Midwest Matters poll:
Region holds negative attitudes on globalization While many recent national polls on current issues show opinion split fairly evenly along party lines, the Monmouth poll indicates that a significant percentage of Midwesterners from both parties holds a negative view toward globalization:
69% believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 66% believe the Midwest is headed in the wrong direction. 64% believe the region has lost more
than it has gained from globalization, while just 20% believe it has gained more than it has lost.
66% believe that globalization is bad for the Midwest because it subjects American companies and workers to unfair competition and cheap labor, while 22% believe globalization is good because it opens up new markets for American products and results in more jobs. 61% see China as a threat to jobs and economic security in the Midwest, while 22% see China as an opportunity for new markets and investment. 65% support immigration reform in the form of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration and 24% support reform primarily moving in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society through a pathway to citizenship. 62%
support enactment of state laws similar to one in Arizona that gives police the authority to ask people they’ve stopped to verify their residency status, while 29% oppose such legislation.
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campus news
As the U.S. continues to
expand commercially and culturally throughout the world, most Midwesterners aren’t sold on the benefits of globalization, believing it has caused unfair competition and job loss for the region. In addition, most view China as more of an economic threat than an opportunity, and support a crackdown on illegal immigration, including Arizona-type laws that are currently being challenged in the courts. Those are among the key findings of a Monmouth College poll, which was conducted as part of its Midwest Matters initiative. The random sample poll of 500 registered voters in eight Midwestern states was conducted over two days and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent. “The poll results show that voters mistrust globalization,” said associate professor of history Simon Cordery, co-chair of Midwest Matters. “Government and business leaders need to explain how global trade helps Midwesterners, or they need to cut bait and grow the regional economy.” Cordery said the results were “similarly provocative” on the issue of immigration. “A clear majority in our region sees legal immigration as helping the country, but a strong majority also supports stricter enforcement of immigration laws and favors statutes similar to the Arizona measure. We are a nation of immigrants and people have not forgotten that. What our poll suggests is dissatisfaction and even anger with those who enter the country illegally.” “The Midwestern states are a major battleground between the two parties and will likely decide the presidential election of 2012,” said political science lecturer Robin Johnson
States included in the Midwest Matters poll were Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Has Midwest Gained or Lost in Globalized Economy? Undecided 16%
Gained 20%
Lost 64%
’80, who directed the poll. “These results will cause problems for both parties. For Republicans, who identify more with free trade, most of the self-identified strong Republicans in the poll are more anti-globalization than independents and Democrats. For Democrats, 56 percent of self-identified strong Democrats feel the country is headed in the wrong direction, which is bad news for the president.” Johnson said that for both parties trying to appeal to the growing Hispanic population, the poll results “pose a quandary” by showing the strong opposition to illegal immigration and support for controversial measures like the Arizona law. Reacting to the poll, Chicago Council on Global Affairs senior fellow Richard C. Longworth said, “The sharply negative Midwestern attitudes toward globalization are distressing, because the Midwest will thrive in the 21st century only if it takes the steps to compete in this global economy.” Longworth added that while the results of the poll are disturbing, they are not particularly surprising. “The Midwest ruled the Industrial Age, but the Global Age has produced job loss, declining standards of living, hollowed-out factory towns and increasingly impoverished rural areas,” he explained. “The job now is to figure out what to do about it.” Victory Enterprises, Inc., of Davenport, Iowa, conducted phone interviews using a random list of registered voters. Complete results and analysis are available at monmouthcollege.edu/midwest-initiative/poll. Launched in 2009, the Midwest Matters initiative seeks to contribute an academic voice to the conversation about the revitalization of the region within an increasingly globalized world. monmouth | summer 2011