Comments for Borderlines: Adios Mes Amigos at http://pacificfreepress.com , comment 0 to 1 out of 1 comments http://pacificfreepress.com Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:22:14 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://pacificfreepress.com/content/view/2172/81/#pc_1720 Reply to Anonymous Responder: While impressed by the form and pathos of this response, I find it scattered and weak in logos. It begins with what appears to be a plea for the poor to rise up against the corporate elite and their corrupt governments -- a phenomenon which has been taking place in the electoral process throughout Latin America. It subsequently lashes out "vermin" who slander the American people, undercut wages and abuse social services. I am not familiar with the slanderers and would defend slander of any kind. If you connect the dots, however, it is trade policy that has created the problem of mass immigration, undercutting American wages and shipping jobs to other countries. The responder does not address trade policy -- a telling omission. The assertion that there is no hunger in Mexico or Latin America and that illegal immigrants are purchasing SUV's and luxury homes from their accumulated wealth is frankly bizarre. A quick fact check finds that the World Bank estimates a 53% poverty rate in Mexico (less than $2 a day) with 24% in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day). The UN estimates a 43% poverty rate in Latin America with 19% classified as indigent. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimates that 11% are undernourished and that 9% of children under five manifest acute malnutrition and 19% show chronic malnutrition. Where is the evidence immigrant prosperity and wealth? The remainder of the response does not lend itself to rational discourse. For the record, I am neither socialist nor communist. I believe strongly in the principles of democracy. I believe that a hybrid economy, unencumbered by ideological mandates, functions best. I believe that government has a responsibility to control the excesses of corporate greed. I do not believe in Adam Smith or Karl Marx -- although both offer much to the forum of economic theory. The only solution to America's economic crisis -- and it is a crisis -- begins by reforming its trade policies and upholding the international rights of labor. Only by lifting up workers everywhere can a balance be achieved corporate greed and the common good. Jazz... - jazz Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:02:38 +0100