Widespread political ignorance is a significant issue that each major-party presidential candidates are trying to exploit. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds in depth ignorance on the important thing problem of immigration. The research finds massive numbers of individuals consider misinformation about immigration, whereas rejecting true statements about it.
For instance, 51% consider it’s “undoubtedly true” or “in all probability true” that “Immigrants are inflicting a rise in violent crime within the U.S” (48% say that is undoubtedly or in all probability false). In actuality, immigrants, together with undocumented immigrants, have a lot decrease violent crime charges than native-born residents. Equally, 44% consider it’s “undoubtedly true” or “in all probability true” that “Immigrants are taking jobs and inflicting a rise in unemployment for folks born within the U.S” (56% suppose that is undoubtedly or in all probability false). Most economists conclude that immigration doesn’t improve unemployment amongst natives, and deportation of undocumented immigrants truly destroys extra jobs for native-born employees than it creates than it creates (see additionally here).
The KFF research additionally finds that 59% consider it’s false or in all probability false that “Undocumented immigrants pay billions of {dollars} in U.S. taxes yearly” (40% suppose it’s true or in all probability true). The reality is undocumented immigrants pay almost $100 billion in taxes per year, most of that going to the federal authorities.
The KFF survey does discover respondents overwhelmingly get one level proper: 84% consider it’s “true” or “in all probability true” that “[i]mmigrants assist fill labor shortages in sure industries like agriculture, development, and well being care.” These are certainly all industries the place immigrants are main contributors. A current research finds that deportation of undocumented migrants reduces housing development and thereby will increase housing prices. Immigrants are additionally disproportionately represented in health care, filling many vital wants. The identical is true in agriculture.
There’s a doable flaw within the KFF crime query. I feel the intent of the query and the way in which most readers in all probability interpret it’s to ask whether or not immigration will increase the crime price. However, learn actually, it might doubtlessly be interpreted as asking whether or not immigrants commit any violent crimes in any respect. If 1,000,000 immigrants are available and even one commits a violent crime, that may very well be thought-about an “improve” in violent crime within the sense that it will increase the full variety of violent crimes dedicated on US soil, even when the crime price goes down considerably. I believe most respondents are not deciphering the query that approach. In the event that they had been, we’d not see an enormous partisan cut up in responses, with the overwhelming majority of Republicans saying immigrants do improve violent crime, whereas most Democrats take the other place. Nearly everybody presumably acknowledges that some immigrants (like some members of just about any massive group) do commit violent crimes, even when the speed is low. However it’s doable that the outcome right here is skewed by a minority of respondents deciphering the query very actually, and thereby giving totally different solutions than they’d in the event that they realized it was about crime charges.
Earlier research additionally discover widespread ignorance on immigration coverage points, together with the variety of immigrants (voters tend to greatly overestimate it), their crime price (ditto), and extra.
Total, public ignorance about immigration possible will increase restrictionist sentiment. If many individuals realized that immigrants have low crime charges, pay extra into the general public fisc than they take out, and don’t improve unemployment, public opinion would possible shift in a extra pro-immigration route. These false perceptions aren’t the one doable justifications for immigration restrictions. However they’re vital concerns for a lot of voters.
Clearly, there are different points the place ignorance skews public opinion in a extra left-wing route. Left-wing voters are removed from resistant to ignorance and bias. However that under no circumstances mitigates the hurt brought on by ignorance on the suitable (and vice versa). In the end, political ignorance is a widespread problem on either side of the political spectrum. It results in both parties offering worse policies than they likely would otherwise.
There isn’t a straightforward resolution to the issue of political ignorance. However I assess a variety of doable choices in a current article on “Top-Down and Bottom-Up Solutions to the Problem of Political Ignorance, and in my guide Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter.
