Friday Edition: Just Let Voter ID Happen

Plus: A new survey suggests we've misunderstood the true meaning of the "American Dream."

Author

Bubba
25 Oct

1. One Data Point Shows Why Fighting Voter ID Is a Losing Battle

While there’s been a lot of handwringing in the media over measures designed to shore up election integrity, voters seem unbothered by the laws. (Gallup)

The vibes: Amid a Republican push to stamp out alleged voter fraud, a new Gallup survey shows a whopping 84% of Americans are in favor of requiring photo identification to vote.

  • 83% support providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time, another policy Republicans have championed.

On the other hand: The public does oppose some of the restrictions on voting proposed by Donald Trump and the GOP.

  • 60% support sending absentee ballot applications to all eligible voters.

  • 64% oppose removing people from voter rolls if they haven’t voted in five years.

  • 58% oppose limiting the number of absentee ballot drop boxes.

The politics: There’s a heavy partisan split on the issue.

  • 57% of Republicans support early voting, 38% lower than Democrats.

  • Republicans strongly back proof of citizenship and photo ID policies, with Democrats’ support for these measures 30 points lower.

The narrative: Some Democrats and media figures have claimed voter ID laws and other restrictions at the ballot box discriminate against minorities.

Bubba’s Two Cents

Not to open a giant pandora’s box but here’s a quick and dirty take on the voter fraud issue that’s bound to irritate everybody:

  1. It happens more often than Democrats and the media acknowledge and that’s objectively a bad thing. Any level of fraud should deserve inspection.

  1. There isn’t much definitive evidence that it happens at a widespread scale like Republicans like to claim, and a lot of the kookier theories put forth don’t help the case.

  2. There have been sweeping changes to election laws in recent years that have made the system more vulnerable to abuse.

In the end, I’m aligned with most Americans on this. People seem to agree that making voting easier is okay, as long as we have safeguards in place—like confirming voters are actually citizens—to keep everything above board.

2. 3 Insights That Suggest We’re Talking Past Each Other in Politics

According to a new American Compass/YouGov survey, we may need to refresh our understanding about a number of political buzzwords. (American Compass)

We are greatly divided as to what the “American Dream” actually means: 50% of U.S. adults say it’s the “opportunity to go as far as your talents and hard work take you” and 50% believe it’s the “promise of dignity, equality, and a job that supports a family.”

Chart: American Compass

People don’t equate “free markets” with unfettered capitalism: 57% of Americans, including 69% of Republicans, support free markets that protect the American market, not free trade.

  • 67% of those who value free markets believe in protecting the American market, and 61% support protections for employers and workers.

“Upward mobility” is overrated: Across all social classes and party lines, Americans vastly prefer a society that defines success as “someone building a decent life in his hometown, raising and supporting a family, and contributing to the community” over success being viewed as moving away and reaching the top of your field.

Chart: American Compass

Oren Cass, chief economist at the American Compass:

Economic policy has been oriented entirely toward "expanding what people can buy, offering as many choices as possible at the lowest possible price." But that's not people's priority at all. If you want to know why Americans are so frustrated, in the face of so much "great economic data," this is why. And no, yet another "Opportunity Agenda" is not the answer.

Bubba’s Two Cents

I don’t agree with everything that economic populists like Cass believe, but I find their perspective to be incredibly useful when it comes to understanding why people are frustrated with conventional thinking on economics. One of the main themes of Cass’ work is that traditional economics is putting an emphasis on the wrong metrics, for example, GDP. Now, you can hold that view or not, but it certainly helps when thinking about why there’s this big wave of Republican voters who are gung-ho about moving manufacturing back to America.

One big question: Economic populism is great at diagnosing grievances, but can the policies actually deliver on the desired outcomes?

3. This Statistic Sums Up Why People Are Outraged by Drug Prices

One of the most important topics that came up during podcaster Theo Von’s interview with Donald Trump running mate J.D. Vance this week: why are American medications so much more expensive? (This Past Weekend w/Theo Von)

The numbers: As Von noted, in 2022, U.S. drug prices (including both brand and generic drugs) were 2.78 times higher than in comparison countries.

  • Brand name drugs cost 3.22 times more than in comparison countries, even after factoring in estimated U.S. rebates.

  • A KFF analysis last year found that the U.S. spends more than $1,000 per capita on prescribed medicines—compare that to Sweden, which spends less than $400 per person.

Vance:

Price transparency is a big part of it. But you ask, why hasn't it happened? Because every time that we try to force price transparency, the service providers, the insurance companies or the pharmaceutical companies don't actually want that transparency. Here's one of the reasons why the pharmaceutical companies don't want transparency. It's because if Americans realized how much more we were paying for pharmaceuticals over the Europeans, there would be a revolution in this country.

Common ground (sort of): Both Trump and Kamala Harris have been critical of Big Pharma and vowed to reduce prescription costs, if elected.

  • As president, Trump signed various executive orders aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.

  • So did President Biden, and his Inflation Reduction Act also contained a provision allowing the government to negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

  • Meanwhile, Harris has campaigned on capping out-of-pocket drug costs and expanding Biden’s drugs-savings policies to more Americans.

The other side: Manufacturers often claim the high costs of prescription drugs reflect research and development costs.

David Henderson, a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution:

Why do other advanced countries get their drugs more cheaply? They have monopsonistic government agencies that negotiate drug prices with the attitude that if they can’t get it cheaply, their citizens will do without.

Pharmaceutical companies go along with this because drugs have high upfront costs and relatively low incremental costs. After those upfront costs are paid by someone, drug companies decide that the extra revenue, perhaps from Canada, covers incremental costs and is better than nothing. Drug companies would prefer that everyone pay the high price, but they have little control over the situation. If the price is too low in Canada, the company won’t launch there.

Bubba’s Two Cents

I’m sympathetic to the idea that removing profit incentives risks stifling innovation and the creation of life-saving new drugs. But something has to change. A huge majority of Democrats and Republicans (84% and 89%) blame corporate profits for the high price of prescription drugs. There’s (mostly) a bipartisan consensus that the issue needs to be tackled. Doing nothing is almost certain to breed resentment and discontent.

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