The buzz is all about how to keep the illegal aliens out of our country. The POTUS is in favor of a 9-foot wall along the US/Mexico border. Same with the VEEP and others in similar lock-step (yet no such talk for our northern neighbors, even though the 9/11 terrorists came thru Canada). Seems to me that the main reason illegals come here is for a better way of life. So, if that's the case (for the most part), then maybe we should look at what drives them here instead of staying home. After all, they leave most of their families behind, and Western Union is doing big business with international money transfers.
Here's an idea: how about investigating what makes their home country less desireable, and try to help change it? If we all agree on the above-mentioned main reason, then what can be done to make that happen in the motherland? Freedom is relative, especially if you realize that one has the ability to control their level of freedom when they can control their level of personal wealth.
Frost conditions in California had hit the citrus market hard. Expect higher prices on the consumer level...Frost conditions in Florida have also hit the citrus market hard. Tomatoes are the most expensive they've been in a very long time. Why not look at taking advantage of the warm weather in Mexico by way of fostering more crop production for human consumption? Get Big Agro to invest in Mexican farmlands for crop production. Get the Mexican government to sign off on it via "revenue allocation" to certain influential individuals. Establish committments and incentives to stay long-term. Get the IMF involved -- the IMF should be receptive to getting their loans repaid or (even better) get assurances that their loans will have a stronger liklihood of being repaid, and providing a biz plan for long-term revenue streams that are (on the surface) generated for politically correct crop production for global consumption should be a huge compensating factor.
Think about it. Get Dole or Del Monte or Hunt's or Heinz (Theresa!) or Contadina or Borden or Libby's or Kraft to work on NAFTA-enabled projects, and if managed properly, with UN or WHO or G7 support, you suddenly create an empire that can help feed the world (and make a little coin to boot). Nothing against CA or FL produce -- there's no taste substitute for their locally-grown produce, so they should keep on keeping on. We've got world hunger and/or portions of the world that do with less than the daily requirements of healthy produce because such items cannot be readily available. Here's an idea that gets everyone participating, and more importantly, creates a viable revenue stream that can produce a market with wages and taxes for local governments to help re-develop and recreate themselves as a place to stay and grow from within.
Yes, there's lots of details to work out, both good and bad, but I present to you this general idea for all to work on. Like the Gulf war, international support is key, because it helps to strong-arm the idea forward, especially when skeptics still can't see the forest from the trees. And when I say "support", I mean it in several ways: political, corporate, humanitarian, ecological, and monetary. Your thoughts are welcome -- let's discuss.
