Posted on 11/17/2003 3:22:10 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
There are two major problems facing the United States today about which Congress is doing almost nothing. It's not that Congress doesn't know about them; everyone who watches television knows about them. It's just that Congress is paralyzed by the politics of these issues – the loss of American jobs overseas, and the flood of illegal immigrants into the US.
Mexico is not the sole source of either of these problems. But it is at the top of both lists and can serve as an example for the other nations. A brief clip I saw on network television about twenty-five years ago has stuck with me all these years. This was back when I watched the not-so-big three networks, of necessity. The clip offered a part of the story that the reporter doing the voice-over didn't even notice, much less discuss.
It was a special report on illegal immigration. The network's camera crew went into Mexico and set up shop south of the Rio Grande just before nightfall. In the far distance was Texas. In the near distance, concealed by a line of bushes, was the Rio Grande River. And hiding behind those bushes was a group of Mexicans, waiting until nightfall to make a run to cross the shallow river.
That was all that the network wanted to show, and all that it talked about. But the camera showed more than that. In the foreground was a road running across the scene. As the camera was showing the Mexicans getting ready to run for the border, a Jeep came down that road driving right to left. Its top was down, and in it were either two or three federales, or Mexican national police. Those policemen saw the Mexican citizens about to make a run for the border, but they said nothing, did nothing, and did not even slow down.
Neither the reporter on the scene nor the network anchor even noticed that second image which they inadvertently showed on the news. Still, that second image was the key to the story then, and is even more essential to understanding this story today.
Two weeks ago a report came out that remissions from Mexicans, money sent back from its citizens in the US (legal and illegal), has just passed sales of oil as the largest single source of income to Mexico. The simple truth is that it is currently in Mexico's self-interest to promote immigration to the US regardless of whether it is legal. From their standpoint, they should not be guarding their side of the border. Instead, they should be using government employees to drive the immigrants to the border, hand them binoculars, blankets and canteens, and wish them well.
The other form of crossing the Rio Grande is entirely legal and happens every day in broad daylight. American jobs are crossing that river into Mexico, and setting up shop in factories along the Mexican side of the border. It is mostly manufacturing jobs that are moving south of the border. To my direct knowledge, some of the jobs making this trek from North Carolina are electronic assembly jobs, and manufacturing of clothing. But every day, newspapers in all parts of the US report the closing of many types of manufacturing plants, with the equipment being shipped off to Mexico – along with the jobs of running that equipment.
In due course, the manufactured goods are loaded into both American and Mexican trucks, and come back across the border to be sold in the US. This is entirely legal. The reason for that is spelled NAFTA, short for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Some of those trucks carry illegal as well as legal goods – drugs, immigrants packed into sealed compartments where some of them suffocate to death, etc. But those are stories for another day.
For about a decade I've been trying to figure out a means to get control of both of these problems. Most Americans agree that we should "seal our border with Mexico." That is, they agree we should do this to stop illegal immigration, until they see the price tag for hiring either civilian or military agencies to do that overwhelming job on a 3,000-mile border. Congress is paralyzed politically, because they don't want to offend "the Hispanic voters." They are assuming that all Hispanics support unlimited illegal immigration, which happens not to be true. This cowardice of Congress needs to be confronted today, because it will increase in the future as the tide of illegal immigration continues to grow and even more "votes" are at stake.
My suggestion is simple, and it would contribute to the solution of both problems – illegal immigration and the export of American jobs. It is: Charge a Transit Security Fee on all trucks crossing the Mexican border into the United States.
Here's how it would work: Calculate the total cost, including Border Patrol, INS, state and local police, courts, prisons, etc., involved in finding, holding and returning to Mexico illegal immigrants to the US. Say that cost is $10 billion annually. Divide that by the total number of truck crossings of semi-trailers into the US, making no distinction between American and Mexican trucks. Say that number is 10 million.
Use those two figures to calculate the Transit Security Fee on each truck. With the figures given, that would be $1,000 per truck per crossing. Set the Transit Security Fee at 25% initially, or $250, with the possibility of raising it if the twin problems continue to get worse. The Fee would be recalculated annually with respect to all foreign nations. What would be the logical results of this?
First, there would be howls of protest from nations all around the world. The Transit Security Fee should not be directed just at Mexico, but at all nations with whom we have an immigration problem. It could just as easily be applied to all shipping containers that arrive in any port, carrying foreign-manufactured goods and ready to load on trucks or rail cars for shipment to all parts of the US.
Second, the World Trade Association would certainly do its best imitation of a hornet's nest whacked with a stick. They would claim that these are tariffs which are illegal under various trade agreements. However, the Transit Security Fee would not be a tax. It would apply equally to every truck or container, regardless of the value of its contents or even if it is empty.
Going back to the example of Mexico, here are the practical effects. The Fee would discourage US manufacturers from moving their plants to Mexico, because if the twin problems of illegal immigration and overseas job loss continued, that 25% Fee could be increased. Mexico would have an immediate and practical incentive to start guarding ITS side of the border, because if illegal immigration decreased, the Fee would go down, and the existing plants in Mexico would be more competitive and therefore more successful.
In short, the Transit Security Fee would cause the export of the only type of American jobs which we DO want to move to other countries: border guards. It costs less to manufacture a truckload of electrical switches, or a truckload of blue jeans, using Mexican labor rather than American labor. It also costs less to guard a mile of the Rio Grande using Mexican labor rather than American labor. The problem is, as shown by that old TV image I remember, today Mexico has no incentive whatsoever to do that.
The Transit Security Fee would give Mexico an immediate, clear and large financial incentive to begin guarding its side of the border.
Now, a brief word about the 3,000-mile unguarded border that we have with Canada. We don't have a major problem dealing with large numbers of individual Canadians sneaking across the border into the US. We DO have a major problem of terrorists operating with much impunity in Canada, and then getting into the US. Just two weeks ago the Canadian Minister of the Interior announced after a year of study that his government would not release the names and photographs of 58 war criminals known to have been in Canada, but whom the government has lost track of. He said he would not put out those names and photos because it would "violate the right of privacy of those individuals."
There are huge costs associated with finding, catching and dealing with terrorists who come into the US from Canada. Divide those costs by the number of trucks and apply the Transit Security Fee to trucks from Canada. There would be a lot of whining and complaining from Ottawa, but they, too, would have an immediate and real financial incentive to do their jobs on their side of the border, so we do not have to mop up for their mistakes on our side of the border.
From experience over the years, I know that some very bright, very experienced people read these columns. Feel free to take shots at what I've suggested, and tell me where I'm wrong. But if you think this is an idea that deserves consideration, feel free to e-mail this whole column (adding a cover note of your own ) to your Senators or Representatives. Here are the respective websites to reach all Members of Congress: http://www.senate.gov And, http://www.house.gov
You can also send this column to such members of the news media that you think might pay attention to your e-mail and take creative solutions seriously. To my experience, the list of media folks who meet both standards is very short. So I leave this point to your discretion.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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About the Author: John Armor is an author and columnist on politics and history. He currently has an Exploratory Committee to run for Congress.
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Best FRegards,
Do you consider Alexander Hamilton a "sociofascist"? He was the first American official to discuss the kinds of ideas I raised in his (relatively) famous treatis "On Manufactures." Perhaps you've heard of it. If not, I suggest you do your homework.
As you may have noted from another thread on FR, Rush Limbaugh found my analysis to be "brilliant." I suppose that makes him a "sociofascist" as well? Get a grip.
I can understand your Pavlovian slavering about Pat Buchanan and Al Gore. I agree with both points, that neither should get near the White House without a Visitor's Pass. However, you are dead wrong to lump me in with those two opposite yet similar wackos.
Have a nice day.
John / Billybob
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