Does Our Doublethink about Immigration, Cause You Cognitive Dissonance?

by Rodger Malcolm Mitchell, www.nofica.com

Doublethink: Doublethink is the act of ordinary people simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct.
Cognitive dissonance: Contradictory beliefs causing conflict in one’s mind.

Consider Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants and jobs: July, 2015:

Trump in Phoenix: Mexicans Are Coming to Take Your Jobs

“I love the Mexican people … I respect Mexico … but the problem we have is that their leaders are much sharper, smarter and more cunning than our leaders, and they’re killing us at the border. They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.””

Do you agree with Trump that immigrants “are taking our jobs.”

Or consider Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants and jobs: September, 2015

“I want people to come into our country legally. I want to have a big fat beautiful open door. I want people of great talent to come in for Silicon Valley. I want engineers. I want physicists. We want people of great talent to be in the United States work here and ultimately to become a citizen.”

“[Immigration] also can be a very positive subject, because I believe so strongly in immigration and we have to stop illegal immigration and we have to look forward to great immigration done in a legal manner.”

Do you agree with Trump that we want talented and smart immigrants to take America’s engineering and physics jobs? Do you feel it is better that those jobs, rather than more menial jobs, to be taken by immigrants?

Do you see any contradiction between concern about immigrants taking jobs and wanting more immigrants to take high-end jobs?

Or consider Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants and welfare:

End welfare abuse. Applicants for entry to the United States should be required to certify that they can pay for their own housing, healthcare and other needs before coming to the U.S.

Do you agree with Trump that immigration should be limited to immigrants who already have well-paying jobs in the U.S., and that poor people or immigrants without well-paying jobs should not be allowed to enter the U.S.?

Consider Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s comments:

The United States of America is extremely hospitable to immigrants, asylees, and refugees. Our nation’s record of generosity and compassion to people in need of protection from war, anarchy, natural disaster, and persecution is exemplary and easily the best in the world.

Do you agree that our record of generosity and compassion is the best in the world?

Compare your belief with Trump’s comments:

A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border.

And this:

Germany can cope with at least 500,000 asylum seekers a year for several years, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has said.

Hungary’s conservative leadership is building a border fence to try to keep (immigrants out, but German politicians have expressed pride in crowds who turned out to welcome new arrivals.

And this:

Between 2012 and 2013, the (U.S.)foreign-born population increased by about 523,000.

The population of Germany is 1/4 that of the U.S. In area, Germany is smaller than the state of Montana.

Is our generosity and compassion really the best in the world?

And finally, we come to this:

Top 10 MYTHS About Immigration

Myth 1. Immigrants don’t pay taxes.
(Source: http://www.immigrationforum.org/about/articles/tax_study.htm)

Myth 2. Immigrants come here to take welfare.
(Source: “Questioning Immigration Policy – Can We Afford to Open Our Arms?”, Friends Committee on National Legislation Document #G-606-DOM, January 25, 1996. http:www.fas.org/pub/gen/fcnl/immigra.html )

Myth 3. Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries.
(Source: http://www.cato.org/research/articles/griswold-020218.html)

Myth 4. Immigrants take jobs and opportunity away from Americans.
(Source: Richard Vedder, Lowell Gallaway, and Stephen Moore, Immigration and Unemployment: New Evidence, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, Arlington, VA (Mar. 1994), p. 13.)

Myth 5. Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy.
(Source: Andrew Sum, Mykhaylo Trubskyy, Ishwar Khatiwada, et al., Immigrant Workers in the New England Labor Market: Implications for Workforce Development Policy, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Prepared for the New England Regional Office, the Employment and Training Administration, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Boston, Massachusetts, October 2002. http://www.nupr.neu.edu/11-02/immigration.PDF)

Myth 6. Immigrants don’t want to learn English or become Americans.
(Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association, Myths & Facts in the Immigration Debate”, 8/14/03. http://www.aila.org/contentViewer.aspx?bc=17,142#section4)
(Source: Simon Romero and Janet Elder, “Hispanics in the US Report Optimism” New York Times, Aug. 6, 2003)

Myth 7. Today’s immigrants are different than those of 100 years ago.
(Source: Census Data: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-4.pdf)

Myth 8. Most immigrants cross the border illegally.
(Source: Department of Homeland Security http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/index.htm)

Myth 9. Weak U.S. border enforcement has led to high undocumented immigration.
(Source: Immigration and Naturalization website:http://www.ncjrs.org/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/border/ins_3.html)

Myth 10. The war on terrorism can be won through immigration restrictions.
(Source: Associated Press/Dow Jones Newswires, “US Senate Subcommittee Hears Immigration Testimony”, Oct. 17, 2001.)
(Source: Cato Institute: “Don’t Blame Immigrants for Terrorism”, Daniel Griswold, Assoc. Director of Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies http://www.cato.org/dailys/10-23-01.html)

Do you think immigration laws should be changed to make immigration easier or more difficult? Why?

Which brings us to the title question: Does our doublethink about immigration, cause you cognitive dissonance?

THE RECESSION CLOCK

Recessions come after the blue line drops below zero.

Vertical gray bars mark recessions.

As the federal deficit growth lines drop, we approach recession, which will be cured only when the growth lines rise. Increasing federal deficit growth (aka “stimulus”) is necessary for long-term economic growth.

Mitchell’s laws:

• Those, who do not understand the differences between Monetary Sovereignty and monetary non-sovereignty, do not understand economics.
• Any monetarily NON-sovereign government – be it city, county, state or nation – that runs an ongoing trade deficit, eventually will run out of money.
• The more federal budgets are cut and taxes increased, the weaker an economy becomes. .
• Liberals think the purpose of government is to protect the poor and powerless from the rich and powerful. Conservatives think the purpose of government is to protect the rich and powerful from the poor and powerless.
• The single most important problem in economics is the Gap between rich and poor.
• Austerity is the government’s method for widening the Gap between rich and poor.
• Until the 99% understand the need for federal deficits, the upper 1% will rule.
• Everything in economics devolves to motive, and the motive is the Gap between the rich and the rest..