National Populist Newsletter

December 1st-8th

United States

• Immigration

Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency revealed that illegal immigration costs 2.6 percent of the federal government’s $6.1 trillion budget, totaling $150 billion for fiscal year 2023. This is about the same amount the government spends on security programs for veterans and their survivors. (The Daily Mail)

New Hampshire and Massachusetts states have a political rift over immigration. Days after the Boston City Council voted to reaffirm its status as a sanctuary city, NH’s Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte announced she’d pursue a different state legislature policy. “Our neighbors to the south seem intent on proving that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. As they struggle with a billion-dollar illegal immigrant crisis, they are instead choosing to double down,” Ayotte said. “Here in New Hampshire, we are going to ban sanctuary policies and give law enforcement the tools to work together to ensure this crisis never comes to our towns.”

Republicans in New Hampshire have a trifecta in the state government, holding both houses of the legislature and the governorship. (NH Journal)

• Education

Experiencing a decline in student enrollment, the San Francisco Unified School District superintendent decided that some chronically poor-performing schools would need to close. The district paid a Stanford University professor $30,000 to create an "equity-centered" formula to determine which would shutter. Asian parents were outraged because the schools their children attended were overly targeted, while it rewarded black and Hispanic schools, which forced the superintendent out of office. The plan is in limbo as the city has a new superintendent and mayor. (Free Beacon)

The University of Michigan will no longer ask for diversity statements from faculty when considering hiring, promotion, or tenure, the latest cut to its diversity, equity, and inclusion program. The statements, which require a declaration from potential hires on how they will maintain DEI, are solicited from university employers on a case-by-case basis. This change comes after the University had spent a quarter of a billion dollars since 2016 on DEI efforts, 56% of which went to salaries and benefits for DEI staff. However, Black student enrollment, for instance, has hovered near 5% for nearly a decade (currently at 6.1%). (The Guardian)

The number of white kids from middle and upper-income backgrounds skipping college is on the rise. Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center indicate that fewer white undergraduates from more affluent neighborhoods have enrolled in college over the past six years. This is happening as white students from lower-income neighborhoods enroll at slightly higher rates, and Black and Hispanic undergraduate enrollment across the income spectrum has increased.

Since 2018, the undergraduate enrollment share for white students from the top income bracket has fallen from 58 percent to 46 percent. Meanwhile, the enrollment share from upper-middle-income households has fallen from 56 percent to 45, and the enrollment share from middle-income white households has dropped 10 points from 53 to 43.

White students comprise only 39 percent of undergraduate enrollment in 2024, while 21 percent are “others,” and 19 percent are Hispanic. While the study can’t seem to figure out why the wealthier whites are skipping college, it could be because they’re forgoing typical liberal arts majors in exchange for real-world experience and don’t feel compelled to go, mainly as colleges have grown increasingly hostile towards whites, predominantly white men. (Chronicles)