Tag: Indian Americans

Indian Americans are the highest paid community

Staff ReporterCommunity, India 0

Indian Americans, one of the fastest-growing U.S. racial groups, is also faring quite well economically—at least, collectively. They are the highest paid Asian-Americans, according to a new U.S. Labor Department report. Full-time Indian American workers had median and average weekly earnings of $1,346 and $1,464, respectively. The group was followed by Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Filipino-Americans, respectively, the report said.

There was quite a difference between the sexes, though. Male Indian Americans had $1,500 as median weekly earnings, while females got $1,115 — a disparity of 26%. The least difference between sexes was 4% between male and female Japanese-Americans, who received $900 and $865, respectively, as median weekly earnings.

In general, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) had median and average weekly earnings of $969 and $1,183, slightly more than Whites who raked $900 and $1,090, respectively. Blacks and Hispanics earned the least. The former was paid $640 median and $809 average, while the latter earned $600 and $765, respectively.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the nearly 18 million Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the country have vastly different experiences with education, wages and the labor market, according to the report. Their general success “can mask some really important differences in what’s going on within the subgroups,” said Keith Miller, a Labor Department economist and lead researcher on the study.

Some of the highlights of the report: last year, Filipinos working full time in the U.S. earned just 64% of the weekly median for Indians; native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders were unemployed at more than twice the rate of Japanese; just a third of Vietnamese had at least a bachelor’s degree compared with 60% of Koreans.

The report, released this month, is part of a White House initiative on the so-called “AAPI” community and updates information released in 2011 and 2014. It pulls back the curtain on a group composed of more than 50 distinct ethnicities speaking more than 100 languages.

The vast majority of the community—17.4 million—consists of non-Hispanic Asian-Americans. The other small portion of 560,000 is made up of non-Hispanic Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. Collectively, they represent about 5.6% of the U.S. population and descend from, or were born in, countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. Nearly two-thirds are foreign-born and California is home to most, or nearly one-third of the group’s total.

Indian Americans Launch Petition to Declare Pakistan a Sponsor of Terror

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

The Indian American community in the U.S. has launched a White House petition to designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, days after a bill in this regard was tabled in the U.S. Congress by two powerful lawmakers.

“This petition is important to the people of United States of America, India and many other countries which are continuously affected by Pakistan sponsored terrorism,” the petition started on Sept. 20 said.

It requires at least 100,000 signatures to qualify for a response from the Obama Administration.

An initiative of President Barack Obama, “We the People,” the online petition service at the White House website, provides a window to American citizens to campaign before the administration on a particular issue. According to a report in the International Business Times Sept. 27, the petition has already crossed 100,000 signatures.

The move comes after Congressman Ted Poe, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, along with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, introduced HR 6069, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act in the House of Representatives. The bill has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary action.

Simultaneously, the U.S. India Political Action Committee on Sept. 23 launched a nationwide effort to canvass Indian Americans to get their local legislators’ support to HR 6069. “It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is, a state sponsor of terrorism,” Poe said after introducing the bill.

“Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years. From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the War on Terror. And it’s not America’s,” Poe claimed.

If passed, the bill will require the U.S. president to issue a report within 90 days of passage detailing whether or not Pakistan has provided support for international terrorism, he said.

“Thirty days after that, the secretary of state must issue a follow-up report containing either a determination that Pakistan is state sponsor of terrorism or a detailed justification as to why Pakistan does not meet the legal criteria for designation,” he added.

Calling it an untrustworthy ally of America, Poe said for years Pakistan has been aiding and abetting the enemies of the U.S. “These are not enemies who simply profess to hate us. These are groups and individuals with American blood on their hands,” he said in his speech on the House floor.

In his remarks in the House, Congressman George Holding said, “Mr. Speaker, we must be honest about the evolving terror threat in front of us and confront this challenge with strong leadership and unwavering resolve.”

The bill requires the administration to formally answer this question. If it passes, it will require the President to issue a report within 90 days detailing whether or not Pakistan has provided support for international terrorism. Thirty days after that report, the bill requires the Secretary of State to issue a follow-up report containing either a determination that Pakistan is a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” or a detailed justification as to why Pakistan does not meet the legal criteria for that designation. “It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” Poe said in a statement after introducing the legislation.

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