How legal immigration might solve two of America’s toughest problems

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Two of the nation’s most intractable problems might have the same solution – if the idea was not so politically radioactive.

Even as businesses across the nation are complaining about their inability to find enough workers, the federal government is struggling to stem the relentless flow of migrants at the Southern border trying to find work in the US. No one suggests the answer to worker shortages is to open the border, but it remains a paradox that the nation is straining to keep out migrants looking to work even as employers say the shortage of workers is preventing them from filling millions of jobs. That worker shortfall has also emerged as a key factor driving persistent inflation and higher interest rates. …

Admitting more immigrants, many experts believe, is the most feasible way to expand America’s stagnating labor force after years of historically slow growth in the nation’s working-age population. And creating more opportunities for legal entry into the US – while maintaining strong penalties for illegal entry – may be the best long-term lever to reduce pressure on the border by encouraging more migrants to pursue legal means of entering the country and seeking work. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, CNN

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Ron DeSantis has a ‘lovability’ problem

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Ron DeSantis has some catching up to do. The Florida governor entered the 2024 presidential race last week with polls showing him down about 30 points on average to Donald Trump in the GOP primary. DeSantis had trailed by closer to 10 points at the end of last year.

The former president has had something to do with DeSantis’ problems, but it’s not all on Trump. DeSantis, himself, has a bit of a “lovability” problem among Republican voters.

One of the key metrics I look at to understand choices made by primary voters is how many of them hold “strongly favorable” or “very favorable” views of the candidates. Most primary voters will like the majority of candidates because they’re all of the same party. The key to differentiate yourself in a primary is to be beloved (i.e., have a high strongly favorable rating). DeSantis has seen his numbers decline on this score. CONTINUED

Harry Enten, CNN

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The data behind the Supreme Court’s shift to the right

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The Supreme Court has long painted itself as a safe space, in a country dominated by political partisanship, where the law and the Constitution rule. But data from recent years puts some weight behind the critics who argue that the highest court in the land has taken on a more partisan cast. …

The number of adults saying the Court is “too conservative” hit a record high in 2022, according to Gallup. More than 4-in-10 Americans said the Court was “too conservative.” Only 18% said the court was “too liberal.” Another 38% said the Court’s ideological lean was “about right.” Those numbers not only marked an all-time high for the “too conservative” number — they also marked the first time that “about right” did not have a plurality of the national sentiment. That’s a significant development. It suggests the attitudes really are different now than they have been in the last 20-plus years.

And there is other data that suggest the Court’s rightward move is about more than appearances. It’s about actions. CONTINUED

Dante Chinni, NBC News

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

How Americans feel about the debt ceiling negotiations and the fanfare surrounding it.

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Congress and President Biden have less than a week to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling before the U.S. defaults on its debt, a historic first that could drag the country (and the world) into a severe recession.

A deal might be close, but compromise is a tall order in Washington. The deep partisan division in the country is never more present than when there are real consequences for government inaction. Given all that is at stake, how is the public reacting?

Below are five charts on how Americans feel about the debt ceiling negotiations and the fanfare surrounding it. CONTINUED

Clifford Young, Sarah Feldman & Bernard Mendez, Ipsos

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Abortion Remains Key Issue for Voters, with Democrats Holding a Sizeable Edge over Republicans

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Nine months ahead of the first presidential primary of the 2024 election season, many voters, especially women, say candidates’ views on abortion will again be a key issue, and Democrats hold a strong edge over Republicans on the issue, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds.

Three in 10 registered voters (30%) – and a third of women voters (35%) – say they will only vote for a candidate who shares their views on abortion. This finding includes nearly half (46%) of Democrats, almost a quarter (23%) of independents, and one in five (20%) Republicans. Similar shares of voters who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (31%) and those who say it should be illegal in all or most cases (28%) will only vote for a candidate who shares their views.

When asked which party best represents their views of abortion, more people say the Democratic Party (42%) than the Republican Party (26%), while about a third (32%) say neither party does. CONTINUED

KFF

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CNN Poll: Most Americans want stricter gun control, but they’re divided on whether guns make public places safer

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Most Americans continue to say gun control laws should be generally stricter, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, which finds broad support for preventing people under the age of 21 from buying any type of gun. At the same time, the country remains closely divided about how the availability of guns affects public safety, with sharp differences in views across partisan and demographic lines.

Overall, 64% say they favor stricter gun control laws, with 36% opposed, little changed since a survey taken last summer in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. CONTINUED

Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

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