ARTICLE: “Of meat, Mexicans and social mobility: Among the very poor, the American Dream is alive and well,” The Economist, 17 June 2006, p. 31.

Most of this article is about the meatpacking industry (clearly, one of the 3-D jobs--as in, dirty, dangerous and difficult), but what struck me were the following factoids about Mexicans in America:

But in absolute terms, Mexicans have grown much richer by coming to the United States. If they had not, they would go home. And their children are doing even better. Whereas only 40% of first-generation Mexican immigrants between the ages of 16 and 20 are in school or college, nearly two-thirds of the second generation are…

Immigrants’ children are typically American citizens, having been born on American soil. More than 90% speak English fluently; by the third generation, 72% speak nothing else. Many help their less-fluent parents with form-filling, as other children help their elders navigate the Internet. The parents, in turn, try to infuse their offspring with their work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. (Latinos open new firms at a rate three times the national norm).

Three times the norm in start-up businesses! How can entrepreneurial America turn down a crowd like that?