Contrary to what many people believe, the U.S.-Mexico border is not the wild, wild southwest border; it is a modernized 21^st century border that is rich in trade and economic opportunities. I represent a part of the United States where trade has become a part of daily life. 

Dr. Algernon Austin is the Director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE) at the Economic Policy Institute. As the director of PREE, Dr. Austin oversees reports and policy analysis in the economic condition of America's people of color. 

Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of the New Democrat Network and New Policy Institute, discusses the 21st Century Border Initiative and the vital economic and cultural relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Shaun Donovan, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, discusses neighborhood stabilization, housing counseling, refinancing and other measures offered by HUD to support Latinos and communities across the United States.

Dr. Jared Bernstein discusses economic and social insurance reforms, the need for income security, closing the education and wealth gap, and promoting a vibrant middle class at the 2011 Color of Wealth Policy Summit.

Dr. Maya Rockeymoore interviews Meizhu Lui, former Director of the Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative at the Insight Center for Community and Economic Development, to discuss the racial wealth gap, asset building and economic disparities among whites and people of color.

U.S. Representative Charles A. Gonzalez, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, on fixing the housing crisis and creating wealth and jobs for Latino communities across the United States.

The steep drop in stocks since passage of the ill-fated debt deal indicates that even markets understand the disastrous consequences of what has just occurred.

Congress is currently debating to make serious cuts in Social Security. Some analysts in Washington believe that the cuts are necessary to help the country out of its economic downturn.  However, any changes in the program will severely affect all recipients, particularly African-Americans.

At 84, billionaire Peter G. Peterson won’t be affected by any proposed changes to Social Security and, given his personal fortune (Forbes puts his net worth at $1.7 billion), it wouldn’t matter if he were. Nonetheless, Peterson is obsessed with fixing the entitlement program. He has spent the past 30 years warning that, unless we address the nation’s debt, deficits and entitlements programs, this country is headed for economic disaster.