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I don’t think we should make policy specifically to cater to the part of a voting constituency (the willingly ignorant) who doesn’t know about the factual benef

I don’t think we should make policy specifically to cater to the part of a voting constituency (the willingly ignorant) who doesn’t know about the factual benefits of a large incoming immigration policy. Policy should be made to cater to factual objective reality, not to make people feel better. Ezra Klein isn’t for the unwashed masses. He’s not even interesting to the average Democrat. His content is specifically for people who care about boring facts and policy. Obviously MMA and WWE fans and crude comedian fans will respond more to show of force, peacocking, and loud brash speeches. These things are vapid when it comes to politics. They only serve to elect Dark Triad figures, not good policy makers. The problem with immigration is that we need it (just to maintain replacement rates and economic growth), but the average American voter says they don’t want it. Also worth pointing out that it’s likely that Democrats didn’t move on securing the border earlier in Biden’s term because all of the people criticizing Biden’s immigration policy were crying wolf for years or decades before it actually became a huge problem.

remarkEon 1y ago
Well, I agree with you (sort of), but democracy lacks a solution for this problem (ignorant people existing and voting). Unless you are going to give everyone an IQ test before they register to vote or some other means to test some "eligibility" dimension it doesn't seem solvable, since those options are non-starters in western democracies. >The problem with immigration is that we need it (just to maintain replacement rates and economic growth), but the average American voter says they don’t want it. What would be helpful here is if people who state this so plainly as a matter of fact actually took the time to interrogate why they think that way. I don't think this statement is true, quite the opposite. You are sort of hinting at the real problem in your parenthetical, not sure if you were intentional in that regard. One should probably determine why the birthrate in a particular nation is below replacement before concluding that the only solution is "infinity immigration". Moreover, economic growth is not the end-all-be-all of a country, since these are places with history and a people in them and not a "special economic zone" there the only reason anyone lives there is to conduct economic activity.
- digitaltrees 1y ago
  Representative democracy seeks to solve this by electing people that are trustworthy and knowledgeable. The problem is one of our parties is broken
digitaltrees 1y ago
Why is immigration a huge problem. Name one negative effect that actually impacts anyone or anything meaningful.
- peterbecich 1y ago
  The mass asylum policy of Biden's term contributed in a significant way to this negative effect: Trump's re-election
peterbecich 1y ago
> I don’t think we should make policy specifically to cater to the part of a voting constituency (the willingly ignorant) The voters are free to vote for whoever they want for any reason. The burden is on the candidates to win them over.

remarkEon 1y ago

Well, I agree with you (sort of), but democracy lacks a solution for this problem (ignorant people existing and voting). Unless you are going to give everyone an IQ test before they register to vote or some other means to test some "eligibility" dimension it doesn't seem solvable, since those options are non-starters in western democracies. >The problem with immigration is that we need it (just to maintain replacement rates and economic growth), but the average American voter says they don’t want it. What would be helpful here is if people who state this so plainly as a matter of fact actually took the time to interrogate why they think that way. I don't think this statement is true, quite the opposite. You are sort of hinting at the real problem in your parenthetical, not sure if you were intentional in that regard. One should probably determine why the birthrate in a particular nation is below replacement before concluding that the only solution is "infinity immigration". Moreover, economic growth is not the end-all-be-all of a country, since these are places with history and a people in them and not a "special economic zone" there the only reason anyone lives there is to conduct economic activity.

digitaltrees 1y ago
Representative democracy seeks to solve this by electing people that are trustworthy and knowledgeable. The problem is one of our parties is broken

digitaltrees 1y ago

Why is immigration a huge problem. Name one negative effect that actually impacts anyone or anything meaningful.

peterbecich 1y ago
The mass asylum policy of Biden's term contributed in a significant way to this negative effect: Trump's re-election

peterbecich 1y ago

> I don’t think we should make policy specifically to cater to the part of a voting constituency (the willingly ignorant) The voters are free to vote for whoever they want for any reason. The burden is on the candidates to win them over.