There’s a new Zogby poll out, with some eye-opening stats which show a severe disconnect on the part of the American public about the nature of our southern neighbor. One number is the 73 percent of Mexicans who regard Americans as racist, while only 18 percent of Americans see Mexicans as skin-color obsessed (which Mexicans most certainly are). Furthermore, 42 percent of Americans consider Mexicans to be honest (!), while just 16 percent of Mexicans see Americans as law-abiding.

What? Mexican culture is justly famous for bribery and general corruption in daily life. The most recent Corruption Perception Index showed Mexico ranking just ahead of Senegal, for example.

One might easily conclude from this survey that they hate us, they really hate us. And talk about sucker Americans, so stupidly good-natured in the face of undeniable hostility of centuries’ duration.

On a personal level, 84% of Americans said they held a positive view of the Mexican people, while just 36% of Mexicans said the same about their neighbors to the North. [Zogby Poll: Americans, Mexicans Want Closer Ties, But Suspicion Abounds]

The poll is yet another reason to stop the shotgun marriage between our nations being plotted by the Council on Foreign Relations, Congress and the White House.

Americans want their lawmakers to deal with the problem of illegal immigration, the poll shows, and are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Nearly two in three (62%) said they would prefer that their congressman support more restrictive immigration regulations. Asked if they would be willing to support a U.S. economic development plan to help build Mexico’s economy, much like the Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe after World War II, in exchange for an agreement for more controls on immigration, 57% said “yes,” while 33% opposed the idea.

Obviously more education of Americans is necessary if a majority support a Marshall plan for wealthy Mexico when our own nation is $8 trillion in debt.

Oh, and 90 percent of Mexicans object to a border fence — sweet! All the more reason to build it.

Paul Gigot interviews Colorado Governor Bill Owens, and asks if Colorado would suffer terribly if, through some magical happenstance, they had a “Day Without A Mexican:”

Gigot: What would happen to the state’s economy, Colorado economy, if suddenly you stopped getting those willing workers, because that is I assume why they’re coming? Would the economy suffer?

Owens: Well, I think it would, but I also think, to be fair to the other side, that there are some significant costs because of some of these folks who are moving here illegally. And so what I would like to see is a way to handle our worker needs legally and above the table and have them pay taxes, rather then have them underground with some of the problems that we’re seeing through that illegality that sometimes they are forced into.
Crossing the Line | Congress wants to beef up the border, but will the restrictions go too far?, March 20, 2006

Once again, in economic terms, immigration benefits employers at the expense of workers and taxpayers. No one else gains, except the immigrants themselves.