Can Libertarianism Appeal to Hispanics?

by Gerard Emershaw

Hispanics make up an increasingly large and increasingly important part of the American electorate. If libertarianism is going to continue to grow in influence over politics in the United States, it is imperative that more Hispanics are won over by the message of liberty. Currently, the vast majority of Hispanic voters support the Democratic Party. In the 2012 election, 71% of Hispanics voted for President Obama. This does not bode well for libertarianism.

What issues concern Hispanics in the United States the most? According to a June 2012 Gallup poll, the four issues which concerned registered Hispanic voters the most were: healthcare (21%), unemployment (19%), economic growth (17%), and the economic gap between the rich and the poor (16%). Surprisingly, only 12% considered immigration policies to be important. The libertarian approach provides the best solutions to each of these problems. While Obamacare has been a disaster for the ages, a free market approach to healthcare in which insurance companies could sell policies across state lines would be beneficial. Unemployment would decrease and the economy would grow if the federal government would follow libertarian ideas of cutting spending, cutting taxing, and eliminating draconian business regulations. These policies along with eliminating the Federal Reserve would shrink the growing gap between the rich and poor as well.

In a March 23, 2013 interview with NPR, Gary Segura, co-founder of the polling firm Latino Decisions, was asked what it would take for Hispanics to vote Republican. While mainstream Republican policies are not that consistent with libertarianism, there is a growing match between the two thanks to the work of Ron and Rand Paul. Therefore, considerations which might make an Hispanic individual more likely to vote Republican might also make him or her more likely to embrace libertarianism. According to Segura, Hispanics increasingly favor gay marriage. This is not a problem for libertarianism. Hispanics also favor progressive taxation. They typically consider it just for the rich to pay more than the poor. While libertarians oppose income tax in general, it is true that the wealthy and well connected often escape paying their fair share under the current corporatist system. Eliminating the IRS—as many libertarians suggest—and replacing the current inefficient and unjust system of federal income taxation with a different model could be attractive to these voters. In truth, there is nothing at all just about the current progressive model of taxation. When combined with the Federal Reserve’s “inflation tax,” the current system is nothing if not a reverse Robin Hood. Seguara also says that Hispanics are very entrepreneurial, so freeing small businesses from unfair regulations might appeal to them. Libertarianism is very concerned with the health of small business in the United States, so this could be where the movement could begin a fruitful dialogue with the Hispanic community.

While immigration may not be the most important issue to Hispanics, it is obvious that the demonization of Hispanics that is common among Republicans does not please Hispanic Americans. In reality, the illegal aliens are not the true problem. The welfare state is. If entitlements were not at a level where they will one day collapse the American economy, then immigration in general would not be a problem. In addition to the expensive and counterproductive welfare state, stifling taxes and regulations on business shrink the size of the American economic pie and shrink the number of available jobs. When such a job shortage is created, unemployment grows. When unemployment grows, immigrants are scapegoated. The kind of free economy endorsed by libertarians is the kind of economy that would produce ample jobs. In such a robust economic climate, immigrants do not become scapegoats. Therefore, a free libertarian economy is the kind which would most benefit Hispanics in general and Hispanic immigrants in particular.

If the GOP is going to continue to be a party of RINOs, then it will increasingly become a regional party. If it continues to follow the ideas of xenophobes such as Patrick Buchanan, then Hispanics will eventually vote for Democratic Party candidates at the same 90%+ levels that blacks already do. If the GOP wishes to attract more Hispanic voters, becoming more libertarian in its policies would not be a bad place to start.