Building an All-In Nation

7/27/2019 Building an All-In Nation

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Building an All-In NationA View from the American Public

Survey research by the Center for American Progress and PolicyLink,

in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation October 2013


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Building an All-In NationA View from the American Public

Survey research by the Center for American Progress and PolicyLink,

in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation

Report and analysis written by

Ruy Teixeira and John Halpin, Center for American Progress

with Matt Barreto and Adrian Pantoja, Latino Decisions

October 2013


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1 Introduction and summary

3 Methodological note 3 Key findings

8 Section 1: What the public knows and thinks about Ame

rising diversity

8 Factual understanding of diversity in America

10 Openness-to-diversity composite index

15 The opportunities from rising diversity

17 The challenges from rising diversity

20 Section 2: Public attitudes toward a new equity agenda

20 Support for new steps and investments to reduce racial and ethnic inequal

22 Beliefs about individual and collective action

25 How individual and collective attitudes shape policy choices

27 Reasons to address racial and ethnic inequality in America and likely outco

31 Conclusion

32 Author bios

32 Acknowledgements

33 Endnotes

34 Appendix: Full survey results by race and ethnicity

Contents


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1 Center for American Progress | Building an All-In Nation

Introduction and summary

I is an undeniable ac ha he Unied Saes is becoming increasingly diverse,

rapidly heading oward he day when here will no longer be any clear racial or

ehnic majoriy in he U.S. populaion. Already, more han hal o newborns oday

are children o color, and demographers predic ha more han hal o all youh

will be o color beore he end o his decade.1As youh drive his demographic

change, each generaion is becoming more racially and ehnically mixed han he

one beore.

According o Census projecions, by 2043, non-Hispanic whies will become a

minoriy o our populaion. By 2050, hey will be only 47 percen o he U.S. pop-

ulaion, wih communiies o color combining o orm a solid 53 percen majoriy.

Hispanics will make up 28 percen o he populaion, up rom 16 percen in 2010,

and Arican Americans will make up 13 percen, abou 1 percenage poin higher

han heir level in 2010. Asians will make up 7 percen, up rom 5 percen in 2010,

and anoher 0.7 percen will be made up o American Indian/Alaska Naives,

unchanged rom heir 2010 levels. Finally, muliracial individuals should double in

size, rom heir curren 2 percen o he populaion o 4 percen by 2050.2

Earlier his year, he Cener or American Progress and PolicyLink releasedAll-In

Naion: An America ha Works for Alla comprehensive book analyzing hese

changing demographics and exploring policies o ensure ha a more diverse

workorce is prepared or he jobs o he uure and ha all people are in a posiion

o conribue o and benefi rom economic growh. Te goal o he book was no

only o sress he moral need o ensure greaer opporuniies or all people bu also

o highligh he clear economic benefis or he enire naion o reducing racial

and ehnic dispariies in educaion, employmen, and oher areas. As par o his

research projec and as a complemen o he book, CAP and PolicyLink joinedwih he Rockeeller Foundaion and Laino Decisions o assess how Americans

view issues o rising diversiy and policy proposals o beter inegrae hese com-

muniies ino he mainsream o American sociey and is economy.


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We se ou o answer a number o quesions abou he publics undersanding o

a changing America, is reacions o rising diversiy, and is possible suppor or a

new equiy agenda ha would lif up boh whies and communiies o color and

help improve our overall economy. Among he quesions explored are:

Do Americans have a clear undersanding o he curren and uure demo-graphic make-up o U.S. sociey and he workorce?

How open are Americans overall o diversiy? Do hey see more opporuniies

or more challenges wih rising racial and ehnic diversiy in our naion?

Are here differences in atiudes boh beween and among specific communi-

ies o color and whies?

How concerned are people abou he racial, ehnic, and economic inequaliies in

American lie?

Would Americans suppor or oppose policies and invesmens o help reduce

hese inequaliies?

Tis sudy is one o he larges o is kind. I is based on nearly 3,000 oal iner-

views wih Americans, including large oversamples o he Arican American,

Laino, and Asian American communiies. Te breadh and deph o he sudy

allowed us o ge a clearer picure o exacly how Americans are reacing o ongo-

ing social and demographic change.


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As shown hroughou his repor, Americans are much more open o diversiy and

more supporive o seps o reduce racial inequaliies han is commonly porrayed

in poliics and he media. Furhermore, Americans are more likely o see oppor-

uniies rom rising diversiy han hey are o see challenges. Tey undersand he

problems associaed wih inequaliy in sociey and srongly suppor new seps

and invesmens o reduce hese inequaliies and expand economic opporuniies.

Alhough differences remain beween rising communiies o color and whies in

erms o openness o diversiy and suppor or new policies o close remaining

social gaps, many o hese disincions are more ideological in naure and less

abou race and ehniciy.

Some o he mos imporan findings and conclusions rom he sudy include:

Americans vastly overestimate current and future levels of diversity. When asked

o esimae he curren percenage o he U.S. populaion ha is composed o

racial and ehnic minoriies, Americans are considerably off he mark. Te median

response49 percenindicaes ha he ypical American hinks we are nearly a

majoriy-minoriy naion already; he acual percen o he naion ha is a minor-iy is abou 37 percen.3Tese overesimaes are prevalen across racial groups.

Asians were he closes in heir esimaion, wih heir range o responses averag-

ing 43 percen, ollowed by whies wih an average o 48 percen, Lainos wih

an average o 50 percen, and Arican Americans wih an average o 53 percen.

Latino Decisions conducted a nationwide telephone survey of 2,943 Americans from June 11 to July 10, 2013.

All respondents were 18 years of age or older and were contacted by live callers, with five total call attempts

made to each number. A base sample of 2,000 respondents was randomly selected from a nationwide random-

digit-dialing, or RDD, sample, with contact made to both landline and cell-phone-only households. In addition,

oversamples were completed to targeted telephone numbers of African American, Latino, and Asian households,

both landline and cell phone only. The total sample includes 1,319 white non-Hispanic respondents, 505 African

American respondents, 502 Latino respondents, 515 Asian respondents, and 102 respondents of other races or

ethnicitiesAmerican Indians and others who do not identify as either white, African American, Latino, or Asian.

Latino respondents were given the option to answer the survey in either English or Spanish, and Asian respon-

dents were given the option to answer the survey in English, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese. The overall sample

contains a nominal margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percent. The white subsample has a margin of error of 2.7

percent, and the African American, Latino, and Asian subsamples each have a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

Methodological note


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And Americans predicion or he share o he counrys populaion ha will be

composed o communiies o color by he year 205062 percenconsiderably

exceeds he Census Bureaus 53 percen projecion.

Americans overall are not pressing the panic button about rising diversity in

society. By and large, posiive senimens abou opporuniies rom rising diver-siy end o ouweigh negaive concerns abou rising diversiy. Using wo unique

composie measuresone ha combines levels o agreemen wih eigh sae-

mens abou he opporuniies rom rising diversiy and one ha combines levels

o agreemen wih eigh saemens abou concerns wih hese changeswe find

ha he average scores on he opporuniy index are higherwih a mean o 51

han average scores on our concern index, which have a mean o 44. Tis relaion-

ship holds rue across racial groups.

Despite the general acceptance of demographic change, there is considerable

variation by race and ethnicity in terms of openness to rising diversity. Our160-poin composie openness indexwhich combines he responses across all

16 opporuniy and concern quesions, wih 160 being he mos open o diversiy

and zero being he leas open o diversiyshows a mean score or he overall

populaion o 86.5, wih Arican Americans reporing a mean o 93, Lainos a

mean o 90, Asians a mean o 97, and whies a mean o jus 84. Ineresingly, hese

differences are driven mosly by divergen views abou he opporuniies rom ris-

ing diversiywhere whies are no as opimisic as people o colorraher han

by concerns abou diversiy, where differences are smaller.

The younger generation and those with higher levels of education exhibit much

more openness to rising diversity.Generally, openness o rising diversiy goes

down wih age and up wih educaion. Te younges age groupAmericans

ages 18 o 29repors a mean score o 92, compared o he oldes age group

Americans ages 65 or olderwhich scores an average o 80 on he index. High

school graduaes score an 83, while posgraduaes score a 96. In conras o varia-

ion by race, differences in openness by age and educaion are primarily driven

by concern issues, where he older and less educaed are more pessimisic, raher

han opporuniy issues. Tis suggess ha as rising generaions replace older ones

and as America becomes a more educaed sociey, concerns abou rising diversiywill recede and openness o diversiy will increase.


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The greatest opportunities from rising diversity are associated with the poten-

tial for more economic growth and greater innovation and competitiveness for

businesses.wo o he op hree opporuniy scores were received or he ideas

ha, A bigger, more diverse workorce will lead o more economic growh, wih

69 percen o respondens agreeing, 16 percen disagreeing, and a mean score o

6.9 ou o 10; and Diverse workplaces and schools will help make American busi-nesses more innovaive and compeiive, wih 69 percen o respondens agree-

ing, 15 percen disagreeing, and a mean score o 6.8. In addiion, he noion ha,

Te enry o new people ino he American workorce will increase our ax base

and help suppor our reiree populaionwih 59 percen agreeing, 24 percen

disagreeing, and a 6.2 mean scorereceived a high level o suppor.

The greatest concerns about rising diversity are related to its impact on govern-

ment services and the availability of jobs. Sixy-wo percen o Americans agree

ha wih rising diversiy, []here will be oo many demands on governmen

services in he uure, and anoher 54 percen agree ha []here will no beenough jobs or everybody. In conras, oher more-radiional concerns abou

diversiy do no appear o be ha pressing o Americans. Te iems recording he

lowes levels o agreemen include, Tere will be no common American culure,

wih 36 percen agreeing, 39 percen disagreeing, and a mean score o 4.9; Tere

will be more inequaliy, wih 38 percen agreeing, 35 percen disagreeing, and

a mean score o 5.1; and Discriminaion agains whies will increase, wih 42

percen agreeing, 37 percen disagreeing, and a mean score o 5.1. Unsurprisingly,

whiesparicularly older and more-conservaive whiesexpress ar more con-

cern abou a possible rise in discriminaion agains whies as diversiy increases

han do people o color. Sixy-one percen o whie conservaives and 56 percen

o whies ages 65 or older agree ha discriminaion agains whies will increase

due o rising diversiy.

Americans strongly support a new equity agenda designed to reduce racial and

ethnic inequality and create the conditions for everyone to participate in the

economy.More han 7 in 10 Americans71 percensuppor new seps o

reduce racial and ehnic inequaliy in America hrough invesmens in areas like

educaion, job raining, and inrasrucure improvemen, compared o he jus

27 percen who are opposed. Tis includes 63 percen suppor among whies. Inaddiion, 54 percen o Americans say such seps would help he economy over-

all, compared o he 10 percen who hink hey would hur he economy. Whies

are 49 percen and 11 percen, respecively, on he same quesion. Finally, 61

percen o Americans say hey would be willing o inves significanly more


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public unds o help close [he] gap in college graduaion raes beween black

and Laino sudens and whie sudens, compared o he 36 percen who say

hey are no willing o make such invesmens. Again, while whies are lower

han minoriies in heir suppor, hey sill endorse his proposiion by a margin

o 53 percen o 46 percen.

Ideological attitudes about individual and collective action explain many of the

differences in the support for an equity agenda.Americans are essenially spli

on he relaive value o individual versus collecive acion, wih 49 percen o

he public agreeing ha our economic challenges are common and ha we all

need o work ogeher and 47 percen believing ha Americans are basically

on heir own and canno coun on ohers o help hem. Racial splis are sharp

on his basic raming o American lie, wih majoriies o Arican Americans,

Lainos, and Asians agreeing ha we should work ogeher on common

economic challenges69 percen, 54 percen, and 52 percen, respecively. A

majoriy o whies52 percenbelieve ha Americans are on heir own andcanno coun on ohers. Tese basic ideological views, in urn, produce sharp

differences in suppor or an equiy agenda among whies. More han wo-hirds

o whies67 percenwho srongly agree ha hey are on heir own, or

example, opposegovernmen inervenion in he economy o promoe equiy.

In conras, a clear majoriy o whies53 percenwho srongly believe ha

we mus work ogeher on common economic challenges suppor governmen

effors o reduce inequaliy.

Lower education levels for blacks and Latinos and poverty-level wages are

viewed as the most serious problems associated with inequality in America.We

esed a variey o acs relaed o inequaliy o see which were regarded as mos

dire. Te hree mos-serious problems were as ollows: 1) Fory-eigh percen

o black eighh graders and 43 percen o Laino eighh graders score below

basic on mah and reading ess, compared o 17 percen o whies, wih 88

percen o respondens saying his is a very serious or a serious problem; 2) A

quarer o all jobs in he Unied Saes now pay below povery-level wages, wih

86 percen o respondens saying his is a very serious or a serious problem; and

3) One in our children under age 5 live in povery, including around wo in

five black and Laino children, wih 85 percen o respondens saying his is avery serious or a serious problem.


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The potential for a better-prepared workforce and reductions in overall poverty

are the most convincing reasons for Americans to support a new equity agenda.

We also esed a range o research findings on he benefis o eliminaing racial

inequaliy o see which ones moivaed respondens o suppor $120 billion a

year in new invesmens o achieve ha goal. Te wo mos convincing reasons or

Americans o suppor such invesmens are as ollows: 1) Te esimaed 42 per-cen o he workorce who will be black or Laino by 2050 will be beter prepared

or he jobs o he uure, wih 69 percen o respondens saying ha reason is

very or somewha convincing; and 2) 13 million people will be lifed ou o pov-

ery, wih 65 percen saying his reason is very or somewha convincing. Te leas

convincing reason o suppor a new equiy agenda is he projecion ha average

incomes would go up by $3000. Fify-our percen o respondens said his was

very or somewha convincing.

Les examine Americans atiudes oward rising diversiy in greaer deail.


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Section 1: What the public knows and

thinks about Americas rising diversity

Knowledge about diversity

In he survey, we asked a series o open-ended quesions o ap ino peoples

knowledge abou rising diversiy. We asked people o esimae wha percen-

ages o he curren populaion and he workorce are racial and ehnic minoriies

and wha hose percenages would be 37 years rom now, in 2050. Te answers

showed ha Americans are no in denial abou he high and rising levels o diver-

siy in our sociey.

Indeed, raher han underesimaing his diversiy, hey end o significanly

overesimae boh curren and uure levels o diversiy. Les sar, or example,

wih heir esimaes o he curren share o people o color in our populaion. Te

average response or all respondens was 49 percen. Tis indicaes ha he ypi-

cal American hinks we are nearly a majoriy-minoriy naion already; he correc

figure is abou 37 percen. Jus 20 percen o respondens pu he percenage in

he correc decile31 percen o 40 percenand 56 percen pu he percenage

in he 41 percen-o-50 percen decile or higher.

Tese overesimaes are prevalen across racial groups. Asians had he mos accu-

rae esimaes, wih respondens esimaing an average o 43 percenollowed

by whies wih an average o 48 percen, Lainos wih an average o 50 percen,

and Arican Americans wih an average o 53 percen.

Respondens esimaes were also high or he percen o racial and ehnic

minoriies in he populaion by 2050an average o 62 percen. Tis consider-

ably exceeds he Census Bureaus 53 percen projecion or he share o people

o color by 2050. Again, esimaes were high across racial groups. Asians werehe closes in heir esimaions, averaging 57 percen, ollowed by Lainos a 61

percen, Arican Americans a 62 percen, and whies a 63 percen.


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Current people of

color population

estimates

Projections of

people of color

population by 2050

Current estimates

of people of color

in the workforce

Projections of people

of color in the

workforce by 2050

Projections of

elderly population

by 2050

Correct figure

60%

50%

40%37% 36%

53%55%

2

30%

20%

10%

CHART 1

Population estimates

All

White

Black

Latino

Asian

All

White

Black

Latino

Asian

All

White

Black

Latino

Asian

All

White

Black

Latino

Asian

All

White

Black

Latino

Asian

Esimaes o he percenage o he curren U.S. workorce composed o racial and

ehnic minoriies old he same basic sory. Te overall average was 46 percen,

compared o he acual figure o around 36 percen.4Here, Asians and whies were

ied or he lowes esimaes, boh a around 44 percen, while Arican Americans

were a 48 percen and Lainos were a 50 percen.

Finally, respondens esimaes o he share o he U.S. workorce ha will be made

up o racial and ehnic minoriies by 2050 came in a 59 percen, compared o

he Census Bureaus curren projecion o around 55 percen.5Tis was he mos

accurae esimae o he our knowledge o diversiy quesions, hough sill high.

Tere also was less variaion by race, wih Asians esimaing an average o 57 per-

cen, Lainos an average o 58 percen, Arican Americans an average o jus less

han 59 percen, and whies an average o slighly more han 59 percen.


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We also asked an addiional quesion abou he likely growh o he number o

elderly people in our populaion o gauge wheher people had a good sense o he

large elderly populaion ha our diversiying workorce will have o suppor in

he uure. We ound ha people were well aware o his challengeindeed, hey

subsanially overesimaed i. While he Census projecs ha he elderly popula-

ionmade up o Americans ages 65 or olderwill rise rom 13 percen o 21percen by 2050,6he average response in our survey projeced a rise rom 13 per-

cen o 36 percen over ha ime period. Asians gave he lowes average esimae,

30 percen, ollowed by whies a 35 percen, Lainos a 37 percen, and Arican

Americans a 42 percen.

Openness to diversity

Resuls rom our survey indicae ha despie he overesimaes o curren and uure

diversiy repored in he previous secion, Americans are no pressing he panic bu-on when i comes o he naions rising diversiy. By and large, posiive senimens

abou opporuniies rom rising diversiy end o ouweigh negaive concerns.

We examined his by asking respondens wheher hey agreed or disagreed wih

16 saemens abou rising diversiy in America, evenly divided beween concerns

and opporuniies. (see able 1) Te level o agreemen wih each saemen was

recorded on a 10-poin scale, wih maximum agreemen being 10 and maximum

disagreemen being zero. From hese saemens, we creaed an 80-poin opporu-

niy indexormed by adding responses o he eigh 10-poin-scale quesions on

he opporuniies presened by rising diversiyand an 80-poin concern index,

which was ormed by adding responses o he eigh 10-poin-scale quesions on

concerns abou rising diversiy.

Analysis o hese indices ound ha average scores on our opporuniy index are

higher han average scores on our concern indexmean scores o 51 and 44,

respecively. Tis relaionship holds across racial groups.

We also creaed a 160-poin index measuring overall openness o diversiy. We

did his by reverse coding he concerns index so ha he lowes level o concernwas 80 and he highes level o concern was zero. We hen added his o he

opporuniies index.


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TABLE 1

16 Reactions to rising diversity Ranked by percentage total agree; dark blue = opportunities and light blue = co

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly dis-

agree (0-1)

Dont know/

RefusedM

1. Americans will learn more from one

another and be enriched by exposure to

many different cultures

32 70 15 15 4 0

2. A bigger, more diverse workforce will lead

to more economic growth.30 69 15 16 6 1

3. Diverse workplaces and schools will help

make American businesses more innovative

and competitive.

30 69 15 15 5 1

4. People will become more accepting of

their differences and more willing to find

common ground.

24 65 18 16 6 0

5. There will be too many demands on

government services.34 62 16 21 8 1

6. With more diverse people working and

living together, discrimination will decrease.

24 61 17 21 7 0

7. The entry of new people into the Ameri-

can workforce will increase our tax base and

help support our retiree population.

24 59 17 24 9 1

8. There will not be enough jobs for every-

body.28 54 17 28 12 1

9. Our countrys ideals of opportunity for

everyone will be realized.17 49 21 30 11 0

10. Crime and problems in our neighbor-

hoods will go up.20 47 22 31 11 1

11. The countrys global image will improve. 17 47 23 28 12 1

12. Our education system will get worse 21 44 20 35 15 0

13. There will be more conflict between

ethnic and racial groups16 44 21 34 10 1

14. Discrimination against whites will

increase17 42 21 37 16 1

15. There will be more inequality. 13 38 26 35 13 1

16. There will be no common American

culture.17 36 23 39 18 1


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As Figure 1 displays, based on

an aggregae scale o 0 o 160,

wih zero being he leas open

o diversiy and 160 being

he mos open o diversiy,

he American elecorae as awhole records a mean score o

86.5 on our composie open-

ness measure.

As shown in Figure 1, here

is considerable variaion by

race in erms o openness

o diversiy. Asians score

highes on openness, wih a

mean score o 97, ollowedby Arican Americans wih

a mean score o 93, Lainos

wih a mean score o 90, and

whies wih a mean score o

jus 84. Ineresingly, hese

differences are driven mosly

by differences on opporuniy

issueswhere whies are

no as opimisic as people o

colorraher han on concern issues, where differences are smaller.

Tere is also considerable variaion by age and educaion on openness o

diversiy. Generally, openness goes down wih age and up wih educaion.

Millennialspeople ages 18 o 34scored an average o 92, compared o

seniors ages 65 or older, who had a mean score o 80. High school graduaes

scored 83, compared o posgraduaes, who scored 96. In conras o variaion by

race, differences in openness by age and educaion are primarily driven by con-

cern iems, where he older and less-educaed respondens are more pessimisic,

raher han by opporuniy iems.

Asian millennial college graduates 108

Latino millennial college graduates 105.5

African American college graduates 101.1

White liberals 99.7

Liberals 98.9Asians 96.9

Postgraduates 96.0

College graduate women 94.5

African Americans 93.2

Millennials 91.8

Unmarried women 91.1

White college graduates 90.4

Latinos 90.1

White millennials 89.0

Women 87.7

86.5 Mean

85.3 Men

83.8Whites

82.5High school graduates

81.8 Married men

80.1White working class

79.7Seniors

77.0White seniors

74.7White Born-Again

74.6Conservatives

72.0White Republicans

70.9White conservatives

70

80

90

100

110

Moreopentodiversity

FIGURE 1

Composite index of openness to diversity


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Looking a he responses o he underlying saemens wihin hese composie

scores, here are some clear paterns in Americans belies abou rising diver-

siy, generally avoring he opporuniies side o he ledger. rends rom able 1

include he ollowing:

Te sronges levels o agreemen were regisered or saemens abou risingdiversiys opporuniies. O he op six saemens in our 16-iem bateryall

o which had 60 percen or more agreemen and an average score o 6.4 or

higherfive were opporuniies, including he op hree: 1) Americans will

learn more rom one anoher and be enriched by exposure o many differen

culures, wih 70 percen agreeing, 15 percen disagreeing, and an average score

o 6.9; 2) A bigger, more diverse workorce will lead o more economic growh,

wih 69 percen agreeing, 16 percen disagreeing, and an average score o 6.9;

and 3) Diverse workplaces and schools will help make American businesses

more innovaive and compeiive, wih 69 percen agreeing, 15 percen dis-

agreeing, and an average score o 6.8.

Only one o he op six saemens was a concern abou rising diversiy, specifi-

cally, he worry ha here will be oo many demands on governmen services.

Sixy-wo percen o respondens agreed wih his saemen, while 21 percen

disagreed, averaging a score o 6.6.

Majoriies o Americans also agreed wih he ollowing hree opporuniy sae-

mens: 1) People will become more acceping o heir differences and more

willing o find common ground, wih 65 percen agreeing, 16 percen disagree-

ing, and an average score o 6.6; 2) Wih more diverse people working and

living ogeher, discriminaion will decrease, wih 61 percen o respondens

agreeing, 21 percen disagreeing, and an average score o 6.4; and 3) Te enry

o new people ino he American workorce will increase our ax base and help

suppor our reiree populaion, wih 59 percen agreeing, 24 percen disagree-

ing, and an average score o 6.2.

Only one oher concern saemen generaed majoriy agreemen: Tere will

no be enough jobs or everybody. Fify-our percen o respondens agreed and

28 percen disagreed, averaging a score o 6.


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Te leas-srong levels o agreemen were all regisered by concern saemens.

Te botom hree were as ollows: 1) Tere will be no common American

culure, wih 36 percen agreeing, 39 percen disagreeing, and an average

score o 4.9; 2) Tere will be more inequaliy, wih 38 percen agreeing,

35 percen disagreeing, and an average score o 5.1; and 3) Discriminaion

agains whies will increase, wih 42 percen agreeing, 37 percen disagreeing,and an average score o 5.1. Ineresingly, on boh he common-culure and

inequaliy iems, Arican

Americans and Lainos

expressed more concern

han whies or Asians.

Unsurprisingly, whies

expressed ar more con-

cern abou a possible rise

in discriminaion agains

whies han did respondenso color.

Note: Opportunity and concern scores do not add up to openness scores. Openness score = opportunity score + (80 - concern sc

New England 86

Opportunity 48.3

Concern 42.2

Mid-Atlantic 93.4

Opportunity 54.1

Concern 40.7

East North Central 83.5

Opportunity 50.0

Concern 46.5

West North Central 85.1

Opportunity 50.4

Concern 45.3

East South Central 78.2

Opportunity 47.3

Concern 49.0

West South Central 81.6

Opportunity 49.1

Concern 47.5

South Atlantic 84

Opportunity 49.9

Concern 45.5

Mountain 82.7

Opportunity 47.7

Concern 44.9

Pacific 92.3

Opportunity 53.2

Concern 40.9

FIGURE 2

Openness to diversity by region


18/67


Opportunities from rising diversity

able 2 highlighs he surveys eigh iems concerning opporuniies rom ris-

ing diversiy. Six o he eigh iems elicied srong majoriy agreemen rom our

respondens, suggesing ha awareness o he opporuniies rom rising diversiy

is high among he American public and, in some cases, approaches consensuallevels. Indeed, he op our opporuniy iems in he able abovelearning rom

one anoher, promoing economic growh, promoing innovaion and compei-

iveness, and finding common groundall scored higher han any o he iems

esed on concerns abou rising diversiy. Moreover, or each o hese iems, all

racial groups regisered more han 60 percen suppor.

TABLE 2

Opportunities from rising diversity WNC= white noncollege; WC = white

Total

agree White

African

American Latino Asian 1834 65+ WNC

1. Americans will learn more from one another and

be enriched by exposure to many different cultures70 66 76 75 87 74 64 64

2. A bigger, more diverse workforce will lead to

more economic growth.69 65 81 79 75 74 61 64

3. Diverse workplaces and schools will help

make American businesses more innovative and

competitive.

69 65 78 75 82 75 60 62

4. People will become more accepting of their dif-

ferences and more willing to find common ground.65 62 71 69 70 69 61 58

5. With more diverse people working and living

together, discrimination will decrease.61 59 59 66 70 65 56 57

6. The entry of new people into the American work-

force will increase our tax base and help support

our retiree population.

59 55 65 70 65 57 59 52

7. Our countrys ideals of opportunity for everyone

will be realized.49 43 58 62 61 50 43 43

8. The countrys global image will improve. 47 41 59 61 64 52 43 40


19/67


Bu or hese iems and or he ohers we esed, here was neverheless impor-

an variaion by group in how people responded. Les sar wih race. While

whies did average 65 percen suppor or he op our opporuniy saemens,

suppor levels were much higher among people o color. Asians averaged 79

percen suppor, Arican Americans averaged 77 percen suppor, and Lainos

averaged 75 percen suppor.

Te nex wo opporuniy saemensdecreasing discriminaion and increasing

he ax basealso elicied majoriy suppor across racial groups, hough a lower

levels. Ineresingly, Arican Americans mached whies in heir suppor or he

saemen abou decreasing discriminaionboh a 59 percen. I was he only

iem on which whies level o agreemen mached ha o a group o color.

Te las wo saemensrealizing our ideals o opporuniy or everyone and

improving our global imagereceived he leas suppor and had wide racial varia-

ion. Only 43 percen and 41 percen, respecively, o whies agreed wih hesesaemens, compared o he high 50 percen range or Arican Americans and he

low 60 percen range or boh Asians and Lainos.

Age is anoher clear source o variaion in reacions o rising diversiy, wih posi-

ive senimen abou opporuniies dropping as age increased. While seniors

ages 65 or older did agree a he 60 percen level or a bi above wih each o

he firs our opporuniy saemens, Millennialshose Americans 18 o 34

years o agewere subsanially higher on each opporuniy iem, averaging

a 12-poin gap when compared o seniors. Indeed, he only saemen where

he views o seniors and Millennials were close was he sixh, which concerns a

more diverse workorce supporing our reiree populaion. On his iem, seniors

were acually more enhusiasic han Millennials59 percen compared o 57

percen. Tis generaional patern means ha, as new generaions coninue o

replace older ones, appreciaion o he opporuniies presened by rising diver-

siy will likely rise considerably.

In erms o educaion, posiive senimen abou diversiys opporuniies ends

o go up as educaion increases. Te difference beween whie working-class or

noncollege respondens and whie college graduaes illusraes his poin. On heop six opporuniy saemens, all o which elicied majoriy suppor rom boh

working-class whies and whie college graduaes, he later showed subsanially

higher suppor65 percen o 71 percen versus 57 percen o 64 percenon

five o he six opporuniy iems. However, on he saemen abou a bigger, more


20/67


diverse workorce leading o more economic growh, agreemen among whie

working-class and whie college-graduae respondens was essenially ideni-

cal64 percen versus 65 percen.

Te same paterns apply wihin oher races. College-educaed Arican Americans,

Lainos, and Asians end o agree wih opporuniy saemens a subsaniallyhigher levels han heir noncollege-educaed counerpars. And i you inroduce

age ino he equaion, college-educaed people o color rom he Millennial gen-

eraion are higher sill, wih views on some opporuniy saemens approaching

unanimiy. Niney-our percen o Arican American college-educaed Millennials,

or example, agree wih he saemen on promoing economic growh, and 97

percen o Asian college-educaed Millennials agree wih he saemen on pro-

moing innovaion and compeiiveness.

Finally, i is worh noing ha even Republicans and conservaives express

majoriy agreemen wih he firs our opporuniy saemens. Bu he range oagreemen51 percen o 57 percenis ar below ha o no only Democras,

independens, liberals, and moderaes bu also all he demographic groups dis-

cussed above, even he whie working class.

Concerns about rising diversity

able 3 provides a deailed look a our eigh iems on concerns abou rising diver-

siy. In conras o he opporuniy iems discussed in he previous secion, where

six o eigh iems elicied majoriy agreemen, only wo o eigh concern iems

generaed majoriy agreemen. Tese were he iems abou oo many demands

on governmen serviceswih 62 percen agreemenand oo ew jobs, wih

54 percen agreemen. Te oher six concerns abou rising diversiycrime

going up, he educaion sysem geting worse, increasing racial conflic, increasing

discriminaion agains whies, rising inequaliy, and having no common American

culureall received less han majoriy agreemen.


21/67


While here was some racial variaion across he concern iems, by and large,

here was ar less o i han on he opporuniy iems. Whies, or example, who

were consisenly lower han all groups o color on opporuniy iems, were no,

as one migh have expeced, consisenly higher han hose groups on concern

iems. On he saemen concerning oo many demands on governmen services,

whies level o agreemen mached ha o Laino respondens64 percen;

on he saemen abou no enough jobs, whies agreemen was one poin less

han ha o Arican Americans55 percen and 56 percen, respecively; on he

saemen abou increasing crime, whies agreemen was lower han boh Arican

Americans and Lainos agreemen; and so on. Te one excepion o his patern

was he saemen abou increasing discriminaion agains whies, where whies

were easily he mos concerned abou his poenial problemespecially com-

pared o Arican Americans and Asians.

Indeed, hough he differences were ypically raher sligh, Lainos, no whies,

were he race-ehnic group ha regisered he highes average levels o agreemen.

On six o he eigh concern iems, Lainos were ahead or ied or he lead on heir

levels o agreemen. A he oher end o he specrum, Asians were he racial group

ha seemed he leas sensiive o concerns abou rising diversiy. On every con-cern iem bu one, Asians regisered lower levels o agreemen han every oher

race-ehnic group.

TABLE 3

Concerns about rising diversity WNC= white noncollege; WC = white

Total

agree White

African

American Latino Asian 1834 65+ WNC

1. There will be too many demands on government

services.62 64 52 64 53 60 64 67

2. There will not be enough jobs for everybody. 54 55 56 49 47 50 59 59

3. Crime and problems in our neighborhoods will

go up.47 47 49 49 38 37 58 55

4. Our education system will get worse 44 46 39 48 29 37 54 49

5. There will be more conflict between ethnic and

racial groups44 44 46 48 42 39 50 48

6. Discrimination against whites will increase 42 46 28 40 25 39 56 52

7. There will be more inequality. 38 36 42 44 34 33 42 39

8. There will be no common American culture. 36 36 35 44 31 29 44 40


22/67


Age is again a very clear source o variaion in how much respondens are concerned

abou rising diversiyeven more so han i is in driving respondens views on

diversiys opporuniies. (see previous secion) We find ha concern abou rising

diversiy goes up subsanially as age increases, wih a significanly large gap open-

ing up beween Millennials and seniors. On average, seniors regiser 13 percenage

poins higher on agreemen wih he concern saemens han do Millennials. Telarges gap is seen on he saemen abou increasing crime. Fify-eigh percen o

seniors agree his is a concern, compared o jus 37 percen o Millennialsa 21

percenage-poin gap. Overall, seniors express majoriy agreemen wih six o he

eigh concerns, while Millennials express majoriy agreemen wih jus wo iems.

We hereore expec ha he coninued rise o he Millennial generaion will lead o

a significan diminuion in levels o concern abou growing diversiy.

In erms o he educaional atainmen o respondens, concerns abou rising

diversiy end o go down as educaion increases. Differences beween whie

working-class respondens and whie college graduaes illusrae his patern well.Across he eigh concern saemens, whie working-class respondens level o

agreemen averages 13 percenage poins higher han ha o whie college gradu-

aes. Te bigges area o differences concerns rising crime, where he whie work-

ing class is 23 percenage poins higher han whie college graduaes55 percen

compared o 32 percen. On he saemen abou increasing discriminaion agains

whies, he whie working class is 17 percenage poins higher han whie college

graduaes52 percen compared o 35 percen. Overall, whie working-class

respondens expressed majoriy agreemen wih our concern saemensand

came very close on wo oherswhile whie college graduaes endorsed only one,

he saemen abou oo many demands on governmen services.

Te same paterns apply wihin oher races. College-educaed individuals o color,

paricularly Arican Americans and Lainos, ended o agree wih concern saemens

a subsanially lower levels han heir noncollege-educaed counerpars. Tere was

even less concern expressed by younger college-educaed respondens o color. Jus

19 percen o college-educaed Laino Millennials, or example, agreed wih he con-

cern abou oo ew jobs, compared o 49 percen among Lainos as a whole.

Unsurprisingly, Republicans and conservaives expressed high levels o concernabou rising diversiyypically higher levels han hose among he demographic

groups discussed above, even he whie working class. Eighy percen o Republicans

and 78 percen o conservaives expressed concern abou here being oo many

demands on governmen services; 57 percen o Republicans and 55 percen o

conservaives expressed concern abou rising discriminaion agains whies.


23/67


Section 2: Public attitudes

toward a new equity agenda

Tis sudy aimed o assess Americans suppor or or opposiion o wha we reer

o as a new equiy agenda, which, i ully implemened, would help reduce racial

and ehnic inequaliies in sociey and creae a sronger economy hrough beter

educaion, job opporuniies, and public invesmens in he oundaions o uure

prosperiy. Te equiy agenda is more ully fleshed ou in he recenly published

bookAll-In Naion: An America ha Works for All and was presened in he survey

as a broad proposal or uure acion.

Support for new steps and investments to reduce racial and ethnic

inequality

Along wih he general openness o rising diversiy expressed by mos Americans,

we find srong suppor or new seps o reduce racial and ehnic inequaliy

hrough invesmens in educaion, job raining, and inrasrucure improvemen.

As Figure 3 highlighs, a ull 71 percen o Americans suppor such an equiy

agenda, wih nearly hal47 perceno Americans srongly supporing hese

effors. Almos 9 in 10 Arican Americans87 percen expressing oal suppor

and 77 percen expressing srong supporand Lainos89 percen expressing

oal suppor and 66 percen expressing srong supporback hese invesmen

ideas, along wih more han 8 in 10 Asians83 percen expressing oal sup-

por and 54 percen expressing srong supporand 6 in 10 whies63 percen

expressing oal suppor and 38 percen expressing srong suppor.


24/67


Ineresingly, here are no major age, educaion,

or gender differences among whies in erms o

suppor or a new equiy agenda. Millennials,

women, and college-educaed whies show

sronger levels o suppor han ohers bu no

by significan margins. Sixy-eigh percen owhie college graduaes, 68 percen o whies

ages 18 o 34, and 68 percen o whie women,

or example, say ha hey would suppor inves-

mens o reduce racial and ehnic inequaliy.

Bu 61 percen o noncollege whies, 58 percen

o whies ages 65 or older, and 59 percen o

whie men would also suppor hese effors.

Te divisions among whies appear o be

enirely ideological and parisan. Whie con-servaives are he only subgroup ha repored

majoriy opposiion o new seps o reduce

racial and ehnic inequaliywih 51 per-

cen oally opposed and 31 percen srongly

opposedalong wih a pluraliy o whie

Republicans50 percen oally opposed and

30 percen srongly opposed. Te ideological

naure o hese divisions becomes more appar-

en when examining a ollow-up quesion ha

asked people wheher hey hough new seps

o reduce racial and ehnic inequaliy would

help or hur he economy overall or make no

difference. Alhough 54 percen o Americans

overall said a new equiy agenda would help

he economyincluding 72 percen o Arican

Americans, 63 percen o Lainos, 68 percen o

Asians, and 49 percen o whiesmajoriies

o whie conservaives, a 51 percen, and whie

Republicans, a 52 percen, said hese efforswould make no difference.

Based on what you know, would you support or oppose

new steps to reduce racial and ethnic inequality in America

through investments in areas like education, job training,

and infrastructure improvement?

Support by group

Support by White subgroup

FIGURE 3

Support/opposition for new equity agenda

Total population

Latinos

African Americans

Asians

Whites

White liberals

71% total support 27% total oppose

47% strongly support 16% strongly oppo

White conservatives

White noncollege

White college

White 18-34

White 65+

Strongly suppo

Total support

Strongly suppo

Total support

66% 89%

68% 87%

19% 46%

35% 61%

30% 58%

43% 68%

43% 68%

54% 83%

38% 63%

77% 87%


25/67


Beliefs about individual and collective action

Basic belies abou collecive acion and he role o he governmen in he

economy seem o explain much o he policy division beween whies and oher

groups. In a more absrac es o poliical ideology, respondens were asked ochoose beween wo compeing ideas abou America oday. One idea pu orh a

more individualisic narraive o advancemen: Average Americans are on heir

own. Jobs and benefis are less secure and you can really coun on anyone bu

yoursel and your amily o ge ahead. Te second narraive offered a more collec-

ive vision o economic mobiliy: In odays economy, we all ace common chal-

lenges. Jobs and benefis are less secure, so we all need o work ogeher o make i

easier or average Americans o ge ahead.

Americans are essenially spli on hese core conceps, wih 49 percen agreeing

wih he noion ha our challenges are common and ha we all need o work

ogeher and 47 percen believing ha Americans are on heir own and canno

coun on ohers or help. Bu as Figure 4 highlighs, racial and ehnic splis are

sharp on his basic raming o American lie, wih majoriies o Arican Americans,

Lainos, and Asians agreeing ha we should work ogeher on common economic

challenges69 percen, 54 percen, and 52 percen, respecively. A majoriy o

whies52 percenbelieve ha Americans are on heir own. Ideological and

parisan divisions are prominen among whies: 58 percen o whie liberals and

62 percen o whie Democras say we should work ogeher. In conras, 59 per-

cen o boh whie conservaives and whie Republicans believe he opposie.

TABLE 4

Would a new equity agenda help or hurt the economy?

Based on what you know, do you think new steps to reduce racial and ethnic inequality in America would help the

economy overall, hurt the economy overall or not make much of a difference to the economy overall?

Total

African

American Latino Asian White

White

liberal

White

conservative

White

Democrat

Wh

Repub

Help 54 72 63 68 49 73 33 75 3

Hurt 10 6 8 8 11 5 14 5 1

No difference 33 21 27 20 38 21 51 18 5


26/67


Generaional and gender disincions also

emerge among whies on his quesion. Younger

whies are more likely o believe ha Americans

are on heir own, while older whies are more

evenly spli and open o he idea ha we mus

work ogeher. Similarly, majoriies o college-educaed and noncollege-educaed men56

percen and 59 percen, respecivelyagree

ha people are on heir own, while boh

college-educaed and noncollege-educaed

women agree wih he idea ha we mus work

ogeher o help people ge ahead53 percen

and 50 percen, respecively. Across all whie

subgroups, married whie men display he

highes level o individualism, wih 62 percen

saying Americans are on heir own.

Te rends among Arican Americans and

Lainos are even more ineresing, wih higher-

educaed people o color expressing sharply di-

eren views abou collecive versus individual

acion han heir less-educaed cohors. More

han hree-quarers77 perceno Arican

Americans ages 18 o 29 wihou a college

educaion believe ha we mus work ogeher

on common challenges. In conras, more

han 6 in 10, or 63 percen o college-educaed

Arican Americans in he same age range say

ha Americans are on heir own and you can

coun on ohers o ge ahead. Younger Lainos

show similar ye less-pronounced differences in

heir worldview, wih 59 percen o noncollege-

educaed young Lainos believing ha we

mus work ogeher and 50 percen o college-

educaed Lainos agreeing ha people are onheir own. Age and educaion appears o have

he opposie influence among Asians, however.

Younger noncollege Asians55 percenare

more likely o believe ha people are on heir

47% 49%

29% 69%

44% 54%

43% 52%

52% 44%

41% 58%

59% 36%

57% 38%

49% 49%

58% 38%

45% 51%

FIGURE 4

Individual vs. Collective Action

Total population

Latinos

African Americans

Asians

Whites

White liberals

On their own Work together

White conservatives

White 18-34

White 65+

White men

White women

Do you agree more with first statement or the second

statement?

(First) Average Americans are on their own. Jobs and benefit

are less secure and you cant really count on anyone butyourself and your family to get ahead.

(Second) In todays economy, we all face common challenge

Jobs and benefits are less secure, so we all need to work

together to make it easier for average Americans to get ahea


27/67


own55 percenwhile heir college-educaed peers are more likely o believe

he opposie, ha we mus work ogeher, coming in a 72 percen.

Suppor or an equiy agenda also depends upon undamenal views abou he

relaionship beween racial and ehnic inequaliies and economic growh and

percepions abou wheher seps o reduce hese inequaliies would help overalleconomic growh. As able 5 highlighs, majoriies o Arican Americans, Lainos,

and Asians agree ha inequaliies are holding back growh and ha governmen

policies and invesmens o reduce hese problems would help our economy grow

aser. Whies, and whie conservaives in paricular, are skepical abou boh

claims. Noably, examining a spli-sample language es, a majoriy o whies52

percenagree wih he noion ha high levels o income and wealh inequaliy

bu no high levels o racial and ehnic inequaliy are holding back economic

growh. Racial and ehnic inequaliy received only 43 percen agreemen among

whies. Tis suggess ha a broader class raming o he issues migh help reach

whies more effecively.

TABLE 5

Relationship between inequality and growth

Which statement do you agree with most?Statement pair one: (First) High levels of racial and ethnic inequality are holding back economic growth in this country. (Sec-

ond) High levels of racial and ethnic inequality are a natural outcome of the economy and dont hold back overall growth.

Statement pair two: (First) Government policies and investments that reduce racial and ethnic inequality would help us grow

faster. (Second) Government policies and investments to reduce ethnic and racial ineq uality would not work and would just

interfere with economic growth.

Percent who agree Total

African

American Latino Asian White

White

liberal

White

conservative

Inequality holding back growth 47 65 55 52 43 53 35

Inequality natural outcome of

economy42 29 37 41 46 40 52

Reducing inequality would

help us grow faster 50 61 59 67 46 69 30

Reducing inequality would

interfere with growth43 34 33 25 47 25 63


28/67


How individual and collective attitudes shape policy choices

Views on individualism and collecivism are very closely correlaed wih he

larger policy issues America will conron in he years ahead. Among whies who

mos srongly subscribe o he economic-individualism approach, or example,

67 percen oppose any governmen inervenion in he economy o promoeequiy. Among whies who mos srongly subscribe o he economic-collecivism

approach, a clear majoriy suppor governmen effors o reduce income inequal-

iy. (see able 6) Among people o color, hese same paterns exis. However,

here is more o a endency o suppor governmen effors ha promoe income

and wealh equiy, regardless o larger economic views.

TABLE 6

How individual and collective beliefs shape policy views among whites

Percent who agree

On their own

(strongly)

On their own

(somewhat)

Work together

(somewhat)

Work together

(strongly) Gap

Government policies and invest-

ments that reduce income and wealth

inequality would help us grow faster

28 36 49 53 (+25)

Government policies and investments

to reduce income and wealth inequality

would not work and would just inter-

fere with economic growth

67 59 38 39 (-28)

Beyond he direc connecion o economic policy, he sudy also finds srong cor-

relaions among whies beween ideological belies abou individual and collecive

acion and basic belies abou diversiy across a range o areas no relaed o he

economy. As ables 7 and 8 highligh, on a number o indicaorsrom rising

diversiy o immigraionwe find a consisen gap o abou 20 percenage poins

beween whies who ake a srong individualis view o he economy and hose

who ake a srong collecivis view.


29/67


TABLE 7

How individual and collective beliefs shape openness to diversity among whites

As you may know, census projections show that by 2043, African American, Latinos, Asians, and other

mixed racial groups will together be a majority of the population. Thinking about the likely impact of this

coming demographic change, please tell me if you agree or disagree with each statement.

Percent who agree

On their own

(strongly)

On their own

(somewhat)

Work together

(somewhat)

Work together

(strongly) Gap

Our countrys ideals of opportunity for

everyone will be realized 38 45 52 59 (+21)

The countrys global image will improve 38 45 51 58 (+20)

Americans will be enriched by exposure

to many different cultures 59 69 74 78 (+19)

Diverse workplace and schools will

make American businesses more inno-

vative and competitive

61 69 73 77 (+16)

Crime and problems in our neighbor-

hoods will go up 56 46 41 39 (-17)

Discrimination against whites willincrease

55 43 37 32 (-23)

TABLE 8

How individual and collective beliefs shape views about immigration and inequality

among whites

Percent who agree

On their own

(strongly)

On their own

(somewhat)

Work together

(somewhat)

Work together

(strongly) Gap

Immigration

Pathway to citizenship for undocu-

mented immigrants could add morethan $100 billion to tax revenues

convincing

42 47 50 67 (+25)

Should help integrate undocumented

immigrants into our community and

eventual pathway to citizenship

48 52 69 66 (+18)

Problems from inequality

Willing to invest public funds to help

close black/Latino college gap 48 55 70 76 (+28)

Income gap between whites and

minorities is a serious problem 56 56 75 79 (+23)

African American/Latino gap in collegeeducation is a serious problem

49 59 64 63 (+14)


30/67


Reasons to address racial and ethnic inequality in America and

likely outcomes of doing so

Te sudy probed deeper ino he reasons why Americans migh be willing o

suppor a new equiy agenda by presening a series o acual saemens abou he

sae o sociey oday and economic projecions abou he likely oucomes romreducing inequaliy. As able 9 highlighs, issues surrounding educaional dispari-

ies and poveryboh broadly and more specifically or Arican Americans and

Lainosgenerae he highes levels o concern among a cross-secion o he

public. More han 8 in 10 Americans across racial and ehnic lines believe ha he

ollowing hree dispariies are very serious or serious problems:

Forty-eight percent of black 8th graders and 43 percent of Latino 8th grad-

ers score below basic on math and reading tests, compared to 17 percent of

whites.Eighy-eigh percen o oal respondens believe his is a serious prob-

lem, and 45 percen o oal respondens believe i is a very serious problem.

One-quarter of all jobs in the United States pay below poverty-level wages.

Eighy-six percen o oal respondens believe his is a serious problem, and 48

percen o oal respondens believe i is a very serious problem.

One in four children under age 5 live in poverty, including around two in five black

and Latino children.Eighy-five percen o oal respondens believe his is a serious

problem, and 40 percen o oal respondens believe i is a very serious problem.

Arican Americans and Lainos repor higher levels o concern, and generally

more inense concerns, han whies and Asians abou a variey o problems arising

rom inequaliy. Ineresingly, given conemporary poliical discussions, issues o

wealh dispariies and divergen economic mobiliy rank lower on he lis o prob-

lems, primarily because o heir lower saliency among whies and Asians.

Only 49 percen o whies, or example, believe i is a serious problem ha whies

on average have 20 imes he ne worh o Arican Americans and 18 imes ha o

Lainos. In conras, 81 percen o Arican Americans and 71 percen o Lainos

view he wealh gap as a serious problem. Likewise, only 44 percen o whies anda bare majoriy o Asians51 percenbelieve ha i is a serious problem ha

[a] child born ino a wealhy amily in he U.S. is more han wice as likely as a

child born ino a poor amily o end up in he middle class or above as an adul.

Seveny percen o Arican Americans and wo-hirds o Lainos believe ha hese

differences in social mobiliy are serious problems.


31/67


TABLE 9

Problems associated with inequality

Now I am going to read you a list of facts about inequality in our country today. For each one, I want you

to tell me whether you personally think this fact represents a very serious problem, a serious problem,

not too serious a problem, or not a problem at all for our country.

Percent saying very serious

or serious problem

Total

population

African

AmericanLatino Asian White

Forty-eight percent of black 8th graders

and 43 percent of Latino 8th graders

score below basic math and reading

tests, compared to 17 percent of whites

88 96 91 86 88

One quarter of all jobs in U.S. pay below

poverty-level wages 86 91 91 80 84

One in four children under age 5 live in

poverty, including around two in five

black and Latino children

85 94 89 76 84

Since 1979, income gains for the top 1

percent have been 277 percent, while

gains for the middle class have been

38 percent and those for the poor 18percent

77 87 85 73 75

Predatory loans are five times more

likely in black neighborhoods than in

white ones

77 88 85 71 76

Sixteen percent of white children born

to middle-class parents end up poor,

compared to 45 percent of black chil-

dren born to middle-class parents

77 77 76 63 78

The average income of white families

is $70,000, compared to $40,000 for

blacks and Latinos

67 89 81 57 62

Forty percent of whites complete col-lege by age 30, compared to 23 percent

of blacks and 15 percent of Latinos

66 66 80 64 59

Whites on average have 20 times the

net worth of African Americans and 18

times that of Latinos

55 81 71 60 49

A child born into a wealthy family is

more than twice as likely as a child born

into a poor family to end up middle

class or above as an adult

50 70 66 51 44


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In general, we ound ha explici racial and ehnic raming o inequaliy led o

some drop-off in he belie among whies and Asians ha a paricular issue is a

serious problem or he naion. A povery iem ha made no menion o racial

and ehnic differencesA quarer o all jobs in he Unied Saes now pay below

povery wagesscored highes among whies and Asians, wih 45 percen and

40 percen, respecively, saying ha i was a very serious problem. Te one issuewhere his does no seem o be as pronounced is educaion. All racial and ehnic

groups expressed serious concern abou he lower mah and reading scores or

Arican American and Laino 8h graders.

Bu even on he issue o educaion, we ound whies and Asians more open o a

broader raming abou he imporance o educaion o sociey as a whole han

hey were when we cas he issue in more direc racial erms. able 10 highlighs

responses o a series o quesions abou educaion, saring wih he ollowing:

Every year, more jobs in America require a college degree. By 2018, 63 percen

o jobs will require a college degree or pos-secondary cerificaion. Ye curreneducaion projecions say we will produce abou 3 million ewer graduaes han

necessary o fill hese jobs. Overall, how big o a problem is i or he counry

ha we are no producing enough college graduaes o fill he jobs o he uure?

Fory-hree percen o Americans said his is a very serious problem, including

47 percen o Arican Americans, 52 percen o Lainos, 44 percen o Asians, and

40 percen o whies.

Te inensiy o concerns abou educaional preparaion drops noiceably, how-

ever, in a ollow-up quesion ha provides inormaion abou one o he reasons

America is no producing enough college graduaes o fill he jobs o he uure:

Arican American and Laino college graduaion raes are only a hal o a hird

o he raes o whies. Knowing his, he percenage o Americans saying he gap

beween minoriy and whie graduaion raes is a very serious problem drops o

30 percen overall, including only one-quarer o whies and less han one-hird o

Asians who view he minoriy educaion gap as a very serious problem.

TABLE 10

Effects of broader framing of education versus racial/ethnic framing

Percent sayingvery serious problem

Totalpopulation

AfricanAmerican

Latino Asian White

Lack of college graduates necessary to fill jobs of the future

Without racial and ethnic framing 43 47 52 44 40

With explanation of minority vs. white

graduation gap 30 47 44 32 25


33/67


Te sudy also esed Americans reacions o a range o concree research pro-

jecions abou he poenial economic oucomes o reducing racial and ehnic

inequaliy, as eaured in CAP and PolicyLinks book,All-In Naion. Te goal

o he es was o see how convincing each projecion migh be as a reason o

suppor spending an esimaed $120 billion per year o reduce racial and ehnic

inequaliies. Tere was no a huge amoun o variance in responses o he iems,bu projecions ha, Te esimaed 42 percen o he workorce who will be black

or Laino by 2050 will be beter prepared or he jobs o he uureas well as

projecions ha, 13 million people will be lifed ou o poverywere deemed

convincing reasons o suppor new effors o reduce inequaliy by more han 6 in

10 Americans. (see able 11) Argumens abou greaer equaliy increasing indi-

vidual income or reducing he long-erm Social Securiy defici proved o be less-

convincing reasons o suppor hese effors, paricularly among whies and Asians.

TABLE 11

Reasons to support investments to eliminate racial and ethnic inequality

Recent academic research has examined the potential economic effects of eliminating racial and ethnic

inequality in America. The estimated cost for new investments to eliminate racial and ethnic inequality is

$120 billion per year. Im going to read you some of these potential outcomes and, after each one, please

tell me whether this outcome would be a very convincing, somewhat convincing, a little convincing, or

not at all convincing reason for you to support new investments to eliminate racial and ethnic inequality.

Percent saying very or

somewhat convincing

Total

population

African

AmericanLatino Asian White

The estimated 42 percent of the

workforce who will be black or Latino

by 2050 will be better prepared for the

jobs of the future.

69 84 81 64 65

13 million people will be lifted out of

poverty. 65 74 72 63 63

Federal, state, and local tax revenues

will increase by $192 billion. 63 70 66 61 61

The size of the economy, or gross

domestic product, will be $1.2 trillion

higher.

62 74 64 60 61

The long-run deficit faced by Social

Security will be reduced by 10 percent. 57 67 63 59 54

Average yearly income for all Americans

will be 8 percentor $3,000higher. 54 70 58 54 51


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Conclusion

Conrary o popular belies abou public atiudes oward rising diversiy, his

sudy finds clear and compelling evidence across a range o quesions ha

Americans are open minded abou our socieys changing demographics and

believe, on he whole, ha here are more benefis o he naion rom rising diver-

siy han coss. Americans undersand ha more needs o be done o help ully

inegrae all people ino our naional economy hrough expanded educaional and

job opporuniies. Moreover, hey are willing o make significan new inves-

mens o help reduce racial and ehnic inequaliies and close he gaps beweenhe rich and he poor. Alhough atiudinal differences remain beween some

whies and communiies o color abou he relaive benefis o diversiy and

willingness o do more o reduce inequaliy, hese splis are more ideologically

ocused han racial or ehnic.

Policymakers should ake hese atiudes ino accoun as hey debae he naions

uure. Americans are ready o suppor necessary and pragmaic policy inves-

mens o ensure ha all people can paricipae ully in our economy.

Correction, October 31, 2013:In Char 1 on page 9, his repor incorrecly saed

he survey sample projecion of people of color in he populaion by 2050. Te correc

number is 62.


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Author bios

Ruy Teixeirais a Senior Fellow a boh Te Cenury Foundaion and he Cener

or American Progress, where he co-direcs he Progressive Sudies Program.

He is also a visiing scholar a he Brookings Insiuion. His books include

Americas Forgoten Majoriy: Why he Whie Working Class Sill Maters; TeEmerging Democraic Majoriy; Red, Blue, & Purple America: Te Fuure of

Elecion Demographics; andAmericas New Swing Region: Changing Poliics and

Demographics in he Mounain Wes.

John Halpinis a Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progress, ocusing on

poliical heory, communicaions, and public opinion analysis. He is he co-direc-

or and creaor o he Progressive Sudies Program a he Cener, an inerdisciplin-

ary projec researching he inellecual hisory, oundaional principles, and public

undersanding o progressivism. Halpin is he co-auhor, wih CAP Chair John

Podesa, o Te Power of Progress: How Americas Progressives Can (Once Again)Save Our Economy, Our Climae, and Our Counry, a 2008 book abou he hisory

and uure o he progressive movemen.

Dr. Matt A. Barretois an Associae Proessor in poliical science a he Universiy

o Washingon, Seatle and he direcor o he Washingon Insiue or he Sudy o

Ehniciy and Race. Barreo is a ounding principal o Laino Decisions. He received

his Ph.D. in poliical science rom he Universiy o Caliornia, Irvine in 2005.

Dr. Adrian D. Pantojais a Senior Analys a Laino Decisions. He also is also

Proessor in Poliical Sudies a Pizer College, a member o he Claremon

Colleges in souhern Caliornia. Prior o his appoinmen a Pizer, Panoja was

on he aculy a Arizona Sae Universiy and he Universiy o Connecicu. He

holds a Ph.D. in poliical science rom he Claremon Graduae Universiy.

Acknowledgements

Te auhors would like o hank he Rockeeller Foundaion or is generous sup-

por o his research projec, as well as Vanessa Crdenas, Daniella Gibbs Lger,

Carl Chancellor, Meghan Miller, Lauren Vicary, and Pee Morelewicz or heir

exper assisance in developing and producing he final repor.


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Endnotes

1 William H. Frey, Census Projects New Majority-Minori-ty Tipping Points, Brookings Institution, December 13,2012, available at http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/13-census-race-projections-frey.

2 All data in this paragraph are from authors analysis ofthe U.S. Census Bureaus 2012 Population Projections.See U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 National Population Pro-

jections: Summary Tables, available athttp://www.cen-sus.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.html(last accessed October 2013).

3 Hope Yen, White Majority in U.S. Gone by 2043, U.S.News blog, June 13, 2013, available athttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?lite.

4 Anthony Carnevale and Nicole Smith, Americas FutureWorkforce. In Vanessa Crdenas and Sarah Truehaft,eds.,All-In-Nation: An America that Works for All(Wash-ington and Oakland, California: Center for AmericanProgress and PolicyLink, 2013), available at http://allinnation.org/book/.

5 Ibid.

6 U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 National Population Projec-tions: Summary Tables, table 3.
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/13-census-race-projections-freyhttp://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/13-census-race-projections-freyhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://allinnation.org/book/http://allinnation.org/book/http://allinnation.org/book/http://allinnation.org/book/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043?litehttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/summarytables.htmlhttp://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/13-census-race-projections-freyhttp://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/12/13-census-race-projections-frey


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Appendix: Full survey results

by race and ethnicity

Q1. Now, to start with, do you feel that the economy in the country is recovering and

improving, or it is not recovering and getting worse?

Total Black Latino Asian White

Recovering / improving 50% 63% 52% 56% 48%

Not recovering / worse 36% 22% 31% 21% 41%

Same / no change 12% 12% 14% 17% 11%

Dont know 2% 3% 2% 6% 1%

Q2. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job

as President?


Strongly approve 24% 58% 35% 27% 16%

Somewhat approve 27% 30% 38% 40% 24%

Somewhat disapprove 11% 4% 11% 12% 12%

Strongly disapprove 34% 5% 12% 10% 45%

Total approve 51% 88% 72% 67% 39%

Total disapprove 45% 9% 23% 22% 58%

Don't know 4% 3% 5% 11% 3%

Q3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?


Strongly approve 4% 6% 11% 7% 2%

Somewhat approve 16% 20% 30% 22% 12%

Somewhat disapprove 20% 21% 19% 23% 21%

Strongly disapprove 54% 47% 33% 30% 62%

Total approve 20% 27% 41% 29% 14%

Total disapprove 75% 68% 52% 53% 83%

Don't know 5% 6% 7% 18% 3%


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Q4. Thinking about this demographic change, what percent of the overall American

population today is composed of racial and ethnic minorities? Just give me your best

guess.


0-10% 2% 3% 5% 4% 1%

11-20% 3% 5% 4% 7% 3%

21-30% 10% 10% 8% 14% 10%

31-40% 20% 17% 13% 23% 23%

41-50% 24% 17% 26% 20% 25%

More than 50% 32% 43% 32% 22% 31%

Don't know 9% 6% 13% 11% 8%

Mean 48.96 52.66 50.34 43.16 48.47

Q5. How about the American workforce? What percent of the American workforce

today is composed of racial and ethnic minorities?


0-10% 3% 5% 6% 4% 2%

11-20% 6% 6% 4% 9% 6%

21-30% 16% 12% 9% 16% 18%

31-40% 20% 16% 15% 18% 22%

41-50% 24% 26% 23% 18% 24%

More than 50% 24% 30% 33% 25% 22%

Don't know 8% 4% 10% 11% 7%

Mean 45.55 47.62 49.99 44.08 44.33

Q6. Thinking ahead to the year 2050, what percent of the overall American population

in that year do you think will be composed of racial and ethnic minorities? Again, just

give me your best guess.


0-10% 1% 3% 3% 2% 1%

11-20% 2% 2% 4% 3% 1%

21-30% 3% 4% 4% 5% 3%

31-40% 5% 8% 6% 6% 5%

41-50% 19% 21% 16% 21% 19%

More than 50% 64% 58% 60% 54% 66%

Don't know 6% 5% 6% 8% 6%

Mean 62.05 61.66 61.13 56.96 62.6

Lets think about demographic change in the country over the next 30 years. As you may know, our country is changing

rapidly and one of the biggest changes is the increasing share of racial and ethnic minorities in the populationAfrican

Americans, Latinos, Asians and those of mixed racial and ethnic backgroundsand the decreasing share of whites.


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Q7. How about the American workforce? What percent of the American workforce in

the year 2050 will be composed of racial and ethnic minorities?


0-10% 2% 2% 4% 1% 2%

11-20% 2% 4% 4% 4% 2%

21-30% 5% 6% 7% 4% 4%

31-40% 7% 9% 6% 9% 7%

41-50% 24% 23% 22% 19% 25%

More than 50% 53% 51% 51% 51% 54%

Don't know 6% 4% 6% 12% 6%

Mean 58.92 58.69 57.72 57.3 59.27

Q8. Another big demographic change is the aging of the Baby Boom generation.

The first Baby Boomers turned 65 in 2011 when the percentage of the elderly in the

population was around 13 percent. What percent of the U.S. population will be elderly

by the year 2050? Again, just your best guess.


0-10% 7% 8% 10% 6% 6%

11-20% 19% 15% 19% 30% 18%

21-30% 24% 19% 19% 30% 25%

31-40% 16% 13% 13% 10% 18%

41-50% 13% 18% 13% 10% 12%

More than 50% 15% 24% 18% 8% 13%

Don't know 7% 4% 8% 7% 7%

Mean 35.67 41.57 37.24 29.93 34.78

Q9. Which of these two statements do you agree with most?

A. In todays economy, average Americans are on their own. Jobs and benefits are less secure and you

cant really count on anyone but yourself and your family to get ahead.

B. In todays economy, we all face common challenges. Jobs and benefits are less secure, so we all need

to work together to make it easier for average Americans to get ahead.


On their own - Strongly 31% 20% 31% 26% 34%

On their own - Somewhat 16% 9% 13% 17% 18%

Work together - Strongly 32% 54% 37% 31% 28%

Work together - Somewhat 17% 15% 17% 21% 17%

Total on their own 47% 29% 44% 43% 52%

Total work together 49% 69% 54% 52% 44%

Both of these 2% 1% 1% 4% 2%

Neither of these 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Don't know 0% 1% - 0% 0%


40/67



A. High levels of income and wealth inequality are holding back economic growth in this country.

B. High levels of income and wealth inequality are a natural outcome of the economy and dont hold

back overall growth.


Holding back economicgrowth - Strongly

36% 45% 33% 28% 36%

Holding back economic

growth - Somewhat19% 19% 26% 24% 17%

Natural outcome - Strongly 23% 15% 18% 17% 27%

Natural outcome - Some-

what16% 15% 18% 19% 15%

Total holding back 55% 64% 59% 52% 52%

Total natural outcome 39% 30% 36% 36% 42%

Both of these 1% 1% 2% 4% 1%


Don't know 3% 5% 2% 5% 2%


A. High levels of racial and ethnic inequality are holding back economic growth in this country.

B. High levels of racial and ethnic inequality are a natural outcome of the economy and dont hold back

overall growth.


Holding back economic

growth - Strongly26% 44% 32% 29% 22%

Holding back economicgrowth - Somewhat

21% 21% 23% 23% 20%

Natural outcome - Strongly 22% 18% 20% 19% 24%

Natural outcome - Some-

what20% 12% 18% 22% 22%

Total holding back 47% 65% 55% 52% 43%

Total natural outcome 42% 29% 37% 41% 46%

Both of these 2% 3% 1% 2% 1%


Don't know 2% 2% 5% 3% 2%

Q10 and Q11: split sample


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A. Government policies and investments that reduce income and wealth inequality would help us grow

faster.

B. Government policies and investments to reduce income and wealth inequality would not work and

would just interfere with economic growth.

Total Black Latino Asian WhiteGrow faster - Strongly 23% 33% 26% 27% 21%

Grow faster - Somewhat 22% 29% 27% 34% 18%

Not work/interfere -

Strongly30% 14% 22% 16% 36%


Somewhat17% 17% 19% 17% 17%

Total grow faster 45% 62% 53% 61% 39%

Total not work/interfere 47% 32% 41% 33% 53%

Both of these 1% 1% 2% 1% 0%


Don't know 3% 3% 2% 4% 4%


A. Government policies and investments that reduce racial and ethnic inequality would help us grow

faster.

B. Government policies and investments to reduce ethnic and racial inequality would not work and

would just interfere with economic growth.


Grow faster - Strongly 30% 40% 36% 34% 27%

Grow faster - Somewhat 20% 21% 23% 32% 19%


Strongly24% 20% 19% 16% 27%

Not work/interfere - Some-

what18% 14% 15% 9% 20%

Total grow faster 50% 61% 59% 67% 46%

Total not work/interfere 43% 34% 33% 25% 47%

Both of these 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%


Don't know 3% 2% 5% 3% 3%

Q12 and Q13: split sample


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Q14. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree on a scale of 0-10:

A bigger, more diverse workforce will lead to more economic growth.

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly

disagree (0-1)

Dont know/

refusedMean

Total 30% 69% 15% 16% 6% 1% 6.9

Black 46% 81% 10% 9% 3% 0% 7.9

Latino 40% 79% 14% 6% 3% 1% 7.6

Asian 33% 75% 12% 11% 4% 2% 7.1

White 25% 65% 16% 19% 7% 1% 6.5


With more diverse people working and living together, discrimination will decrease.

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly

disagree (0-1)

Dont know/

refusedMean

Total 24% 61% 17% 21% 7% 1% 6.4

Black 31% 59% 20% 21% 11% 0% 6.4

Latino 32% 66% 16% 18% 6% 0% 6.8

Asian 30% 70% 15% 13% 3% 1% 6.9

White 21% 59% 17% 23% 8% 1% 6.2


The countrys global image will improve.

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly

disagree (0-1)

Dont know/

refusedMean

Total 17% 47% 23% 28% 12% 1% 5.6

Black 25% 59% 25% 15% 9% 1% 6.5

Latino 24% 61% 22% 17% 7% 0% 6.4

Asian 27% 64% 16% 18% 4% 2% 6.6

White 13% 41% 24% 33% 13% 1% 5.2

Q1429: questions rotated

Now, as you may know, census projections show that by 2043, African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and other mixed racial and ethnic

groups will together be a majority of the population. Thinking about the likely impact of this coming demographic change, for each

statement I read, please indicate how much you agree or disagree on a scale of 0-10, with 10 meaning you completely agree with the

statement, 0 meaning you completely disagree with the statement, and 5 meaning you arent sure whether you agree or disagree. You

can use any number from 0 to 10, the higher the number the more you agree with the statement.


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People will become more accepting of their differences and more willing to find common ground.

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly

disagree (0-1)

Dont know/

refusedMean

Total 24% 65% 18% 16% 6% 0% 6.6

Black 30% 71% 17% 12% 6% 0% 6.9

Latino 25% 69% 17% 13% 4% 0% 6.8

Asian 30% 70% 19% 9% 3% 2% 7

White 21% 62% 19% 18% 6% 0% 6.4


Our countrys ideals of opportunity for everyone will be realized.

Strongly agree

(9-10)

Total agree

(6-10)

Neutral

(5)

Total disagree

(0-4)

Strongly

disagree (0-1)

Dont know/

refusedMean

Total 17% 49% 21% 30% 11% 0% 5

Building an All-In Nation

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