Hispanic business owners are optimistic about growth.

Editor’s note: We live and work in the best country in the world wiith diverse ideas and opinions. From time to time Latin Business Today shares diverse business related perspectives of contributors from across the political spectrum.  Both sides of key issues covered have ranged from tax, regulation, healthcare, education, sustainability to Cuba. These articles as well as this one solely reflect the opinion and insights of the author and not the publication.

According to a recent report released by Bank of America, Latino business owners are feeling bullish about 2017.

In a survey asking more than a 1,000 Latino business owners, over 70 percent of respondents said that they expect their businesses to grow. This enthusiasm is significant, because as the Miami Herald points out, non-Hispanics are not responding with nearly as much optimism – only 51 percent expect their businesses to grow in the coming year

 And it’s not just optimism for the coming year Latino business workers are also feeling good about the future – specifically, the next five years.

For some, this unfettered optimism and enthusiasm may sound strange given that various economic indicators suggest that it is too soon to declare victory over the Great Recession. On top of that, there is tremendous uncertainty about the future given the contentious political climate and its impact on regulations and lawmaking.

But for others that have been following the Latino community, this unfettered optimism makes sense. In fact, Latinos have a long track record of looking at the glass half-full.

Even in the depths of the Great Recession, polls by The Atlantic and others found that Latinos were optimistic about the future and expected their children to rise up the socio-economic ladder, even when similar surveys were finding less reason for hope among other demographic groups.

Because many Hispanics are immigrants, or the sons and daughters of immigrants, their connection to Latin America is vivid. Memories of struggling to get by in Latin America are etched into the consciousness of many Hispanics living in the United States. This may explain the divide.

Whatever the precise reason for this optimism, President Trump should consider Latinos – and Latino business owners – as natural allies as he pushes to grow the economy and create jobs. There is talk that President Trump plans to work with Congress to push for a broad infrastructure package.

That could mean thousands of new jobs for Hispanics in the construction industry and opportunities for Hispanic business owners to work with Congress and the White House to enact the plan.

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