Over at BloombergView Ramesh Ponnuru had a smart piece on
why immigration has become a much bigger issue for Republicans this cycle. http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-20/why-immigration-is-a-big-deal-to-conservatives
I would like to
address his second point because I think it’s the most important. Ponnuru
writes:
Demographic changes among Republicans. If Republicans are more concerned than they used to be about the wage pressure that immigration
puts on the low end of the labor market, it’s partly because more Republicans
work there than in the past. The party has become more dependent over time on
white voters without college degrees. These Americans, who are more exposed to
competition from immigrants than white voters with more schooling, have seen
their economic prospects stagnate or decline.
I have no reason to doubt that it is in fact demographic
change that is driving this, but it shouldn’t be. Ultimately, a national political
party and philosophy needs to be national and complete in its outlook. It is
shortsighted to allow the current makeup of the party to determine its outlook.
It seems clear that the American economy is moving in the
direction of requiring ever greater skill to be successful. The big challenge
is how to find a place for those who inevitably will be on the lower end of the
curve. This has to be a concern and a focus for conservatives beyond the
immediate demographic.
One way or other the problem is going to have to be
addressed. To argue that the economy overall benefits from immigration is to
miss the point. It seems to me that to significantly reduce immigration—I am emphatically
NOT talking about deporting the illegal immigrants already here-- is the least
intrusive, least disruptive way to help the employment prospects of the less
skilled. If conservatives do nothing on this front under the banner of
maximizing GNP or we’ve always been a nation of immigrants they’ll have to deal
with far less attractive approaches to the problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment