Posted on 04/11/2011 1:42:59 PM PDT by jazusamo
In the latest effort to accommodate its cherished trade partner in the south, the U.S. government is paying to upgrade outdated Mexican trucks that hemorrhage illegal amounts of exhaust on their trips north to deliver merchandise.
The Mexican trucks enter the U.S. under a 17-year-old international trade pact known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and they’ve created an air pollution crisis. The air quality in border towns has been especially impacted by the exorbitant levels of exhaust released by the Mexican trucks, which also fail to meet American safety standards.
Since the Mexican truckers have no intention of fixing the problem, Uncle Sam has stepped in to save the environment. U.S. taxpayers have picked up the cost to replace old mufflers on dozens of trucks and many more are scheduled to be upgraded by the middle of this year. The unbelievable story was reported this week by an Arizona newspaper that says replacing the old mufflers with new catalytic converters will reduce harmful diesel emissions by up to 30%.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is running the operation but the money is actually coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the same bloated federal agency that’s dedicated millions to “environmental justice” programs that help minorities get green. Under that brilliant EPA project, leftwing groups get federal dollars to teach black, Latino and indigenous folks how to recycle, reduce carbon emissions and participate in “green jobs” training.
In this genius case, EPA grants have upgraded 55 Mexican trucks and many more will be enhanced this year. Each truck costs U.S. taxpayers about $1,600. The feds justify the expenditure by claiming that it will improve air quality on both sides of the border, especially in towns that are helpless due to lack of resources. The director of Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality says it’s all about establishing a “relationship on environmental issues.”
U.S. truck drivers are required to have the type of converters that Mexicans are getting from the American government, though they must pay for theirs. For years, the idea of Mexican trucks entering the U.S. under NAFTA has been a contentious issue because they follow the notoriously dismal safety standards of a third-world country.
In fact, a few years ago the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General determined that Mexican trucks that regularly travel throughout American highways are rarely checked for safety by U.S. authorities despite a provision requiring it. Rules requiring that every Mexican truck undergo a thorough safety compliance check and that every driver has a valid license and is proficient in English have been virtually ignored, according to the IG’s findings.
I’m not so much worried about the pollution as I am about the extra highway carnage they might cause.
I’m not so much worried about the pollution as I am about the extra highway carnage they might cause.
I’m not so much worried about the pollution as I am about the extra highway carnage they might cause.
I’m not so much worried about the pollution as I am about the extra highway carnage they might cause.
Oops... sorry about the multiple posts. My computer is hanging up today.
Oops... sorry about the multiple posts. My computer is hanging up today.
“We bring in terrorists by the truckload,
steal jobs from Americans,
drain the American economy,
and get the stupid taxpayers
to fund my friends from Brazil to Mexico.
Is not life great?”
Truckers need to band together and refuse to buy diesel from any truck stop that is caught pumping diesel into one of these Mex trucks.
Once word got out this was happening the mex trucks would end up empty on the roadside. Word travels fast among truckers...10-4, good buddies :-)
They’ll just punch them out so they get better milage. There’s no hope for this country anymore.
Just pay your damn taxes and get back to work...The Mexicans are in need.
Move it!
You’re absolutely right. We’re in debt up to our ears, Rats don’t want to cut spending, they stay awake nights thinking of new ways to tax us and they’re upgrading Mexican trucks. *just shaking head*
It's hard to believe what this government is getting away with, all on the backs of the American tax payer.
and get the stupid taxpayers
to fund my friends from Brazil to Mexico.
Part of the new world order process.
Anyway, between insurance and fines my son had to get out of the trucking business. The rigs are pulled over and checked with a fine toothed comb and if one this is found they are detained (which is money) and/or fined heavly (which is money) I bet the DOT lets the Mexs sail through. Makes my blood boil.
Owner operators have been step children in the trucking industry for years. They’re hurting and the states and feds don’t do a thing to help them. Now they see taxpayer money going to Mexican trucks, they have gotta be pi$$ed and rightly so.
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