Supreme court backs Bush's Mexican trucking

[Young]

The Nafta agreement was supposed to open America to Mexican trucking, but the Clinton administration had blocked Mexican trucks pending an environmental assessment. The Bush administration pushed the courts to allow access without a lengthy environmental assessment, and as of today those trucks are crossing our border. Mexican truckers will offer American companies ways to cut shipping costs, as they will work for less money. Mexican truckers could work 24 hours in Mexico, cross the border and put in another 24, and this won't just be bad for American truckers...it may contribute to hazardous highways. The brushing aside of an environmental study should be alarming, Mexican trucking standards are far lower than the standards we hold American truckers to. Scientists suggest this will greatly lower our air quality and could cause up to 10,000 birth defects a year for our children. This is a Bush massage for Corporations feeling stressed by high gas prices, as lower shipping costs should minimize the damage of higher fuel costs. This hurts American Truckers, the Environment, and could make our highways much more dangerous, but apparently Our President DOESN'T CARE. I suppose Bush has grown tired of the label "Outsourcer", so now he has found a way to bring foreign workers into Our Country...does this make him an "Insourcer"?


Young

[Leopard]

ahhh, the propoganda voiced by those who are unwilling/unable to compete... sure, lobby the government to protect your little 'trucking union/company' from the evils of competition... if only those in the horse & buggy union were successful then we wouldn't have all these polluting cars clogging up our beautiful america...

truth is:
allowing mexican trucks in will REDUCE pollution and decrease the cost of goods transported in from mexico. In the end, we all (as consumers) will benefit. There will probably be some creative destruction occuring in the trucking industry which will also end up benefitting each of us again as this inefficient labor will be driven to more desireable production all to help satisfy our wants and desires... ain't freedom grand?

bet you are waiting for the whole pollution bit, huh?! ;-)

here ya go:
Currently mexican trucking companies use their newest and most efficient trucks for the long hauls up to the border as this is the best use for them. They use there oldest and most foul trucks to travel the short distance (inefficient) across the border (thus you see the exhaust from 'mexican' trucks in the pictures... nice and misleading). Then goods are once again transferred to long-haul american trucks for final dispersement. By removing the 'short haul' and a transfer, the mexicans will have incentive to use their most efficient trucks for the entire trip.

I believe that mexican trucks destined for long hauls into the US will have to pass emission inspections on par with those that american truckers face. Iwouldn't be surprised if these truckers were also forced to get licensed some how in the US.

Its a natural human reaction, truckers want to protect their jobs from competition - can't blame them. The problem is that they would like us, the consumer and taxpayer, to pay for their little guild/monopoly... and thats a no-no in my book...

michael

[Young]

I'm sorry, I'm not a Trucker. I thought as you do, but I was enlightened by Lou Dobbs from CNN and he was speaking to someone that regulates our trucking standards who stated that Mexican trucks would only be requirred to meet the lower Mexican standards and that we'd have 0 authority over them here. So I was shocked, and now I've been shocked again...You actually think Mexicans are going to say "We're going to America lets be sweet and take the good trucks? They will use any truck they can find in order to come make the money, and maybe you missed the other Point which was these Mexican truckers will be able not only to fully deliver here and return goods, they'll be able to deliver inside and take the money back to mexico. Now eventually they might be forced to Our standards, but if you know anything about Trucking then you know that they buy most of our old trucks that are no longer passing American standards. The Iraq war has caused higher Gas prices and corporations feel the gas hike in shipping costs. Bush pushed this through the courts declaring that an EA assessment would just waste time. Mexican trucks are now crossing our borders and the only people this helps are Corporations who will now see their shipping costs lowered which should offset the gas prices. Our air quality goes down, American Truckers lose jobs, God knows what is coming across the border in those trucks (can't check them all) , Mexican trucks aren't requirred to meet our standards, scientists think that within 5 years this could cause up to 10,000 birth defects in our children, and a Mexican trucker will have nothing stopping him from working 24 hours in mexico...then crossing the border and putting in 24 here thus making Our roads more dangerous. I don't know what Field of work You are In, but I bet if someone was doing something that would destroy your way of life...You'd sure hate for your fellow Americans to just dismiss it and You as well! If Your holding your breathe for Corporations to adjust product prices based on these soon to be lower Shipping costs, I'd say you'll be waiting for a LONG TIME...all they will do is use this to adjust their Fuel losses, fatten their wallets...and Laugh at people Like you and Me who don't care enough to do something about it.


Young

[sixmillman]

We have had Canadian Trucks driving thru the US for who knows how many years. Any rules that apply to Canadian trucking should apply to Mexican trucking period. Anything else is simply racist.

[Compugasm]

I'm considering being a long haul trucker. I had a 75% reduction in pay and must do something else to make ends meet. It costs $4,000 for trucking school, but at least it won't take me 2+ years to aquire another worthless degree.

Trucking really sucks, but it pays well. My roommate and I will share 4hr driving shifts across country so we can drive longer. Starting out at the "bottom of the totem poll" is my concern. "Retraining" sounds good on paper and fits long term theory, but it's not a realistic option. I've got debt accrued from the last retraining. So, that's MY fear. Investing the time/money/etc.. for another job that gets exported.

I'll admit I don't know that much about the issue. Like I know our trucks goto mexico, but how much? What's the trade imbalance, stuff like that I wonder about.

[Young]

Now Imagine Truckers in their late 40's and 50's...who in order to make the same money must work more and retraining for them really isn't an option...but what does Bush care if Truckers children go hungry? Bush already cut funding for Education, None of Us will ever see Social Security when we retire, and all of this while Our broke middleclass Ashes are trying to pay for the Iraq war (which actually creates Terrorists to keep "These kind" of Gop in office) while the upper 1% get Tax breaks...while they're in the middle of trying to move their companies to Mexico and their Headquarters to some Island, so they can avoid Tax alltogether, and use cheap Mexican trucking to ship goods back up to Us Idiots and so what If they get Caught...Name an Enron exec thats in Prison? Whats really sad is these poor Idiots don't read a Newspaper and they think Bush is like the new Messiah, when I seriously Doubt St. Peter would let Bush get within country Mile of the Gates.


Young

[Compugasm]

I have to pay full price for the school. If I had military or illegal citizen status, I could get a discount. I think I should become a mexican citizen, then apply for a greencard :)

[Zeebadee]

This is ludicrous. We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build a missile defense system and at the same time opening our southern border to virtually unlimited, unrestricted access. Like Young said, "You can't check them all". At least when they had to transfer their cargoes to American trucks there was some possibility of a cursory inspection, but now even that is gone. WMD's, illegal immigrants, terrorists, drugs, survive a quick glance into the trailer at the border crossing and they're in, and transportation to any place in the country is built right into the system.

[Young]

The Real Bush Agenda here is after Good Ole Boys Like Hamill started getting kidnapped in Iraq, $60,000 for three months of driving Fuel Trucks just didn't seem worth it to most American Truckers. So flood the market with cheap Mexican Truckers and Americans will have to go work in Iraq, what a Great Plan. I mean, I gotta find out more about this $20,000 a Month to drive a Truck hauling Fuel through Iraq sounds Awesome and surely those darned Iraqi's won't fire RPG's at my Fuel truck, and If they blow the truck up...but I live and they take me as a Hostage, surely those Abu Graib Photos will entice them to be gracious hostage takers. Then I can thank Cheney and Haliburton for not teaching me what to do while being held captive...Useful information like that wasn't deemed Important. I'm sure that If I just wait around long enough I can escape and If like Hamill my first escape just leads to me being recaptured, I know they'll go to evening Prayer and I can escape again.


Young

[Osborn F Enready]

Our system of government was set up to prosper US, our country, our nation, our ideals. Free trade is good, our concept of Free Trade currently being used has no concept of free trade. Our current system does not resemble the Constitution, nor does it adhere to it.

Blame who is responsible, the people the sheeple have been voting in for the last 154 years, who have truly perverted our entire concept of liberty, and our way of life.

[sixmillman]

Osborn F Enready

Blame who is responsible, the people the sheeple have been voting in for the last 154 years, who have truly perverted our entire concept of liberty, and our way of life.

Bishop

Nice. You just described America as a nation of stupid children.

[Leopard]

Originally posted by Young, I'm sorry, I'm not a Trucker. I thought as you do, but I was enlightened by Lou Dobbs from CNN and he was speaking to someone that regulates our trucking standards who stated that Mexican trucks would only be requirred to meet the lower Mexican standards and that we'd have 0 authority over them here.

Lou Dobbs comes across as quite rational and intelligent - I stopped believing him when he started his 'exporting america' thing as it just panders to the fears of the public strictly for ratings - economically it (his views) are immensely wrong and injure more people than what he claims to be fighting...

So I was shocked, and now I've been shocked again...You actually think Mexicans are going to say "We're going to America lets be sweet and take the good trucks?

like it or not, especially with rising gas prices, mexican transportation businesses will choose the most economical method of transport which happens to be their newer, most efficient vehicles. This has nothing to do with being 'sweet' to america and everything to do with being budget minded.

They will use any truck they can find in order to come make the money, and maybe you missed the other Point which was these Mexican truckers will be able not only to fully deliver here and return goods, they'll be able to deliver inside and take the money back to mexico.

lets see: we get goods we desire, at a reduced shipping cost, and in return we give them bags on fiat currency which we print up at our whim... hmmm, sounds like a great bargain! We get to export our inflation and get real, tangible goods in return - I sure hope we can convince more foreigners to buy into our scheme, to date we have china, japan, europe (though they are rebelling and causing problems), and the middle east and mexico....

Now eventually they might be forced to Our standards, but if you know anything about Trucking then you know that they buy most of our old trucks that are no longer passing American standards.

if mexican trucking companies are competing in our country and do not have to conform to the same ground rules, then, once again, our government IS catering to a few select friends at the expense of americans - no way else to justify this action - BUT, it is a seperate issue from letting mexican truckers in.

. Mexican trucks are now crossing our borders and the only people this helps are Corporations who will now see their shipping costs lowered which should offset the gas prices.

um, no - corporations are helped which means consumers are helped - all of us enjoy the reduced costs, not just a few

Our air quality goes down, American Truckers lose jobs, God knows what is coming across the border in those trucks (can't check them all) , Mexican trucks aren't requirred to meet our standards, scientists think that within 5 years this could cause up to 10,000 birth defects in our children, and a Mexican trucker will have nothing stopping him from working 24 hours in mexico...then crossing the border and putting in 24 here thus making Our roads more dangerous.

...and the sky is falling! (sorry, couldn't help it). Everyone loses jobs and truckers deserve no more protection against a growing and prospering economy than anyone else - we ALL need to reasses what it means to work and determine how to protect ourselves from the shifting tides of labor demand... to stick our heads in the sand and cry for the government to protect us is like giving the keys to the henhouse to the fox... they will help themselves...

Please show me some link that shows a causal relationship between mexican trucks and 10,000 birth defects.

I don't know what Field of work You are In, but I bet if someone was doing something that would destroy your way of life...You'd sure hate for your fellow Americans to just dismiss it and You as well!

Someone is and it is the federal government. I do not hate my fellow americans, just pity them because they are increasingly 'giving away the farm' to government power and intrusion. I compete directly against government granted priviledges given to certain competitors of mine - that is plain wrong, and if it continues or the effort becomes not profitable, then I will pack up and go somewhere that respects human rights and property rights to a greater degree...

If Your holding your breathe for Corporations to adjust product prices based on these soon to be lower Shipping costs, I'd say you'll be waiting for a LONG TIME...all they will do is use this to adjust their Fuel losses, fatten their wallets...and Laugh at people Like you and Me who don't care enough to do something about it.

sorry, it is proven that companies cannot simply fatten their wallets at their whim - its a grand force called the free market and competition - it is the consumer who gets their wallet fattened (then thinned by government theft)


good taking to you,
michael

[castille]

If America refused trade with the world because of fear of competition, then American industrial standards will fall (since no competition = lax industry). Then when the Albanians invade New York you'll have nobody but the Unions to blame, who by then will be hiding in Mexico.

No country benefits from isolationis,m.

[Osborn F Enready]

Political Isolationism is the only way to go to live peacefully as our forefathers intended. Economic Isolationism is suicide. The important thing is to know where to draw the line.

Iraq is a good example of WHY WE SHOULD BE POLITICALLY ISOLATIONIST.
(funny how when we decided to become non-isolationsist politically, we became isolationist in economics, with sanctions?)

We are the mall of the world, because we have a consumer that is FREE TO PURCHASE AS IT SEES FIT. As long as that is the case, which REQUIRES LIBERTY, which is currently being stripped, we are safe from being "left out" of the world economy. When we enforce our political ideals on other nations however, using trade as a THREAT, we are setting ourselves up for economic isolationism.

Isolationist, I am politically, not economically.

[PatrickHenry]

Originally posted by Compugasm, I'm considering being a long haul trucker. I had a 75% reduction in pay and must do something else to make ends meet. It costs $4,000 for trucking school, but at least it won't take me 2+ years to aquire another worthless degree.

Don't do it. I did: Ryder Trucking School, 1973. I lasted six months over the road. It's lonely, dangerous, boring. You're too smart for it. You'll hate it. If you're fit, look into construction trades. My two cents...