Ask the Experts: Why Should Americans Care About Employing Immigrants?
Those in the know explain why hiring skilled, educated newcomers helps the country’s economy and the fabric of society in ways you might not have considered.
The American Dream Isn’t Dead. This Is How Immigrant Families Are Achieving It
Vocational training comes full circle at the Instituto del Progreso Latino, where MacArthur Fellow Juan Salgado pioneers a sustainable approach to rising above poverty.
How Nashville Is Training a New Generation of Leaders from Its Immigrant Communities, Citiscope
A free, one-of-a-kind leadership program gives new Americans insight into how local government works.
Tag: Nashville
5 Cities Where Successful Wage Growth Is Happening
For several years after the 2008 market crash, the economic recovery was seen only in corporate earnings statements and consistent job reports. Family paychecks, meanwhile, didn’t keep pace. Average hourly wages rose at an anemic 2 percent from 2010 to 2014 — and that’s not accounting for inflation. Worse, US workers’ pay had lagged behind other indicators for nearly a decade, the result of bloated executive salaries, global outsourcing of jobs and capital investments in mechanization.
But in the last two years, that dynamic has begun to shift. Unemployment bottomed out at 4.6 percent last year (down from a high of 10 percent in 2009), meaning businesses needed to pay more to recruit and retain employees. Last October, wage growth hit a high of 2.8 percent nationwide.
In which cities has the average worker seen the biggest comparative bump in pay, as measured by higher wages and more work hours? (Hint, three are in blue states, two in red, and not one can claim more than a million residents.) Donald Trump’s 2016 victory in the Electoral College revealed the regional inequities, between the coast and the heartland, that divide our country. As a way to bridge those separations, NationSwell dug into the data to find out what drove better pay in these metro areas, offering five methods for the next administration to consider.
5. Albuquerque, N.M.
Population:559,121
Wage growth in 2016:5.70%
Average weekly pay:$745, up from $703
Statewide, New Mexico’s economy has struggled to make a comeback. At the end of 2015, the Land of Enchantment logged 17,300 fewer non-farm jobs than in pre-recession 2007. But after taking a years-long beating (including more than a doubling in meth overdoses), the state’s biggest city, Albuquerque, is starting to show signs of progress.
Historically, the city has relied on federal spending for a slew of jobs at Sandia National Laboratories, which focuses primarily on weapons, and Kirtland Air Force Base. If President Trump pumps money into defense, the city will likely be a prime beneficiary. But reliance on public dollars “is not a growth industry,” noted Jim Peach, a New Mexico State University economics professor, last year.
To capitalize on government investment, the city is trying to establish the high desert as a hub for science and technology companies. They’re sharing technical discoveries from the national labs (and the state university’s flagship campus) with local small businesses. And they’re also hoping to attract more semiconductor manufacturers near Intel’s chip-making facilities in Rio Rancho, a half-hour drive from downtown. The high-paying jobs in those sectors could power Albuquerque back into full recovery.
4. Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minn.
Population:711,790
Wage growth in 2016:5.97%
Average weekly pay:$998, up from $938
In February 2018, Minneapolis will play host to America’s most watched televised event: the Super Bowl, to be held at U.S. Bank Stadium. (St. Paul will host an accompanying winter carnival, featuring a gigantic ice palace, to draw spectators across the river.) The NFL’s imprimatur is just the latest sign that businesses are increasingly eyeing the Twin Cities for development opportunities. “The number one thing is that people who make decisions for business now have a much more positive view of Minneapolis, and look at us for business expansion,” said Mayor Betsy Hodges, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
To prep for the crowds who’ll be streaming into town to watch football, the city is also shoring up a shopping district in the city center, which has been battered by competition from suburban malls and online retailers. At the moment, a Macy’s department store is the last remaining anchor, but a $50 million revival plan for Nicollet Mall promises to make it a “must-see destination in downtown,” said David Frank, the city’s planning and economic development director.
All that new business means more workers are making more money, thanks to a red-hot 3 percent unemployment rate and a recent change in state law. Last August, a raise in Minnesota’s minimum wage went into effect. At $9.50 an hour for large employers, the hike lands the state near the top of guaranteed minimums. And as debate over a citywide standard of $15 per hour becomes the defining issue of this year’s mayoral campaign — Mayor Hodges recently flip-flopped her position to support the wage bump — compensation seems likely to continue trending upward.
3. Charlotte, N.C.
Population:827,097
Wage growth in 2016:7.94%
Average weekly pay:$983, up from $905
If the number of new housing units rising across this Southern city is any indicator, people desperately want to move to Charlotte. At the beginning of last year, construction had begun on more than 12,300 units, and another 13,500 more were planned. The buyers? Foreign-born immigrants who’ve made a home in the New South, young millennials (including Villanova grads) who’ve found plenty of jobs to be had in Charlotte’s banking and advanced manufacturing sectors, and former exurbanites moving back to the city core.
“During the Great Recession, the sprawling developments in the exurbs ground to a halt,” Brian Leary, president of a local development firm, told Curbed. So those people moved closer to the central business district and the expanding light-rail system. “People are craving connectivity to each other and experiences, and those places that can deliver the most experiences in an accessible way can command premiums and value over time.”
Charlotte won that appeal despite the controversy over H.B. 2, the so-called “bathroom bill” that forces trans people to use facilities that match the gender on their birth certificate. The state law, which was drafted in response to a local anti-discrimination ordinance in Charlotte, led to boycotts and unknown quantities of lost revenue. A new governor could overturn the controversial legislation, which in turn could accelerate new business.
2. Nashville–Davidson, Tenn.
Population:654,610
Wage growth in 2016:10.07%
Average weekly pay:$904, up from $812
Another Southern city growing at breakneck speed, Nashville has capitalized on its reputation as a destination for creatives to attract newcomers. Seeking out the city’s robust music scene, tourists continue to stream into Nashville. For 70 months in a row, the hordes of visitors broke records for nightly hotel stays; by the end of the rush last October, Nashville set an all-time record, beating out Houston’s 59-month streak. “We have music, a cool brand, Music City Center and Opryland,” plus two convention centers, Butch Sypridon, CEO of Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., boasted to The Tennessean.
Now that the city is expanding, officials are moving to the next checklist item they must fulfill to stay on an upward trajectory: luring high-wage employers — an important task, given that Tennessee has no statewide minimum wage. To do so, Nashville is trying to keep as many Vanderbilt alumni in town as possible, while also welcoming foreign immigrants.
The population is there to make Nashville a major economic powerhouse, if the city can attract the right firms. ”If we didn’t have 1,500 people moving to town every month, we won’t have the job growth that we’re having,” said Ralph Schulz, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s CEO. “Before you had to have the jobs and the population came. That’s not the case anymore. Now it’s workforce, then jobs [follow].” If job openings outpace new residents, expect wages to rocket even higher.
1. Dover, Del.
Population:37,522
Wage Growth in 2016:14.05%
Average Weekly Pay:$764, up from $656
Perhaps the most unexpected entrant on the list, the tiny town of Dover, Delaware’s state capital and second largest city, recorded the largest percentage jump in wages in the nation. The payoff is the result of a 10-year comprehensive plan Kent County officials laid out in 2007, which emphasized attracting new companies without losing the area’s farmland and rural charm.
One of the biggest boons to Dover’s economy has been the aviation industry, anchored at Dover Air Force Base. Taking advantage of the military’s need for supplies, the state is building an Air Cargo Ramp that can accommodate large civilian carriers, about the same size as four Boeing 747 planes. The city has also been aided by expansions at several factories, including bra-producer Playtex and food giant Kraft, and a surge in entrepreneurship; in 2015, the dollars loaned to small businesses statewide shot up 156 percent.
On top of that, Dover punches above its weight in attracting some 2 million tourists annually, generating half a billion in revenue countywide. Visitors are drawn by state parks, casinos, NASCAR races and music festivals, like the 80,000-attendee Firefly. “I met a fairly new resident of Kent County a few weeks ago who lives in one of our newer housing developments,” Cindy Small, Kent County’s tourism director, told the local paper. “She mentioned that out of 30 or so homes, 28 of them have been purchased by non-Delawareans. You can bet they were visitors first. They came, they experienced; they relocated.”
It should be noted that Dover’s wages at the beginning of 2016 were, by far, lowest among the top five performers, making it all the easier to notch big gains among its small population. But the town did so even after Delaware upped the state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour in June 2015. Even after the change, this booming town’s average pay has continued to rise, perhaps fueled by a still relatively cheap cost of living and an influx of consumer spending.
Tapping Immigrants to Become City Leaders, Using Design to Combat Street Pollution and More
Nashville Is Training a New Generation of Leaders from Its Immigrant Communities, Citiscope
In 2009, a Nashville councilman proposed a ballot initiative to prevent bureaucrats from speaking anything but English. Voters defeated the nativist measure, and “Nashville has not looked back,” the former mayor says. Today, the Southern city picks leaders from immigrant communities and introduces them to various government institutions like the courts, schools and water treatment plants, in the hopes that some will one day run for local office.
Street Furniture that Helps Fight Pollution and Save Lives, Co.Design
Living near one of New York City’s ambulance stations could, paradoxically, be detrimental to your health. While parked, the emergency response vehicles leave their engine running nonstop to power their radios and refrigerate medicines, coughing out exhaust for hours. An energy startup has been tapped to place slender, metallic charging pedestals throughout the city, allowing ambulances to run their battery through an automatically retractable plug, while decreasing street pollution at the same time.
F.D.A. Agrees to New Trials for Ecstasy as Relief for PTSD Patients, The New York Times
For an average of 17 years each, a group of South Carolina patients — military veterans, rape survivors and emergency responders — had tried to get over their post-traumatic stress disorder. Neither prescription drugs nor psychotherapy worked. But the recreational drug MDMA, or Ecstasy, did. Now, a clinical trial of at least 230 patients will test whether the illegal party pill should be classified as a medical cure for the symptoms of trauma.
How New Americans are Shoring Up America’s Economy
Walk down Main Street in your community and it’s likely that you’ll pass by a lot of immigrant-owned businesses.
In the new report “Bringing Vitality to Main Street,” the Council of the Americas and the Fiscal Policy Institute find that between 2000 and 2013, immigrant-owned businesses were responsible for all the net growth in Main Street businesses — from restaurants to hairdressers to auto body shops — throughout the U.S. and in 31 of the largest 50 cities in the country.
Immigrants own 53 percent of America’s grocery stores, 45 percent of its nail salons and 38 percent of its restaurants. Overall, immigrants own 28 percent of the Main Street businesses in America, even though they only comprise 16 percent of country’s population.
The authors of the report included businesses owned by both documented and undocumented immigrants in the study, zeroing in on three areas where vibrant immigrant communities have revitalized neighborhoods and cities: Philadelphia, Nashville and the Twin Cities.
Jennifer Rodriguez, executive director of Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Cultural Affairs, tells NBC News that the report, “really tells a story of how hard-working they are and how they are contributors to our city, how they helped bring back neighborhoods that have been in decline.”
In addition to contributing to business growth, immigrants seem to be shoring up the housing market as well. Gillian B. White writes for National Journal that while millennials have so far proven to be less likely than previous generations to purchase real estate, buying a house is still a key goal for many immigrants. In fact, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, immigrants are responsible for 27.5 percent of the growth in homeownership over the past 20 years. Unlike their millennial counterparts from non-immigrant families, the children of immigrants account for the largest increase in the growth of households headed by people under age 30.
As Rodriguez says, “I often say that what is good for immigrants is good for everyone.”
MORE: To Fix A Neighborhood, Invite A Newcomer
Which 3 Cities are Fighting Poverty Through a Tech Cohort?
As more cities embrace the civic innovation movement to tackle local problems, Philadelphia, Nashville and Louisville are harnessing new technology to reach out to residents in most need of help.
In collaboration with nonprofit Living Cities and the nonprofit arm of global bank Citi, the Citi Foundation, the three cities will form the first cohort under City Accelerator, a program with the goal of helping nine cities innovate solutions to tackle everyday challenges facing low-income residents.
Louisville, Nashville and Philadelphia have been selected to spend the next 18 months implementing tech-driven solutions with guidance from coaches and other municipal innovators to create solutions faster and promote more proactive governance. But unlike other philanthropic programs aimed at municipal innovation, there’s no monetary incentive.
Instead, each city receives $3 million worth of technical assistance and consulting to implement their respective innovative projects.
Louisville plans to use its established innovation toolkit as part of the pilot program, focusing on services for people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse while Nashville officials plan to collaborate with other city agencies and local nonprofits to combat homelessness through affordable housing and more economic opportunity, according to Governing.
“Both the public and private sectors in Nashville are filled with dedicated individuals who work hard every day to help more citizens share in our city’s economic success,” says Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. “Our Office of Innovation is working to bring all of those entities to the same table, because we know separate efforts can be much more impactful when our strategies are unified and everyone is willing to consider new approaches.”
Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s innovation team will partner with city departments to assist low-income residents in accessing benefits and tax relief.
As a cohort, all three cities will also rely on each other to share ideas and resources as they implement solutions to their local problems.
“Cities are getting better at making incremental improvements to the way they deliver services,” says Nigel Jacob, co-founder of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics for the City of Boston, who is leading the first cohort. “This is important, but it is not enough to solve our greatest challenges. Cities need to be able to find breakthrough ways of solving problems on an ongoing basis.”
The goal is to get more urban communities on board with innovating faster, creating more universal solutions that can be consistently applied elsewhere. The three cities were selected from 35 other cities and six finalists, and two more City Accelerator cohorts are expected to launch in spring and fall of 2015, according to a press release. Living Cities also plans to regularly update an innovation guide.
“There’s a cacophony of activity around ‘cities need to be doing different things,’” says Ted Smith, chief of civic innovation in Louisville. “We’re now at a point where we’re trying to get some focus on the way that cities rationalize, organize and prioritize this kind of effort in a sustainable way.”
MORE: Can $45 Million Worth of Data and Technology Improve U.S. Cities?
Meet the Musicians Helping Veterans Write Their Own Country Songs
Everyone’s heard the old joke about what you get when you play a country song backwards: You get your truck back, you get your dog back, and you get your wife back.
Some Nashville musicians hoped their efforts would be more uplifting than reversing a sad song when they recently teamed up with veterans in Columbus, Georgia to write country songs — often about painful experiences these vets have been carrying with them since their service.
The participants included Bob Regan, who has written such songs as “Busy Man” by Billy Ray Cyrus and “Thinkin’ About You” by Trisha Yearwood, and Tim Maggart, a singer-songwriter and Army veteran himself. These two, in addition to other musicians, first spent time getting to know the vets, then collaborated on a song about their life before performing the songs around a campfire at the Warrior Outreach retreat.
Don Goodman, who wrote several songs for Lee Greenwood including “Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands,” and “Angels Among Us” by Alabama, told Dante Renzulli of WTVM that the vets’ songs all tell different personal stories. “Sometimes it’s a story about their car, their truck, their girlfriend, their mom, their dad. They get things out that they want to say to them, but they can’t. But when we get in there, playing the guitar, and get caught up in the music, they let go of demons that they’ve been carrying around for years. I just worked with a man who fought in Vietnam who let go of a demon he’d been carrying fifty years. He finally told another human being what was killing him. And from that day on, his life has changed, and that was more important to me than any number one song I’ve ever written.”
Now that sounds like a song worth singing.
MORE: Writing Helps Veterans Go From Victims to Victors
OneC1TY Transforms Nashville With an ‘Education-Civic-Business Ecosystem’
Nashville’s 28th Avenue Connector may look like a simple urban development built to improve traffic. And while it is a major improvement, this innovation is building so much more for the community. The full site, called OneC1TY, over Centennial Park is bike-friendly and promotes walking too. It’s living up to its role as a “Connector” in more ways than one. For example, it’s joining educational institutions and the city’s medical district, promoting a sense of collaboration and the city’s “education-civic-business ecosystem.” The streetscape features bioswales to handle runoff, energy-efficient solar lighting, and locally-inspired art. As supporters have pointed out, it’s a “transformative example of the kind of development that a well-thought-out public infrastructure project” can create.