According to an article from The Economist, a demographic revolution is under way in the United States.

The article states that in 1953 the Hispanic population in the U.S. numbered around 3 million. Today it stands at 57million, out of around 321 million Americans. It is projected to be 106 million out of 398 million in 2050. The Hispanic population has also expanded its presence throughout the country, to states and cities that had not received foreign inflows for decades.

Hispanics are transforming the definition of what it means to be a mainstream American. By the time of the 2010 census, the proportion of non-Hispanic whites was down to 64%, while it used to be of 80%-90%. Some time around 2044 it is projected to fall to less than half.

The white European descendants, who were once the majority in the U.S. are beginning to become a minority. This will touch every aspect of public life, from politics to pop culture. Every year around 900,000 Hispanics born in America reach voting age, which is becoming a fact that politicians should take into account.

Business is waking up to the rise of Hispanics. Joe Uva, chairman of Hispanic enterprises and content at NBCUniversal, a big media company, is fond of telling fellow executives that with a combined purchasing power of $1.1 trillion, if Hispanic-Americans were a country they would rank 16th in the world.

There is a most important reason to welcome the rise of Hispanics: they are making the U.S. much younger. The median age of whites is 42; of blacks 32; and of Hispanics 28. As other parts of the rich world face a future of ageing, shrinking populations, Hispanics are keeping schoolyards in the U.S. full of children and replenishing the supply of future workers.

Nevertheless, there are several challenges and problems such as young Hispanics being more likely than whites to drop school, less likely to complete degrees, own their homes and to work in middle management or professional positions.

The Hispanic population’s youth should be celebrated, but poses one grave political risk: a clash with elderly whites. The baby-boomer generation, now beginning to retire, remains an overwhelmingly white cohort.

Calm logic should prod older Americans to welcome well-educated young taxpayers of any colour. But in politics culture matters just as much as logic.

However, according to The Economist, more Hispanics are enrolling in college—and still more would seek degrees if conservative politicians looked to the long term and changed state laws that make the children of unlawful migrants pay much more than their American classmates for a public college education. Considering that one in four children in public schools is Hispanic, economic self-interest alone should prod states to get them ready for the 21st century.