Monday, June 15, 2009

Spreading the Wealth Around   [Mark Krikorian]

The Economist reports on a Harvard study that confirms what common sense would suggest: Immigrants bring with them the cultural attitudes of their home countries, and those attidudes persist in their children. Two professors from the Kennedy School at Harvard studied a survey of more than 6,000 immigrants in Europe and found (pdf here) that "Immigrants from countries with a higher preference for redistribution are more likely to vote for a more pro-redistribution political party. These cultural effects persist strongly into the second generation." And, yes, they controlled for income and education and age and all that.

It makes sense, then, that the "pro-redistribution political party" on this side of the ocean is always pushing for amnesty, loose enforcement, and increased legal immigration. But why are Republicans helping them? The Cato Institute and Grover Norquist (not to mention Bush and McCain) are objectively pro-redistribution, regardless of their stated views, because they are instrumental in soldifiying a pro-statist electoral majority.

06/15 12:39 PMShare