Posted on 02/10/2016 1:59:12 PM PST by drewh
There’s an article this week over at The Last Refuge which might be worth a look if you’ve got an open mind on the subject. One of the less commented on aspects of international relations with Mexico is the volume of cash which Mexicans living in America (including illegal aliens) send home every year to their families. There’s nothing shocking about the idea at first glance. People send money home all the time. But just how much is it? This report straight out of Mexico may come as a bit of a shock.
Remittances sent home by Mexicans working outside the country surpassed petroleum revenues in 2015 for the first time. There was a 4.75% increase in money sent from abroad, most of which comes from the U.S., to total US $24.8 billion last year, up from $23.6 billion in 2014, said the Bank of México.
The bank said it was the first time remittances had totaled more than petroleum revenues since it began tracking them in 1995. Oil revenues last year totaled $23.4 billion. This is apparently the reality of the Mexican economy. They have more cash flowing into the country via letters and wire service from people working in the United States than they get from exporting oil. And it’s not peanuts. As the author notes, this offers an opportunity for the next President to apply leverage if they have the will to do so.
Yes, you read that correctly. Immigrant remittances received by Mexico have surpassed Mexico’s $23.4 billion in oil earnings. This means the government of Mexico is more dependent than ever on the earnings of maids and gardeners in the U.S. to keep itself afloat. This is the leverage Donald Trump talks about to pressure Mexico to pay for the border wall.
Trump’s proposal carries: the border wall solution, the employment solution, the enforcement mechanisms of current law, and another angle that is strategically essential. “WESTERN UNION REMITTANCES†(Money Services Compliance) Is it possible? Absolutely, assuming you can mount the pressure required to make it happen. It would be complicated and politically messy, but such things don’t seem to bother Trump much to begin with. It all comes down to the idea of directing law enforcement to direct resources and vigorous attention to impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages. And once the word is out on the street that such payments are being looked at closely, both through electronic transactions and the purchase of money orders from banks and post offices, the flow might not be stopped but it would be severely reduced.
There’s an obvious downside to such a deal which can’t be ignored. Making a deal with Mexico to not do that if they agree to certain terms and conditions (such as working on wall construction) carries with it an admission that we’re not going to enforce the law or pay attention to illegals currently in the country. But as I said… this is a complicated puzzle to solve. If the effort to monitor and seize remittances in this fashion is beyond the scope of available resources then it’s not going to get done anyway. And if the result is a wall, well… perhaps you come up with a net win out of the deal.
i guess perot was dead right about the “giant sucking sound.”
We could build a pretty nice fence for $28 Billion.
Actually, Trump was so right that he didn’t even need to explain it. Everyone except the establishment knew exactly the different ways that Mexico would pay for it. (The establishment probably knew it too, just tried to create the illusion Trump was a fool.)
What happens to all of the U.S. exports to Mexico?
That’s $25 billion per year not being spent here in the States. Essentially it is removed from our economy.
I would like to start sending a bill to the UN for using our military as the worlds police force.
A trillion a year payment to us would do just nicely.
“Where there’s a “willâ€, there’s a “way†..... the problem is that there has been no political will to anything about an issue that is hurting American citizens. Politics & power, not what is best for America, has been the rule for a long, long time now .... and the establishment types wonder why we’re mad.”
Just received a “survey” from the RNC ( which in and of itself is a surprise since I told them to take me off their “donors lists” a decade or so ago) but they were asking for my “advice” as to which candidate they should support. I sent the e-mail back and used several “Trump-like” adjectives to let them know that I was hoping that President Trump would run them and their big-bucks donors out of town on inauguration day. The word “mad” doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about the RNC and the GOPe! As Al Pacino said in “The Scent of a Woman,” “if I were the man I once was, I’d take a flamethrower to this place!”
It would be interesting to know whether money transfers are treated as taxable or not under NAFTA, or not addressed at all. My guess would be the latter but I’m not sure. If a tax was applied to international transfers it probably couldn’t be specifically directed at Western Union and would likely have to cover any and all transfers to any and all countries. Other countries might see the idea as a new cash cow and do the same, in reciprocity / retaliation against the American tax. Would a court possibly consider such a tax a tariff on exports (something explicitly forbidden in the Constitution). I’m not at all opposed to the idea, just thinking about the downstream implications. I know some people think Trump would be able to do a lot of things with a wave of his hand or with a pen stroke on an executive order. But even a president has to work within the system of government we have. Otherwise we’d just be replacing a wannabe dictator with a real one.
“WOW I had NEVER thought of this aspect!!! Western Union and check cashing places are wall to wall in CA. !!!!!!!!”
And they are double in Hispanic enclaves here, but unless you read Spanish you probably don’t recongnize them.
“Flamethrower” is an apt description that gets close to how mad I am with the cr@pweasels in government ...REPUBS & Dems.
NICE COMEBACK DONALD: when Calerone said Mexico was not paying for no wall.....Donald said on broadcast tv The wall just got higher.
LMAO.
==============================================
L/E should check it out....if Western Union is wire-transferring monies obtained illegally...maybe from using multiple identities to get US government checks....W/U could be charged w/ wire fraud and money laundering.
All you need to do is put a 10% tax that goes to the creation of a wall. The decreased remittance amounts and the wall will force 1/2 to probably self deport. Then just deport everyone else that commits a crime.
Trump is right. He will build the wall and Mexico will pay.
Trump for President.
“Pussy cat, Pussy Galore, Pussy Footing are OK. Just no P*ssy Ted. ;-)”
Yeah, like George Carlin said, “you can prick your finger, but you can’t finger your........!”
Most of that all but sales tax free.
“I would like to start sending a bill to the UN for using our military as the worlds police force.
A trillion a year payment to us would do just nicely.”
Unfortunately, that’s only a partial remedy, since our “share” of UN operations is something on the order of 22%!
I’ve also heard that some illegals come up here and apply for welfare then move back to their home in Mexico. Family members send them their money in Mexico where it goes a lot further. Even tax return money get sent back to Mexico.
Taxing 25 billion a year that is sent back to Mexico would be easy pickings.
at 10%, that is 2.5 billion, probably only 2 billion after avoidance...
4 years - 8 billion dollars, close the amount needed to build the wall.
After building the wall use the money to patrol the damned wall and up keep.
And that is just ONE country, I am sure all the other countries that are illegal offenders will add another 500 million to the pot per year...
Why stop at Mexico?
Let’s hammer all of the countries. People are sick and tired of America having to pay for all of the worlds problems.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.