A new Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll found that Hispanics are less concerned about the rapidly changing demographics of the U.S. population than whites or blacks.
The poll released on Friday is the ninth in a series that examine the implications of the changing face of America on the economy.
This time around the survey explored the opinions of whites and minorities over what it takes to succeed in today’s economy, the role of government, the degree of opportunity available to them, and society’s success at providing an equal chance to all.
“This poll offers many reasons for optimism that more diversity in America is not guaranteed to produce greater division, but it also underscores the risk that racial and ethnic divisions could reinforce the ideological and partisan splits we’re already experiencing,” said Ronald Brownstein, Editorial Director of National Journal Group.
White and minority respondents agreed on several points, mostly economic and the role of government.
“It found that the white and minority communities are mostly united in the belief that the free market creates more opportunities than problems, that America has made progress in opening doors for all, and that individuals’ fates are determined more by their own efforts than by large economic or social forces (such as racial discrimination) that are beyond their control,” according to a National Journal article. “White and minority respondents alike ranked racial and ethnic tensions as a lesser source of domestic division than economic or partisan conflict.”
However, opinions were markedly different over the question of “whether the demographic changes recasting the face of the nation generate more benefits or costs.”
Hispanics and Asian-Americans in particular felt that the benefits of the rapidly changing demographics of America outweighed any costs. But whites and African-Americans felt that the change in population “is happening too quickly.”
With the U.S. population projected to become “majority-minority” by 2042, the polls provides a framework for what adjustments should be made to the public policy agenda to create pathways to opportunity.
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