for depression or other emotional issues while out of work (24% vs. 10% for those unemployed less than three months). e) The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data from 2009. Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: Released October 2010

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Religion:
The Cause of the Decline of the Latino Male

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Exhibit 4 a) As has been discussed above, religions have the societal effect of dividing people into "us" and "them". This unfortunately has the same characteristics as any other form of discrimination, such as racialism [1]. It becomes easy to consider "us" as the righteous and "them" as unrighteous. When things go wrong, when there is friction between communities, the unbelievers become an easy target for blame. It is easy to become self-righteous and look down upon those we consider to be inferior. These feelings are not of course, stated aims of religious leaders, but they do gain strength in an environment where there is fear and a lack of understanding. Wherever there is a dispute between factions of society, whether it be of a racial, nationalistic or class-based nature, religion is often brought into the equation to recruit support from within a religious base, whether or not that support is justified. Indeed, religion becomes the embodiment of evil, quite contrary to its original intent. Source: The Innovation Game, Religion in Society Date of Publication: September 2011

Exhibit 5 a) The association between Latin Americans and Catholicism is so strong that it belies a surprising fact: Almost one quarter of all Latinos in the United States are Protestants. b) Of the 41.3 million Latinos in the United States 2004, about 23 percent (9.5 million) identify themselves as Protestants or other Christians (including Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons). Moreover, 37 percent (14.2 million) of all Latino Protestants and Catholics say they have been born again or are evangelical, according to statistics compiled in the volume, Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the United States (2005, Oxford University Press). c) Latinos often substitute the term evangelical for Protestant, because many Latinos feel Protestant is too closely associated with Anglo-American culture. d) Another important factor in the Pentecostalization of Latino religion is lack of leadership opportunity in the Catholic hierarchy, in which Latinos are underrepresented. Latinos make up about 40 percent of all U.S. Catholics, but less than 8 percent of American Catholic priests are Hispanic. Of the 47,000 Catholic priests in the United States, only 2,700 are Hispanic many of whom come from Columbia and Spain, Espinosa said. Source: Bruce Murray, University of Massachusetts Press Date of publication: 2009

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a) "As Latinos or any other ethnic group assimilates to American culture, they pick up the values of the broader American culture and are somewhat less likely to identify with the religious identification, or any other identification, that marked their parents or grandparents," says Mary Gautier, a senior researcher at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. b) "The biggest challenge the Catholic Church faces is the movement of Latino people not to other religions but rather to a secular way of life in which religion is no longer very important," he says. "We really need to ask ourselves why that is and what response the church can develop for this challenge." Source: USA Today Article: Catholic Church, and religion in general, losing Latinos in USA Date of publication: April 2011

Exhibit 7 a) Beyond the strictly religious realm, this study suggests that the roles Latinos play in U.S. politics and public affairs are deeply influenced by the distinctive characteristics of their religious faith. Most Latinos see religion as a moral compass to guide their own political thinking, and they expect the same of their political leaders. In addition, across all major religious traditions, most Latinos view the pulpit as an appropriate place to address social and political issues. b) The study also sheds new light on the role religious affiliation plays on party identification among Hispanics. Latinos who are evangelicals are twice as likely as those who are Catholics to identify with the Republican Party. Latino Catholics, on the other hand, are much more likely than Latino evangelicals to identify with the Democratic Party. These differences rival, and may even exceed, those found in the general population. Source: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life Date of publication: April 2010

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Education:
Is Cause of the Decline of the Latino Male

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Exhibit 8 a) Why Not College? Nearly every parent surveyed (94%) says they expect their child to attend college, but even as college enrollments have reached record levels, most young adults in this country still do not attend a four-year college. The main barrier is financial. Among adults ages 18 to 34 who are not in school and do not have a bachelors degree, two-thirds say a major reason for not continuing their education is the need to support a family. Also, 57% say they would prefer to work and make money; and 48% say they cant afford to go to college. b) Were Not Number One. Only 19% of college presidents say the U.S. system of higher education is the best in the world now, and just 7% say they believe it will be the best in the world ten years from now. c) Among Americans who have not obtained a regular high school diploma, Hispanics are less likely than members of other major U.S. race and ethnic groups to acquire a General Educational Development (GED) credential, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis that is based on newly available educational attainment data from the Census Bureaus 2008 American Community Survey. d) The relatively low level of GED attainment among Hispanics, the nations largest minority group, is notable because Hispanics have a much higher high school dropout rate than do blacks or whites, the analysis points out. Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011 Exhibit 9 a) Studies show that Latinos receive the least amount of federal aid compared to any other ethnic or minority group in the United States. Due to cultural or language differences, Latino Americans may be more likely to be unfamiliar with college entrance requirements and how to receive financial aid; therefore, they often fail to receive financial aid. b) With the Latino population lagging in financial aid and on many campuses, some universities, like Oregon State University (OSU), are taking extra steps to ensure Latino representation. OSU has a dedicated group that recruits Latino students, and assists them while attending. The group provides support services, referrals, and organizes recruitment workshops on and off campus for college-bound Latino students. c) There are many financial aid options available to students looking to further their education. And Latino students are no different. It is just a matter of seeking them out. Most universities and colleges offer Latino students a wide range of financial aid. Some aid options include grants, scholarships, workstudy programs, and loans. In addition, many organizations offer scholarships, including those designed especially for individuals with Hispanic descent. d) By submitting a FAFSA, Latino students may earn a federal or state grant, a scholarship, or a federal work-study opportunity. An example of a state-based grant offered is the Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund this need-based merit scholarship is awarded to students of Hispanic origin who Defense/Plaintiff

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plan to further their education at a Florida public or eligible private institution. Award amount is $2,000. e) Scholarships are free money students do not have to repay. However, they must apply for them. Latino students may qualify for a number of scholarships. Most colleges and universities offer need-based and/or meritbased scholarships to enrolled undergraduate and graduate students. There are general scholarships, athletic scholarships, academic scholarships, minority scholarships, and departmental scholarships available to Latino students. f) Need-based loans such as the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, and the Perkins Loan. Neither of these loans accrues while the student is enrolled in college. Non need-based loans such as the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, and the Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). Source: href="http://www.stateuniversity.com/financial-aidarticles/pages/7847/Scholarships-Financial-Aid-for-Latino-Students.html">Scholarships Financial Aid for Latino Students - Grants, Student Loans, Fellowships Date of Publication: 2010

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Political Ideologies:
American Liberalism Is the Cause of the Declining Latino Male

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Exhibit 10 a) In addition, Latino turnout was lower than that of white or black voters; one reason is that a large share of Hispanic voters are under 30, and this group tends to participate in elections less than older voters do. The report also analyzes turnout by Latino sub-group, examines numbers in states that allow early voting and compares reasons why people say they did not vote. b) Even so, participation rates among Latinos and Asians have also declined as the number of eligible voters has grown faster than the number of voters in each group. c) Latino evangelicals are twice as likely to be Republicans as Latino Catholics. That is a far greater difference than exists among whites. Moreover, Hispanic conservatives who are Catholic favor the Democrats, while white conservatives consider themselves Republican regardless of religious tradition.

Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011

Exhibit 11
a) The report from the centers Social & Demographic Trends project, The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families, finds that nearly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say that marriage is becoming obsolete, according to findings of a survey conducted in partnership with TIME. This finding takes place in a demographic context of declining marriage rates: According to Census Bureau data, only 52% of adults ages 18 and older were married in 2008, compared with 72% in 1960. Marriage has declined among all groups, but especially so among Americans on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. Increasingly, a marriage gap has emerged in which adults with college educations and good incomes are notably more likely to be married than are adults with less education and lower incomes.

Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011

Exhibit 11
a) The report from the centers Social & Demographic Trends project, The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families, finds that nearly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say that marriage is becoming obsolete, according to

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findings of a survey conducted in partnership with TIME. This finding takes place in a demographic context of declining marriage rates: According to Census Bureau data, only 52% of adults ages 18 and older were married in 2008, compared with 72% in 1960. Marriage has declined among all groups, but especially so among Americans on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. Increasingly, a marriage gap has emerged in which adults with college educations and good incomes are notably more likely to be married than are adults with less education and lower incomes.

Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011

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Culture:
American Values/Feminism Are the Cause of the Decline of the Latino Male

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Exhibit 11 A) Their children are known as second generation. They tend to be bilingual, speaking Spanish in the home and with family, and English in school, at work and with friends. Among the second generation with at least one parent from Mexico, about 35 percent speak Spanish well, according to the study. B) Third-generation Hispanics are overwhelmingly English-only. Just 17 percent with three or four foreign-born grandparents speak Spanish fluently. Five percent of third-generation Hispanics with one or two foreign-born grandparents speak Spanish. C) Hispanics such as Olguin are quickly losing Spanish with each generation in the United States, according to a new study, and the grandchildren of immigrants are likely to speak only English. By the third generation, only 17 percent of Hispanics speak Spanish fluently, and by the fourth generation, it drops to 5 percent. D) "When you are immersed economically, socially and culturally in a culture that speaks a different language, it's only a matter of time until you lose language," said pollster Earl de Berge of Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center. Source: Hispanic News, Jon Garrido Date of publication: July 2011

Exhibit 12 a) A wave of research shows that increasing percentages of Hispanics are abandoning church, suggesting to researchers that along with assimilation comes a measure of secularization b) Of the Hispanics who claimed no religion, two-thirds said they had once been religious. Thirty-nine percent of the Hispanics who said they had no religion were former Catholics. c) Hispanics from Cuba were the most secular national group, at 14 percent, followed by Central Americans at 12 percent, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans at 9 percent, and South Americans at 8 percent, the Pew poll found. Mexicans in this country were the least likely to say they had no religion, at 7 percent. d) A larger survey, called the American Religious Identification Survey, a study of 50,000 adults, including 3,000 Hispanics, found that the percentage of Hispanics who identified themselves as having no religion more than doubled from 1990 to 2001, to 13 percent from 6 percent. Source: Vic Inc. Date of Publication: 2009

a) During these early times children were financial assets to a family. In 1860 children were economic assets by age 7 in all regions of the country. Defense/Plaintiff

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Exhibit 13

Teenagers may still be economic assets in some rural farming areas today, though this is rare. Today children cost $250,000 on average to raise to age 18. In the 1700s and 1800s a child would have represented a handsome profit to their family by age 18. This is because industry has moved from being home-based to being to being based outside the home, and because children are increasingly playing the role of consumers in the economy, because capitalists target them as such Source: Vic Inc. Date of Publication: 2010

Exhibit 14 a) Voter participation rates were higher among female eligible voters than among male eligible voters in 2010. Among women, 46.2% voted while among men, 44.8% voted. When examined by race and ethnicity, women had higher rates of participation than men in 2010 among black and Hispanic eligible voters, but not among Asians. This continues a pattern seen in recent elections of higher rates of electoral participation among women than among men. In the 2008 presidential election, 65.7% of women voted, while 61.5% of men did so (Lopez and Taylor, 2009).

Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011

Exhibit 15 a) Education: Most mothers of newborns (54%) had at least some college education in 2006, an increase from 41% in 1990. Among mothers of newborns who were ages 35 and older, 71% had at least some college education. b) Marital Status: A record four-in-ten births (41%) were to unmarried women in 2008, including most births to women in their early 20s. In 1990, 28% of births were to unmarried women. The unmarried-mother share of births has increased most sharply for whites and Hispanics, although the highest share is for black women.
c) To explore decision-making in the typical American home, a Pew Research

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Center survey asked men and women living in couples which one generally makes the decisions in four familiar areas of domestic life. Who decides what you do together on the weekend? Who manages the household finances? Who makes the decisions on big purchases for the home? And who most often decides what to watch on television?

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d) The survey finds that in 43% of all couples its the woman who makes

decisions in more areas than the man. By contrast, men make more of the decisions in only about a quarter (26%) of all couples. And about three-in-ten couples (31%) split decision-making responsibilities equally. Source: Pew Research Center Date of Publication: 2011

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