Episode 142 - Immigrant Businesses & The Clean Slate Advantage
Why do immigrants start businesses at twice the rate of everyone else? What’s holding US-born citizens back? Well, a lot of things, it turns out…
13% of Americans owe crippling student loans. A third of us owe month-to-month credit card debt. 1 in 10 owe unpayable medical debt. In states willing to divulge arrest statistics, like Michigan, 1 in 10 have bench warrants out for minor offenses like traffic tickets. As a culture we’ve become so comfortable blaming debt on the individual, we overlook companies that are so predatory they’ll sue their own staff as a course of day-to-day business. Or lending institutions that target highschool graduates who haven’t had a chance to take college econ yet. In short, if you’re an American, you’ll have debt baggage at some point in your life.
Meanwhile, those immigrating to the US are twice as likely to start new businesses. They’re willing to start small with garage shops, mobile services like van-based construction, and online commerce, selling out of spare bedrooms. And they’re more likely to take a loan from their family rather than seek credit from a bank.
Today is about answering one question: who has the advantage when starting a new business? An American who speaks the language, knows how to deal with the banks, and understands the red tape in front of them? Or someone who arrives overseas with a suitcase, a blank financial slate, and a dream? The answer may not surprise you, but the reasons will make your jaw drop.
Links:
https://mlk50.com/2019/06/28/low-wage-workers-sued-for-unpaid-medical-bills-by-a-nonprofit-christian-hospital-that-employs-them/ ans-two-key-measures-financial-success-n1020291
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/two-great-financial-habits-we-can-learn-from-immigrants.html
https://money.cnn.com/2016/02/16/pf/college/arrested-student-loan-marshals/
https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/3uul1o0x/release/1
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/police-are-not-primarily-crime-fighters-according-data-2022-11-02/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/upshot/unrest-police-time-violent-crime.html
https://www.ktvu.com/news/tiburon-police-accused-of-racial-profiling-towns-black-owned-business-owners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQS3rycf8ow&ab_channel=KRON4