Posted on 02/25/2009 12:47:20 AM PST by voletti
The 2008 election barely ended before the GOP began touting the presidential prospects of Louisiana Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants. Tuesday, Jindal becomes the new face of his party when he delivers the official Republican response to President Obama's speech to Congress. Whether or not he actually runs for president in 2012, Jindal symbolizes a remarkable but rarely discussed phenomenon--the amazing success of Indian Americans in general, and what that success says about our immigration policy. ...
When statistical adjustments are used to convert the backward digit span results to full-scale IQ scores, Indian Americans place at about 112 on a bell-shaped IQ distribution, with white Americans at 100. 112 is the 79th percentile of the white distribution. For more context, consider that Ashkenazi Jews are a famously intelligent ethnic group, and their mean IQ is somewhere around 110. ... Does this continuing success imply they will become a political force? Here, Gov. Jindal is actually a rarity. Indians are still underrepresented in politics, and they do not specialize in the kinds of fields (law and finance) most conducive to political careers. Time will tell if they are able to convert economic power into serious political influence, as a Jindal presidency could. ... A new immigration policy that prioritizes skills over family reunification could bring more successful immigrants to the U.S. By emphasizing education, work experience and IQ in our immigration policy, immigrant groups from other national backgrounds could join the list of model minorities.
There is nothing inevitable about immigration. Who immigrates each year is a policy decision, free to be modified at any time by Congress. Constructing new legislation is always difficult, but I propose a simple starting point for immigration selection: Anyone who can spell guerdon is in!
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
In any case, to the extent that it represents America attracting some of the world's best and brightest, can't be all bad.
The Ashkenazi Jews are more remarkable because they are a TINY overall population... (yet somehow their intelligence seldomly translates politically).
If one is looking for more succesful, bright immigrant communities... Persians. They are relatively the most affluent minority and crank out PhDs. Why? Because the bright, enlightened and affluent ones came here when their home country went down the river 1979.
Indian-Americans are 3% of the nation's engineers, 7% of its IT workers and 8% of its physicians and surgeons.
So, those IT workers aren't exactly doing the jobs Americans don't want to do.
Jindal becomes the new face of his party when he delivers the official Republican response
His response to Obama is the reason why for the foreseeable time he will not be the new face of his party. Let's give him 10 years to season.
To what extent are Ashkenazi Jews different racially, from white Germans?
Last time I checked Germans aren’t of semitic descent. The Ashkenazi are Hebrews who have to some extent mixed with the Germanic and Slavic populations of their host countries. This plus dominant inter-Ashkenanzi intermarriage makes them decidedly different from white Germans (who aren’t homogenous at all, with large Romanic and Slavic influences throughout the regions).
Garbage In
Gaarbage Out
Hmm, that’s interesting, because Indians in general, and Indian-ethnicity Americans specifically, are among the most genetically diverse populations one can hope to find.
Asians, in general, have been able to succeed in America because they don't let people tell them that wanting a good education and speaking proper English is "acting white".
They have various ethnic and cultural differences, but all share a general cultural and geographical background from which they originate (most rather recently)... India.
And even if you don't consider the general population size of India, but the respective ethnic groups, you'll notice that most fo them are each way larger in size than the Ashkenazim. The odds are obviously greater to have a number of smart people in a giant population, while millions upon millions of Indians live in poverty with no comparable education or skills.
I meant that it puts the Ashkenazi Jews into an even more exceptional category.
With Indians, it’s not genetic. That was my point.
Sorry, misunderstood your point. Yes, we are in agreement here.
Almost all immigrant groups pass through the same phases of small business, criminality, entertainment, etc. etc. etc. Today the process takes much longer and the process may have even been distorted or evolved to some degree.
I wonder what affect marriage rates have on those numbers. I'd like to see the crosstabs.
Add to that the devastating effect of driving father’s away with welfare and denigrating men into beasts (thanks liberals).
Model minority is such a tired, irritating term.
I worry about these modern day social planners, they'd be called statists/utopians/eugenicists/communists back in my day.
How can they know just who should and should not get in?
Is IQ proved to be strictly genetic and immovable?
I am glad my family got in. They wouldn't make this neo-Utopians cut, yet not one of us ever collected welfare, all are successfully employed and some are the epitome of intelligence and creativity. Yet our ancestors were the great unwashed.
Skewed by government welfare programs and protected “victim” class status, no doubt.
Actually you might have nailed it right there- Indians in general, come from, and usually maintain, long-term, stable marriages. That has a huge effect on family income, and the education and motivation of children.
Yep. For legal immigration (except family ties) you need a 12 year school education. For work visas you need the appropiate educational and professional background.
If anyone fits the criteria for needed skills, does it legally and has no criminal/terrorist background they are welcome. I don't care what "caste" or ethnicity they are from. Every race and ethnicity harbors great minds, and we should be attracting them to contribute to our society, instead of letting illegals flood our borders.
Regarding Ashkenazim... it's not about DNA, but the fact that they were a pretty close knitted community with great emphasis on education and career throughout generations.
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