Where did I say they were?
By increasing the quality and quantity of labor in the United States, they make everything that everyone purchases cheaper, which increases the purchasing power of all Americans. This decrease in the price level increases demand for products all across the board, and as such creates more opportunities for entrepreneurs to produce things people want and for those same entrepreneurs to hire any displaced workers. For a classic example of this phenomena action, look into the history of turn-of-the-century immigration policies and the economic growth that coincided with these polices.
Of course, if the government messes things up by maintaining the minimum wage in the face of a decreasing price level, then indeed many people’s standard of living will be reduced - as instead of earning a very good wage they will be unemployed! So in a sense, my assertion is true if we assume that the government will behave in a logical fashion, which is a treacherous assumption at the very least.
How will abolishing immigration regulations improve the quality of labor in the US? While the changes made since 9/11 may have made it a bit more difficult and time-consuming to get work visas for techies and other high-demand, high skill occupations, the vast majority of immigrants (particularly illegal) are relatively non-skilled. Even if they are skilled, the language barrier they face may put them in the non-skilled category until they can catch up.
Also, increasing the supply of labor, particularly non-skilled labor, will drive down the wages of that labor as well. Jobs that are not taxed and regulated by the government are particularly vulnerable to this.
Perhaps you could explain this posting?
Oh, excuse me Oh Most Informed One. Did I say, or imply that there was no effort on the part of Mexico to entice corporations to take advantage of their labor force? No, I didn’t.
I’m far from an expert on Mexico’s economy and how much is invested by foreign companies or their own government in attempting to attract foreign businesses, but I was under the impression the the maquiladoras were 1) mainly near the border, and 2) not doing as well as they once were. But my point was why the Mexican government doesn’t take it upon themselves to make Mexico a destination (as in the destination for cheap manufacturing), as was done by Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China?
Your knee-jerk reaction is an example of some of the bias that seems to permeate these boards when people ignore what is actually written and interpret things in order to whine from on high.
But since you know so much, although the U.S. accounts for the vast majority of income for the maquiladoras, can you please tell us what percent of U.S. manufacturing that is sent outside the country is done in Mexico? And do you think that is a good number? Would it be helpful if it were more? If so, what should Mexico do? Do you thiink they should have, say, a concerted effort to attract more manufacturing and make Mexico one of THE destinations for cheap labor?
When you can debate honestly and intelligently then I’ll answer your questions.
That only works when there’s an expanding domestic demand for low-skill manufacturing jobs. At present, there isn’t. Long-distance transportation and communication is now so cheap that, no matter how many hungry immigrants are available at home, American manufacturers find it more profitable to outsource their operations to Southeast Asia.
Actually, that is not true. See this study: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp150
When are you going to contribute something to this debate, CB? All you’ve done so far is snipe at others’ posts. What’s your take on Fox’s record in office? On U.S. immigration policy? On anything relevant to Mexican-American relations?
No they won’t stop wanting to come here. You’ve done well to make the case for all of us understanding the point of view of the “pre-migrant”, I’ll call him.
Now it’s your turn. Read through American Dreaming, by Sarah Mahler which chronicles the experience of the illegal immigrant, focusing on a Salvadoran enclave on Long Island.
In large part, the people who come here illegally from Central and South America have manufactured an America that doesn’t exist for themselves. They come, they realize, as is repeated again and again in the book, that “while you earn dollars, you also spend dollars” (as opposed to pesos), and wind up in a cycle of grinding poverty and criminal activity far worse than what they left.
The most telling passage in the book has the author walking alongside a young man who describes his great disillusionment at being marginalized by the country he thought would provide him with so much opportunity. As they pass by an expensive sports car, he asks her to snap him posing in front of it. He wants to send the picture back home so everyone knows how well he’s doing in America.
And thus the cycle of bullshit continues. The infrastructure in some regions of this country is already teetering due to our unwillingness to accept the fact that what we may be saving directlly at the cash register or on the restaurant tab is taken indirectly elsewhere, and the people who want to come here don’t want to know about it. That won’t change just because things become tough all over.
When they figure that out, why don’t they just go home? That should be much easier than it was to get here.
Fox, IMO, has been no different than all of the other presidents in one aspect. They all make campaign promises they can’t keep.
As far as his handling of the economy, he has had to deal with a majority opposition in Congress that has basically refused any of his proposed reforms. Since the US is Mexico’s largest trading party, the economic downturn in the US since 2001 has also had a huge effect on the economy. I don’t see where he can be blamed for that. He’s also inherited 70 some years of the PRI’s mishandling of the economy and plundering the countries resources. How would you like to have GWB running your economy for 70 years?
He’s proposed some lame-brained ideas such as applying the IVA (value added tax) to food and medicine. Which of course would have greatly harmed the lower classes.
Personally I’ve noticed a huge difference in dealing with government burocracies in the past 6 years. Day to day corruption as experienced by your common citizen seems to have greatly subsided. Permits and paperwork have become much easier to obtain. What used to drag on for days can usually be done in less than half the time. I can’t remember the last time I had to bribe someone to get a needed permit or appointment.
Who do you hope wins the presidential election this July? The front-runner, Obrador (PRD)? The PAN candidate? The PRI candidate? Or does it matter?
Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is very charismatic but his economic policies are scarey. Fiscally irresponsible.
Madrazo is PRI. Nuff said!
Calderon is, unlike Fox, a true Panista. Their social conservatism can also be scary.
With AMLO we run the risk of reverting to heavy government control of the economy.
Calderon will have to deal with a majority opposition in the legislature the same as Fox.
I haven’t really decided who to support.
Largely because in many cases, a lot of people sacrificed quite a bit to get the into America. Coyotes who can get you across the border cost a lot, and many times families and neighbors have payed huge amounts on the thought that it will all come back to them in the form of fat American dollars. To go back would be to let them all down and make their sacrifice for nothing. So they stay in squalor and send the vast majority of what little they earn back home.
So then- why doesn’t Fox start with his own nation? Mexico has draconian anti-immigration policies on those coming up into Mexico from the south.
scotandrsn- that’s bullshit. And I know, as I worked with the braceros down in Watonsville. It is true that many of them were single men who maintained a rather low standard of living- but that was because they sent well over half of their income back to their families* in Mexico. Some of the dudes live rather high off the hog, as they keep all their hard earned money. And some bring their families up here and start businesses. In that last case, it’s true that they work very hard, but they all say things are way better than down in Mexico. Even the dudes who send most of the cash back live better. Have you even seen the shanty town south of Tijauna? Whole families living in “houses” made up of tarps, trash and baling wire. 
Here, true- the men sending their money home will often live 6 to a motel room- but that’s a motel room with a roof, heat, and running hot & cold water- which would be like a dream mansion to those in the shanty-town. They also eat well here.
Books like that are full of crap with only the worst cases reported, or even things made up (as was found out recently with a couple of well publicized “hard-luck” “non-fiction” books). They have to be in order to sell books. After “a Million Little peices” and also several newspaper articles debunked, I take those kinds of books with a large grain of salt.
Now don’t get me wrong. Those dudes work very very hard, at jobs I wouldn’t even consider (although the pay isn’t bad, it’s not near enough for the work performed). They do live six to a room. They live in fear of “la migra”- but they are also by and large working hard to bring the rest of their families* up here, as things are just that much better.
*“Families” here *can * mean their wife & kids, but often these men aren’t married- the “familes” are their brothers, sisters and an extended family.
I am in favor of anyone being able to come here with a “guest worker” card. What’d I like to see is Mexico clean it’s own house so that the men coming here to work can go back home after a few years to someplace livable, with less corruption, pollution, and no more shanty-towns.
What’s this AMLO? I thought Obrador was PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party).
Sorry BrainGlutten, he is commonly called by his initials Andrés Manuel López Obrador or AMLO. By the way when he’s called by his surnames he is López Obrador, using both paternal and maternal last names. Fox is Fox Quesada but it is normally shortened to just Fox.
My main point is this; nobody should starve in Mexico. the country has sufficient capability to provide a decent living for its inhabitants. allowing Fox and his ilk, to export mexico’s poor to the USA, delays necessary reforms. For example: the mexican banks DON’T make mortgage loans-so the poor have to build their houses in stages. The corrupt taxation policy means that most businesses operate off the books. If Mexico could reform its government, the place would boom. Providing a safety valve 9immigration0 isn’t helping things-its keeping the same old corrupt 500 family elite in power.
Well, I recall hearing on the radio recently (no cite) that, even after various efforts at “land reform,” 19 families own 90% of the agricultural land in Mexico.
Whether Obrador (or anyone) is committed to changing that, I don’t know.
Though not as common a practice, bank mortgages are available in Mexico. All major banks offer them and the interest rates have been dropping continously.
Do the poor qualify for mortgages in the US?
During Fox’s presidency the government has provided low cost housing coupled with very favorable interest rates. Something in the area of 700,000 homes. CONAFAVI
Since you obviuosly didn’t know what you were talking about when it comes to housing can you please give everyone a cite for the above quote?
I doubt that very much.