I can only say "amen". I'm also upset that I have to pay GST on things I buy from the States. I think a US plant would rather set up in a maquiladora in Ciudad Juarez, for instance, where environmental and labour laws are primitive, than allow those same workers into an Arizona or Texas plant. It's cheaper, and in effect allows them to export their pollution. As far as I'm concerned NAFTA is only a half-measure. And even in the areas where it's supposed to work, Mexico and Canada are at the mercy of the US's domestic protectionist politicians. We have, in effect, a form of taxation without representation -- witness the ongoing softwood lumber issue. Mexico and Canada have also lost NAFTA tribunal challenges, but the US has lost the vast majority of them, but domestic interests push the DoC to defend domestic interests to the hilt.
So it's a long ways from perfect. And then we had that bonehead Pat Buchanan, calling Canada "Canucklestan" because we're supposedly a haven for terrorists and aren't free traders (!) (we supposedly "manipulate" our currency exchange rate to undercut domestic, US manufacturers). He was interviewed by an amazingly indulgent Mary Lou Findlay on As It Happens and he had the nerve to say, in response to Findlay pointing out that all of the 911 bombers had entered the USA directly, and completely legally, by saying, "that doesn't mean we trust Canada." Talk about your non sequiturs. Talk about your idjuts. But he serves a purpose: as long as he's around, he makes Bush look like Solomon. Don't get me started... "John W. Redelfs" wrote: > At 08:07 PM, Friday, 11/1/02, Marc A. Schindler wrote: > >I'm sorry to hear that. It can be very disruptive and discouraging, and I > >wish you > >all the best in finding something you enjoy as soon as possible. And > >seriously, if > >you're a high-tech worker or a professional in various other departments, as a > >citizen of a NAFTA country you can get a job anywhere in the US, Mexico or > >Canada > >with very minimal paperwork (far less than what one needs to get an H1B, for > >instance). > > So if NAFTA and its global counterpart, the WTO, are truly in favor of free > trade why are only high tech workers permitted to go wherever the work > is? Free trade DEMANDS a free flow of labor as well as a lowering of > tariffs. And when I say a free flow of labor, I am talking about the way > labor flows from one state to another here in the USA. > > The bottom line is: When supporters of NAFTA and the WTO use the phrase > free trade, they are being hypocrites. They have no interest in genuinely > free trade. It would break their monopolies. > > John W. Redelfs [EMAIL PROTECTED] > =========================================== > "To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no > music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other." > -- Jack Handy > =========================================== > All my opinions are tentative pending further data. --JWR > > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// > /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “The first duty of a university is to teach wisdom, not a trade; character, not technicalities. We want a lot of engineers in the modern world, but we don’t want a world of engineers.” – Sir Winston Churchill (1950) Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ${list_promo}
