Immigrants: 1/3 of population but 50% of Small Businesses (rent, day care)

[SobroGuy]

I thought this was a good article, and highlighted how the immigrant population is a major player in our city's economy, especially local economy. A good read.

Immigrants Own 48% of N.Y.'s Small Businesses - NYTimes.com

"Immigrant business owners represent a majority in several industry sectors, including transportation and warehousing, retail trade, construction, wholesale trade and manufacturing. Within those broad sectors, foreign-born ownership of certain types of businesses dwarfs United States-born ownership. A full 90 percent of the city’s dry cleaning and taxi service owners are immigrants, as are 84 percent of grocery store owners and 75 percent of child day care owners.

"Immigrants also have a strong presence in higher-skilled professions. Among computer systems design, architectural and engineering businesses, 40 percent of owners are foreign born."

[Veve0308]

Oh God I hope I am not slaughter for say this but I think immigrants have a different outlook on life. I being an immigrant and walking 3 miles to school every day back and fourth and than working on farm in the hot sun daily and eating was a luxury comes here and see opportunities and jump on them. There are not so many opportunities in other countries like here in the us. Back in my country mostly everything is own, yes you have the city where people rent here and there but back home parents pass down homes and stores, that is the norm. So to come here and have all the opportunities you are looking for same kind of stability. An immigrant going to school full time to become an an archetecture or engineer or doctor is not seeing as sacrafices at all. In fact most of the time the immigrant is going to school and working full time doing it all.

Also another aspect is alot of immigrants have families they will later bring over or have to support so alot of times they choose jobs that will enable them to do so and owning is big part of that. They bring their uncles and uncles help with stores and they dont have to pay somone else a whole bunch of money and so on. Most immigrants families are located in their country it cost alot of money to support all those family members or even bringing them to US.

Most Americans do not see all these things as priviledge not because they dont want to but because they are so use to it, it is no fault to anyone you adopt to your surroundings. If you grow up and go to school for free and mom and dad works hard to take care of you it is completely different from a child that had been born and since taking first step has been working hard labor just to pay for an education if not your life is to just work hard labor and nothing ever changes so these kinds of people come to US and realize school is free and they dont have to walk days just to get food the motivation is much more.

That is my take on this.

[bg7]

Also the availability of capital in this country to people with good ideas and good business plans, including to immigrants, is a major leg up over over countries where either there is no financial industry and no capital, the market is excessively regulated and deadened or patronage is necessary to do anything.
veve0308 - a lot of what you say is correct, and immigrants are a self-selected group anyway - obviously they are already trying to improve their position in life. I think every American should go live in another country for a year at about age 25 - to give them actual context to the opinions they have, instead of just talking out their posterior based on some homespun theory.

[barkomatic]

I think family members help each other out much more than native born U.S. families. They will readily loan money for business, provide free childcare, pool money for someone's education etc. In return, you are expected to do the same when you are able. The end result is that often everyone in the family gets ahead.

[bg7]

like Korean keh loans - but they aren't so much limited to just family