Professor Robert Pastor talks about his vision for strengthening the relationship between Canada, the United States and Mexico by going beyond NAFTA
Posted on 05/19/2006 6:56:03 AM PDT by Dark Skies
Hopefully, our congress critters are too crooked for the study of closing the income gap. Also, you never can tell what is hidden in the bills that congress doesn't know about until it is too late.
It is no tellling what has been spent just to keep NAFTA afloat.
Some staggering remarks, huh? Every document I keep reading has similar or worse comments.
Your editorial comments are also right on the mark!
Okay... back to my homework (I've still got plenty to read too!)
I'll be back on this thread in a little while; I've been following the Senate voting on C-SPAM re the immigration bill/amendments.
I've downloaded that other document and will read it when I the senators finish.
Thanks, my editorials are posted just to throw out there (reminders/concerns, etc.) as a help.
I don't mind the trade aspect of things. What I do mind is this idea of dissolving borders. We have, being drawn into this superstate, three different countries, with their own unique constitutions, cultures, and political ideas. To simply dissolve borders and thus allow for the possibility of unimpeded mass migration of people from one country to the other, with ideas that could be alien to the host or target country, could potentially spell disaster. Can anyone say, "Reconquista?"
In short, goods don't come with their own ideas. People do. Therefore, we will always need secure borders and (dare I say it) immigration controls. And I would expect no less of Canada and Mexico.
Unless people have been secretly slipping adult substances into my food and drink all these years, NAFTA already includes Canada. I'll keep the free trade. The rest of the North American Union ideas belong in the trash.
I, for one, agree with you. Trade is essential, but it does not trump sovereignty or our Constitution. At this point, I think some of us are just trying to read some source documents to understand what the heck is really going on. From what I've seen here at FR, others have followed this closely for some time and are very concerned (to put it lightly). Others are not concerned at all and think that discussion should be stifled. And then there is everything in between.
Most of the information found is slanted in one way or another, but most point to things that are alarming (imo) such as drawing a border, not around individual nations, but around the three combined nations. Or, the creation of commissions, tribunals, or other supranational authoritative bodies. It will take me a while before I could sincerely say that I have reached any specific conclusions.
That wasn't in the post you responded to, it was in the original article. I think Corsi must have been trying to make some distinction in current law as to agreements that we have with Canada vs. agreements we have with Mexico--I do know those are not exactly the same today. Regardless, the wording of his article did come across as ignorant. I'd like to see him issue a clarification/correction.
Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA to include Canada, setting the stage for North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada.Current language
Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA politically, setting the stage for a North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada.
I completely agree with you, Tolerance. The melding of three countries removes our sovereignty and violates our Constitution. We cannot sit back quietly and let them get away with this stealth attempt to remove our language, culture, values, AND borders!
Third, the governments should plan and finance new highway corridors on the Pacific Coast and into Mexico. Interesting how Mexico's president is traveling up and down the Pacific Coast this week.
A Blueprint for a North American Community
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Contact:
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Robert A. Pastor
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(404) 727-6969
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Washington, DC—The United States and Mexico should use the state visit to Washington of President Vicente Fox of Mexico on September 4-7 to build on President Fox's bold proposals to launch the creation of a true North American Community. They should invite Canada to join them in a creating a community that could:
These proposals to deepen the current North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) are made in a new Institute book Toward a North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New.
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Dr. Pastor argues that the three leaders of North America have an opportunity, at the beginning of a new century, to construct a unique Community composed of two industrial countries and a developing one. All elected in the same year, Jean Chretien, prime minister of Canada, Vicente Fox, president of Mexico, and George W. Bush, president of the United States, recognize the growing economic weight of their neighborhood. Only Fox, however, has articulated a long-term vision of North America as a Common Market. The time has come for the United States and Canada to respond.
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Europe made the mistake of creating too many institutions but NAFTA made the opposite mistake in neglecting to establish any credible organizations. Pastor proposes that the three governments start by establishing a North American Commission (NAC), composed of 15 distinguished individuals, of whom five would be appointed by each of the three governments. Unlike the massive, bureaucratic European Commission, the NAC would be lean and advisory. Its principal purpose would be to prepare a "North American agenda" for the leaders to consider at semi-annual meetings. Each leader would be staffed by his government but, by meeting under the auspices of the NAC, the leaders might be more inclined to think of problems from a trilateral perspective and develop rules that would solve problems or seize new opportunities.
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A recurring dilemma of any free-trade scheme is that the reduction of trade and investment barriers also facilitates the flow of illegal goods. One country can impede the illegal flow of goods but only at the cost of slowing legal traffic and breeding resentment among its neighbors. To address this problem, the three governments could establish a single "Customs and Immigration Force" that would involve officials from all three countries that would be trained at a single site. This force would reduce paperwork on the border by at least half, and it could also work on the perimeter of the three countries.
The effort to stop Mexican trucks from entering the United States is not just a threat to NAFTA's integrity, it is regrettably just a small part of the transportation challenge facing the three countries. The problem is not that the United States is trying to impose discriminatory safety standards on Mexico; the real problem is there is no single set of safety standards. There are 64 sets in North America. The book proposes the creation of a safe, seamless, integrated transportation system with new trade corridors and greater collaboration on inspections for immigration and customs.
Is a North American Community feasible? Are the three governments willing to consider reducing their sovereignty? The big surprise from public opinion polls is that a majority of the public in all three countries is prepared to consider a single union provided that their cultures were not threatened and their standards of living would be improved. As stunning, the people in all three countries are becoming more alike. There is a convergence of values and attitudes on public policy in the three countries, particularly among young people. Society is considerably in front of its governments.
The state visit of President Fox to Washington in September can set the foundation for building a North American Community. The two leaders should invite the Canadian Prime Minister to a Trilateral Summit in six months and establish a North American Commission to prepare far-sighted North American proposals for them to consider. If the United States and Canada are prepared to make half the commitment that Europe has made to its poorer countries, the prospects for a North American Community will grow stronger. Such bold steps could become the 21st century equivalent of "the shot heard round the world."
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About the Institute
The Institute for International Economics is a private nonprofit research institution for the study and discussion of international economic policy. The Institute, directed by C. Fred Bergsten, provides fresh analyses of key economic, monetary, trade and investment issues and recommends practical policy approaches for strengthening public policy toward these important topics. The Institute receives funding from a large number of private foundations and corporations.
Chapters 1 through 8 of Pastors book are available online. Chapter 7 is a whopper.
"Robert Pastor’s book offers a wealth of new ideas and proposals for constructing a
North American Community and lifting all of the people of the entire continent."Vicente Fox
President of Mexico
Toward A North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New
by Robert A. Pastor
http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/1iie3284.pdf
1. Redesigning NAFTA for the 21st Centuryhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/2iie3284.pdf
2. One World or Three?http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/3iie3284.pdf
3. The European Union and Its "Cohesion" Policies: An Evaluationhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/4iie3284.pdf
4. North America's Journeyhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/5iie3284.pdf
5. A North American Community: A Proposal to Deepen NAFTAhttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/6iie3284.pdf
6. A North American Community: Sectoral Planshttp://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/7iie3284.pdf
7. Is a North American Community Feasible? Can Sovereignty be Transcended?http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/331/8iie3284.pdf
8. From A North American to an American Community: The 21st Century of Integration
"The most important governmental reorganization needs to be done by the United States."
--Robert A. Pastor, deconstructer of Constitutional government,and advisor to American presidents since Carter.
Like I first said, he's a piece of work!
In reading Pastor's stuff, he definitely seems to be a big Jean Monnet fan.
Monnet orchestrated moves over several decades leading up to the EU creation.
(But Pastor is a member of CFR, along with lots of other honorable, patriotic folks, so don't worry.
It's all about trade and what good conservative could be against trade? ;-) )
ROFL! I looked up his image earlier. I wanted to see what he looked like.
Not what I would have expected, but the bloviating look fits him, based on his writings.
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