Some things have been clear for a while. The Great Recession and its anemic recovery has severly hurt Americans in every corner of the nation, in every community. And, this is the perennial problem: as always, an economic downturn hurts racial and ethnic minorities more.

There was a time, not too long ago - and many Americans are operating under the impression it's still true - that there was an immigration escalator. That is; if you come to the U.S., work hard, play by the rules, you would find upward mobility, and your children would be better off than you.

Not a huge surprise, but interesting to see the numbers of the disporportionate suffering in the Great Recession in a new study from the Economic Policy Institute.

It's common wisdom that racial minorities are hurt more than whites in the recession.