Why are Asian-Americans Wealthier?

[Grainraiser]

I went to college with a Asian guy and we always had deep discussions regarding culture differences (I'm AA). He was brought to the states when he was 3 years and his parents knew that education was paramount. Basically he and his sister was his parents retirement plan. He could never understand why a country as great as the US has citizens who cruised thru life. If you can be a doctor why not be one. The only thing that could hold you back was you. I have always admired the Asian culture for the determination they instill in their children.

[ckhthankgod]

Like someone said, a lot of it depends on the Asian groups in question(East and Southern Asians vs. SE Asians) and the location, in which most Asians live in cities with high costs of living. Hence, part of the reason for having more wealth.

Then, you have to look at the family structure, which in many cases, is more of an extended family. That in turn also brings in more income.

Keep in mind that Asians still have a higher poverty rate than Whites(In 2007, 10.2% of Asians were in poverty vs. 8.2% of Whites). Keep inmind, While some Asian groups are well off, there are some Asian group, especially SE Asians(Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, etc.) that have high rates of poverty.

With the "model minority" tag, it could hurt some Asian groups, as some communities within the umbrella group have serious issues that need to be addressed. So, we have to put that into perspective. Here's some good information to look at: Socioeconomic Statistics & Demographics : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues

Asian American - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ameredia: Asian American Statistics

[Sinajana]

"Is there something the Asians are doing right that the rest of us can learn from? Are they more entrepreneurial? Better educated? Both? My hunch is that they are more entrepreneurial."

Work and not making stupid decisions!

[texdav]

Well they are know for their savings rate. After all for a diry country they certain are floating the money that the us is borrowing;so whopse dirt really. Us who average sepnding 140% of income or them that save at a 40% rate?

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

I check census stats periodicially PINC-11--Part 1, and the thing that always stands out is that Asian-Americans consistently have higher incomes than other ethnic groups - higher even than non-Hispanic whites. .

They don't expect handouts, don't consider themselves to be a victimized minority group, they work hard in school and for what they have and they're better at math because of the Chinese language.

[blkdogb]

What is the correlation between the Chinese language and math?

[dougie86]

Originally Posted by blkdogb

What is the correlation between the Chinese language and math?

The answer is in Malcolm Gladwell's latest book "Outliers" Chapter 8.

Rice Paddies and Math Tests

"No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich."

Take a look at the following list of numbers: 4,8,5,3,9,7,6. Read them out loud to yourself. Now look away, and spend twenty seconds memorizing that sequence before saying them out loud again.

If you speak English, you have about a 50 percent chance of remembering that sequence perfectly
If you're Chinese, though, you're almost certain to get it right every time.
Why is that? Because as human beings we store digits in a memory loop that runs for about two seconds. We most easily memorize whatever we can say or read within that two second span.

And Chinese speakers get that list of numbers—4,8,5,3,9,7,6—right every time because—unlike English speakers—their language allows them to fit all those seven numbers into two seconds.

[blkdogb]

That's very interesting. Never thought of it before (I'm Chinese & Cantonese speaking).
Though my math sucks!

[Nauticadon]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

no its not called sterotyping its called cause & effect.
my favorite
driver to cop
you didn't pull me over bek i ran over that old lady, you pulled me over bek of my race didn't you.

Well considering the fact that over 70% of hip hop purchasers are white suburban kids, you couldn't have possibly been trying to make something racial out of that statement, could you?

[Nauticadon]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

To sum up your article, the differences between Latinos and Asians comes down to priorities. Both Asians and Latinos push their kids. Asians focus on education and then work, while Latinos focus first on work and then on education. I think perhaps the Asians have a more long-term view, with the idea that if you complete your education that you will ultimately be able to be more productive at work.

In my experience, Asian working-class parents push their kids harder than Hispanic working-class parents, though there are obvious exceptions.

Asians are more successful because both the parents and the kids push themselves harder to succeed. I feel that if this same behavior was shown in the working-class (and non-working) black community, there would be far fewer problems among poor blacks.

I mean you couldn't be anymore wrong here. African Americans put just as much emphasis on education and hard work as any other group. The difference is Asians don't have to deal with the legacy of racism and discrimination that many blacks and Latinos still deal with. Their history in this country doesn't go back as far as blacks and much of the success they enjoy is due in part to the gains made by the Civil Rights movement, no one can deny that.


I'm tired of people who don't know jack about what goes on in black communities outside of what the news tells them thinking the family structure of one black family is the same for all.