This week we got some good news from Pfizer on a vaccine, and a whole lot of bad news about COVID infections exploding nationwide. A recent trial indicated that Pfizer’s novel vaccine was more than 90% effective. This would make it about twice as effective as the normal flu vaccine. Medical experts believe that up to 30 million Americans could receive the vaccine by the end of the year and it could be widely available by April. Thank God. At the same time, COVID infections in the United States are approaching 200,000 a day. This means a lot of people are going to die in the coming months. Tragic. Those of us in the housing business have been spared the financial devastation that others are experiencing right now. We’ve been lucky. Millions of people are still out of work and the economy is far from recovered. That said, we just need to get past this. I’ve had friends who became infected with barely any symptoms, and I’ve had other friends who were hit so hard, they were sure they were going to die. As difficult as it is for everyone right now, mentally, physically and economically, we have to make it to the other side of this. The one thing I hope we have all learned from the pandemic, is that nothing is more important than health, because everything else can be replaced. Stay safe and wear a mask.
There are qualities in our community that no data point can fully capture, but this episode is about one of the biggest: grit. I talk about why perseverance, resilience, family, and purpose have always been among the greatest strengths of Hispanics and Latinos, and why those strengths can be a powerful advantage in a world being reshaped by technology, wealth, and access. But grit alone is not enough. If we want to translate all of that talent and determination into lasting economic and political power, we also need stronger networks, better platforms, and more intentional leadership. The opportunity is real. The question is whether we are ready to organize around it.
For years, we’ve been told that mass deportations would mean more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. But this episode looks at why the opposite may actually be happening. I break down new research showing how immigrant and U.S.-born workers often play complementary roles in the labor market, why removing one group can hurt the other, and how these policies may be making labor shortages, housing challenges, and economic instability even worse. This is a conversation about jobs, economics, and the unintended consequences too many people still refuse to confront.
Something important is shifting, and this episode is about why it matters. For a young and fast-growing community like ours, the rise of AI may be opening doors that were previously harder to reach — not by eliminating every barrier, but by expanding access to knowledge, tools, and opportunity at a scale we’ve never seen before. But access alone won’t determine who wins. This moment calls for strategy, community, and a serious commitment to turning potential into power. The opening is real. What happens next depends on what we do with it.