2007 Census : Asians Have Highest Income (Mexican, illegal, attorney, spokeswoman)

[calmdude]

Originally Posted by JTraik

Funny, they all come to the US in droves for an education...

I am an engineering student, a white suburban one... I have several asian acquaintances. I would have to say that most of them need to place less emphasis on success and more on actually living out a life. You think most white Americans live to work... well Asians are probably a worse culprit of it than we are. Although I must say that most of the Indians I work with have come to embrace the American culture, not so focused on work but rather trying to live out an enjoyable life and so concerned about making a mistake once in a while.

You think like me - am not sure that is good . Anyway, for 1st generation immigrants, success equals money as this is the reason most Asians come here.

[Magnulus]

I think it's a reporting bias. There are plenty of poor people in Asian countries. People that come to the US, perhaps, are more focused on material success. Also, Asian culture on the whole is more focused on education and family life, and less on sporting activities than white American culture. I think it's a stretch, though, to say all Asians are focused on material success anymore than whites or any other race. In some Asian countries, after all, it's possible to live in relative poverty and be a respected member of society. Some Asian cultures though, particularly east Asian cultures, focus on avoiding shame, something that isn't as important for white Americans.

[ckhthankgod]

I think it has more to do with the Asians we have here in the US. Think about it, most of the Asians here are here for an education or come from families that were already established beofre they come here. That's with the exception of SE Asians, who have serious issues with poverty to deal with. So, it even depends on the Asian groups we talk about. There is variation among Asians and that should be considered too. This discusses this further:Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues :: The Model Minority Image

Also, African immigrants have a higher percentage of college graduates and it continues once they come to the US too. Check this out:Asian-Nation : Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues :: Demographic Characteristics of Immigrants

So, it just depends on the kind of Asians, Africans and other immigrants we get, not that this group values XY and Z more, necessarily.

We also have to keep the size of these groups in mind too. Asians make up about 4-5% percent of the nation's population and Africans make up a small percentage of immigrants. There are other factors like history, assimilation, family structure, personal values and etc. to consider too. So, we should put these stats into proper perspective too.

[veg8]

Asians value education as the key to opening opportunities for their children above everything else.

In fact east Asians have had this in cultural history for over 1000 years I mean the Chinese have been studying and taking standardized tests since Sui Dynasty in 605ad, they were the first to use standardized tests based on merit to determine who would become government officials (So the next time you take a standardized test you can curse the Chinese for inventing it, along with paper and printing). At the time this was the best way to get into the most prestigious jobs in the land and more importantly guaranteed family well being for many generations. This influenced even Korea, Japan with a similar systems.

So it is not surprising that Asian Americans parents value education since this system was in place until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911 well within the range of grandparents age.

The jobs in the world may constantly change but education none the less creates better opportunities especially in minds of recent Asian immigrants based on historical content. At times groups are really competing against a stacked deck with over 1000 years of tradition and experience behind it.

I had known more than a few friends whose parents mortgaged their homes to send them to top colleges in the US, then this phenomenon happened again when their kids needed money for graduate school.

[KantLockeMeIn]

And collectivism is still sad and meaningless.

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by JTraik

Funny, they all come to the US in droves for an education...
.

Of course. Why shouldn't the world's best universities be educating the world's most gifted and promising high school graduates?

Because some whining American thinks it unfair to our own binge-drinking frat-boy spring-breakers?

[Californio]

Although the Hispanic income is also on the rise: Hispanic income rising, expected to grow, survey says. | Article from Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) | HighBeam Research (broken link)

[ottomobeale]

>A comparatively high proportion of Asian-Americans descended from people who immigrated fairly recently to America, under fairly recent rules governning qualified immigrants. Accordingly, more Asian immigrants were well-educated intellectuals, and Asian-American today are the descendents of that gene pool.<

Asian doctors anyone?

[dorado0359]

Originally Posted by padcrasher

I have a little anecdotal story. My wife and I sent all three of our kids to expensive, waiting list only Montessori schools in a mostly all white wealthy area of DFW. Now we scrimped and saved to do this.

Well, my wife and I sent our kids to public schools for a lot less...our eldests son is now an Engineer and Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Navy, our youngest son completed his degree in International Affairs and works on Wall Street, and my daughter is college educated with a very successful career.

[oakparkdude]

So will the anti-immigration Nativists now complain that Asian immigrants are stealing high paying jobs and Ivy League entrance slots that white Americans deserve?

(Speaking as an Asian-American Ivy-educated physician.)