Bush: US Must Help Mexico Develop A Middle Class

[Nambe]

Dow Jones Newswires

.. Bush said free trade is "so important," and "that's why we better be careful about rhetoric that begins to unwind a free trade agreement that is making an enormous difference in the lifestyles of people in Mexico."

In answering questions at a conference in Washington of minority journalists, Bush said he supported "raising the quotas on certain population groups, like the Mexican nationals, on who can become a citizen."

Bush said Mexicans come to the U.S. to work to make a living for their families. According to a transcript of the president's remarks, he said: "We must work with Mexico to develop a middle class in the long run so people can do their duty as a parent at home." ..

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Bush: US Must Help Mexico

Develop A Middle Class"

Just wait a while... they can have ours.

[MasonJar]

19. We don't need a middle class, but Mexico does. Go on vacation

and stay there, Stump.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

34. Patience...patience. In three months he'll be on permanent vacation.

[demigoddess]

55. God I hope so

and I hope the press refuses to cover it.

[saigon68]

2. HOW ABOUT GETTING PRESCRIPTIONS FOR SENIORS IN AMERIKA

How about feeding the Poor who depend on the Salvation Army to stay alive.

VOTE THIS FUCKER OUT OF OFFICE.

[joshdawg]

3. This from the fellow who is trying his utmost

to do away with the middle-class in the U.S. Sheesh!!

[indepat]

7. More nonsensical and inconsistent babble which is duplicitous and

disingenuous on its face.

[movonne]

4. Yes, yes, he has done a real good job in America..

[LauraK]

5. His speech writer is definitely on our side this week

He just won 4 hispanic votes and lost 400,000 American votes.

[iconoclastic cat]

6. WTF? What about the shrinking US middle class?

Shrubby: Please, just show up to all of your future public appearances in a giant penis suit. You obviously don't want to be reelected.

[NMDemDist2]

25. Giant Penis Suit??? OMFG that's priceless we need a photoshop

of that one ROFL

[Geo55]

35. tempting , but , ...ah , no , ain't gonna do it , wouldn't be prudent

[Geo55]

36. Oh well , ok ....since you insist

[NMDemDist2]

41. ROFL PERFECT

that is just too funny!!

[Tight_rope]

49. ROTFLMBAO....Thats too good!

[classof56]

8. "So people can do their duty as a parent at home"???

This man makes NO sense. I'm not surprised, of course, but once again, have to sigh and shake my head in amazement.

Bush MUST Go!!

[Nambe]

9. While we sell Chicklets in Columbus.

We'll all be dying for oil so the Mexicans should do very well.

[acmavm]

10. Every time bush* opens his mouth Freud spins in his grave and burrows

a little closer to the opposite side of the planet.

This guy is the perfect case study for sociopathic behavior.

[brokensymmetry]

11. Oh, yes, Mr. Economic Boom President!

Tell us about creating a middle class. Tell us about creating plenty of well paying jobs with benefits. Tell us about how you've taken personal bankruptcies up to a whole, new level and consumer debt likewise.

No doubt, after all these marvelous accomplishments, you want to help Mexico along. The :+ prince of America strikes again. :grr:

[truthisfreedom]

47. more like the economy fell down and went boom!

he's got the nation choking on a danged pretzel of it's own.

[MisterP]

12. oh, hooey,

free trade helps make nations dependent on the U.S. and funnels cash into the oligarchs of the U.S. and the respective country. It promises consumers and the poor in both nations the sky, then leaves them holding the bag as the wealthy add another $500M to their $60B coffers; it's written into the system!

[stepnw1f]

13. Poly Want A Cracka?

Bush you really are a tool, aren't you? He doesn't even know what the middleclass is.

[Zorra]

14. Bu$h is FOS.

.. Bush said free trade is "so important," and "that's why we better be careful about rhetoric that begins to unwind a free trade agreement that is making an enormous difference in the lifestyles of people in Mexico."

Enormous difference in lifestyles? Yeah. The rich get richer, the tiny "middle class" lives on credit cards, and the poor get poorer. Many people from Chiapas and Oaxaca migrate to the north of Mexico with their families to pick vegetables, and make roughly $18 in a 10 to 12 hour day of constant labor. And this is considered good money. Middle class? Maybe Bu$h should visit someplace in Mexico other than downtown Cancun sometime. But from talking to the people down here, Mexican folks pretty much universally despise him, so maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea.

Discover Mexico: Facts and Figures
Geographic / Demographic Data (Updated 2004)

Minimum Daily Wage: There are 3 'zones'; Provincial, Mexico City and Tourist Areas. The average daily wage in Mexico is currently MX$45 a day.

http://www.mexperience.com/discover/discov_ff.htm

45 pesos a day is the average daily wage? 45 pesos a day equals:

Live mid-market rates as of 2004.08.07 19:47:44 GMT.

45.00 MXN Mexico Pesos = 3.94685 USD United States Dollars

http://www.mexperience.com/guide/essentials/exchange.htm

Wow. These folks are getting rich! Less than $4 US per day. Yuh. That's middle class wages to Bu$h?

Trade Brings Riches, but Not to Mexico's Poor
NAFTA's Critics Say Pact Has Failed to Improve Lives of Impoverished

Washington Post
March 22, 2003
By Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan

MEXICO CITY -- Irma Osorio Soriano crouched on the muddy ground outside her shack washing dishes in soapless gray water. A dreamy look came into her eyes as she imagined the luxurious trappings she doubts she will ever afford: "A refrigerator and a TV," she said, scrubbing in hard circles. "And a big radio."
snip---------
While the percentage of poor Mexicans is about the same now as it was in the early 1980s -- a little more than 50 percent -- the population has grown over the same period, from 70 million to 100 million.

That means about 19 million more Mexicans are living in poverty than 20 years ago, according to the Mexican government and international organizations. About 24 million -- nearly one in every four Mexicans -- are classified as extremely poor and unable to afford adequate food.
snip----
But what has become painfully clear in Mexico is that free trade -- most famously NAFTA -- has failed to lift the country out of poverty.

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/ftaa/625.html

The problems with NAFTA and the Mexican Underclass

In order for NAFTA to be initiated, Mexico must comply with Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). SAPs allow countries to be eligible for loans from the World Bank. The problem with SAPs in relation to the Zapatistans are that it calls for the privatization of all land (oil, mining, telephone service, etc..), deep cuts in social spending, (health, education, housing), and an emphasis on export production (eliminates nearly all loans for those in the sectors producing goods for internal consumption).

Deep cuts in social spending is yet another detriment to Mexico's indigenous people. It will close schools and minimize the availability of medical attention. As it stands now 46.6% of Chiapas' population suffers from malnutrition compared to 5.5% for the rest of the country.

The privatization of all land will have a dramatic effect on the Zapatistas. Previously the Mexican constitution protected the communal lands (ejidos) held by the indigenous population. In the state of Chiapas (70% indigenous population) this will lead to the expulsion of 1.5 million people from their land. Not only will these people lose their land, but it will suffer irresponsible rates of deforestation. The EZLN feels that the theft of their land is an attempt to destroy the culture of the Mayans (assimilation).

The shift to an emphasis on export goods will greatly effect middle and low class farmers in Mexico. Since it is mainly middle and low class farmers who specialize in the production of internal goods, the drastic cuts in loans available to them will lead to wide spread bankruptcy and loss of traditional jobs. Free Trade also eliminates subsidies from the government in areas of financial and technological aid. Perhaps the clearest example of the effects of export concentration would be the situation of corn farmers. Corn has traditionally been a symbol associated with the ancient Aztecs and Mayans. But now it is being imported to Mexico to compete with corn produced internally. This imported corn from the North is cheaply priced which causes the price of corn to be driven down, thus limiting a major source of cash income for the indigenous farmers. One solution for this problem has been proposed by the Indigenous People's Alliance (IPP). The IPP is seeking to created their own Indigenous Free Trade Agreement which will allow Mayans from Mexico to trade with Mohawks, Pueblo Indians, Chicanos, and others in North and South America. This concept emphasizes cooperation not competition and will seek to reestablish the ways in which Indians used to trade.

All of these situations will inevitably cause illegal immigration to the U.S......

http://www.providence.edu/polisci/students/zapatistas/nafta.html

Maybe Bu$h should explain how NAFTA is helping the people of Mexico. What data does he base his statements on?

Oh, yeah, I forgot....his administration just makes up data.

[amber dog democrat]

15. Why don't we just invade Mexico and get it over with?

after he gets through with " developing" the middle class here.

What he hell is he talking about ?

[leesa]

16. Irony is wasted on the GOP

This is the ONLY thing he has worked hard on accomplishing...destroying our middle class.

[Algorem]

17. Patriot Americans,ship your stuff to Mexico when you move into your car.

[SoCalDem]

18. The middle class in AMERICA should be our first priority

Mexico has OIL..Mexico has SILVER..Mexico has TOURISM..Mexico has AGRICULTURE..

Unfortunately Mexico is run by an ELITE who wants all the profits for itself...

This is what America is turning into, folks.. We are becoming Mexico..

As long as people willingly accept the constant assault on their wellbeing, and livelihoods, we will soon be just like Mexico..


There is NO REASON for Mexico to be so poor..

There was a time in the US, when a blue collar guy could buy a house he could afford, the family could have a stay-at-home Mom to raise the kids (if she chose to)..they could afford a new car every now and then... they could take vacations.. they could take a kid to the doctor when they needed to, without bgusting the budget...they couls send their kids to college...

THOSE DAYS ARE GONE !!!

[bushwakker]

20. Why don't we just give them ours?

We don't need a stinking middle class anyway.

[Guaranteed]

42. Oh, that's right, we are.

I was thinking those exact words, BTW. :)

[TahitiNut]

21. Gini Index - Mexico: 53.1 (1998), USA 43.5 (2001)

United Kingdom: 36.8 (1995)


Sweden: 25.0 (1992)
Denmark: 24.7 (1992)
France: 32.7 (1995)
Greece: 32.7 (1993)
Netherlands: 32.6 (1994)
Spain: 32.5 (1990)
Germany: 30.0 (1994)
Italy: 27.3 (1995)
Norway: 25.8 (1995)


Ecuador: 43.7 (1995)
Uruguay: 42.3 (1989)
Costa Rica: 45.9 (1997)
El Salvador: 52.2 (1998)
Panama: 48.5 (1997)
Dominican Republic: 47.4 (1998)

We're a banana republic.

Here's an interesting site with many kinds of facts/statistics regarding many countires - http://www.phrasebase.com/countries/index.php

[daleo]

27. The lower the Gini, the more equally wealth is distributed

Just for those who are not familiar with this measure.

Canada is 31.50, according to the link.

[Bullshot]

22. You're not going to create a middle class in Mexico

with the current Maquiladora system in the country, where factories are there to produce products for re-shipment back to the USA, paying their workers a few dollars a day.

NAFTA is over 10 years old. It has not stopped the tide of low Mexican wages and illegal immigration by Mexicans to the U.S. because the agreement gives multi-national corporations protection to exploit differences in wages, environmental standards, etc.

If Bush is serious about establishing a middle class in Mexico, NAFTA should be reopened and these safety nets for corporations need to be abolished.

One of the dirtiest little secrets about NAFTA is the provision in which corporations are compensated in full in the event their facilities in Mexico are nationalized (taken over by the Mexican government). This removed any concerns corporations had to relocate to Mexico because now, they know their investments are protected in full.

[Disturbed]

24. Dumbass is an embarassment to the world.

;(

[loudsue]

23. Say WHAT?????

""We must work with Mexico to develop a middle class in the long run so people can do their duty as a parent at home." ..

Deep, shrub. Really deep.

LOL!! Shrub FINALLY touts the 'middle class' as if it's something he supports, or even has a clue what it means.

I wish somebody would start publicizing how, after 9/11, with the nation in shock, all shrub could come up with was to tell everybody to GO SHOPPING to support the war on terra.

Why doesn't Kerry hammer him on this?? That was the most SHALLOW, MEANINGLESS, SELF-SERVING, COLD, CONDESCENDING thing I'd ever heard. He had the nerve to MOCK Americans at our worst moment.

Develop a middle class.....BULLSHIT!!!

:kick::kick:

[Carni]

26. Does this mean all us middle classers here can move there?

Hey what the hell... we don't seem to HAVE a middle class these days here in the US so maybe we can all pack up and all move to Mexico?

[Massacure]

28. Massacure: U.S. must help the U.S. develop a middle class.

[glitch]

29. Oh is that why he's giving away ours? nt

[roguevalley]

30. Okay. They can have ours. We don't seem to be using it right now. :(

[demoman123]

31. Mexico has a middle class...

But they all live in the US.

[MichiganVote]

33. Absolutely right on target

[laruemtt]

32. c'mon now. * just wants them to

be able to put food on their families too.

[schultzee]

37. What!!! By destroying the middle class here. Chimp is a greed PiG.

[midwayer]

38. It's about the oil

Here is an interesting perspective/opinion

It's About (Mexico's) Oil

by Troy Skeels

A majority of Mexicans believe the United States invaded Iraq simply to acquire its valuable oil reserves. They are also beginning to suspect that the powers that run America have designs on Mexico's oil as well.

http://eatthestate.org/07-19/ItsAboutMexicos.htm

[midwayer]

39. No..it's about the water

As a side note

Anyone know anything about this?

Mexico-US water problems: The case of Rio Grande

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To help him pay his old debt, Mr. Fox has asked the United States to let him take on a new one. In order to build a water system that does not waste half its flow through leakage and evaporation, Mr. Fox has asked Mr. Bush to loan Mexico about $420 million, or something less than a penny of financing for every 10 gallons owed.

This idea has infuriated the Texans, who see the request as blackmail. Governor Rick Perry, who succeeded Mr. Bush, has urged the president to not loan Mexico a dime until the debt is paid.

http://www.edcnews.se/Research/MexicoUSwater.html

[midwayer]

40. Fox and Bush

Speaking of blackmail

Hold on to your hat's!

Here's Skolnick's views on the issues

An alternative would be a secret pact with Fox and company, to arange more, great numbers of U.S. "Green Card Soldiers". That is, dragoon sizeable numbers of young Mexicans and other Latin Americans, coming across the border, and hustle them into the U.S. Military, and then, swiftly off to Iraq as "throwaway soldiers", expendables, not to be noted, counted, nor their dead bodies returned to the U.S/Mexico. Or, if wounded, shipped where?

http://www.skolnicksreport.com/ootar40.html

[Clyde39]

43. How about OUR middle class? Republicans keep making it shrink

Check out the statistics about the shrinking middle class on Google....hint, start with Reagan. It would be nice if Bush cared more about the people here.

[Tight_rope]

44. I refuse to respond to this jackasses stupidity.......n/t

[DaveSZ]

45. What will Kerry do about NAFTA?

I know he is against CAFTA (which Bush supports), but what is his stance on NAFTA?

I've seen first hand the exploitation of the poor and the environment that NAFTA has wrought on the Texas/Mexican border, so I'm very much against it.

Perhaps if we could work out a better trade agreement, things could work out for the better.

It might take marches though.

[truthisfreedom]

46. hey bush, why not just change citizenship and run for president in Mexico?

you seem to speak their language better than you do English, huh?

[Kool Kitty]

48. Oh, for God's sake.

More horseshit from the country's chief shoveler. Shut up, George, please just shut up.

[saigon68]

52. chief shoveler.

LOL good one!!!!!

[0007]

50. The best way for junior to help Mexico is to move there.

[mtnester]

51. Interpretation - Mexico - you are next

[TexasSissy]

53. I heard some stats indicating that NAFTA has not helped at all in

developing a middle class in Mexico. In fact, the illegals from Mexico have increased by millions per year, since NAFTA was entered into.

All NAFTA did was give MORE underpaid, environmentally unsound jobs to the "slave" class in Mexico. They already had underpaid jobs. NAFTA primarily helped the companies make more money. That's all. Not that that's a bad thing. Making $$$ is a good thing. But not at the expense of the citizenry.

Kerry would have the trade agreements include pay and environmental provisions. Until that happens, Mexico will continue to send its poor to the U.S., so they can send American money home to Mexico. Yes, Mexico provides bus transportation to the border for its citizens who want to move to the U.S. Fast forward 100 years, and the U.S. will be merely an extension of Mexico. Neither will have a middle class, if Bush has anything to say about it.

[indepat]

54. How about an Administration plan to keep a viable middle class in the USA?

[bringbackfdr]

56. What great fodder

If the Kerry campaign or DNC does not make an ad featuring this gem from Shrub someone should be fired.

[struggle4progress]

57. Translation: More outsourcing and more low-wage jobs filled ...

... by "guest workers" with no option for citizenship.