Walls and fences

My earlier note about "free trade" and education was a little bit of a rarity around here at p3, since macroeconomics isn't really my thing. I've always been more of a First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment kind of guy.

But as long as we're on the subject, and looking ahead to one of the likely GOP diversionary issues for 2006 and 2008, here's something Shawn passed along:

When Bush and Fox sit down with new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Cancún on March 30, all three leaders will pretend that relations are better than they are. They will note "progress" toward the goals of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, signed last year in Texas, even though it is a timid, paper-shuffling exercise that measures success by the number of bureaucratic meetings.

What they should do is think far more boldly. The only way to solve the most pressing problems in the region—including immigration, security, and declining competitiveness—is to create a true North American Community. No two nations are more important to the United States than Canada and Mexico, and no investment will bolster security and yield greater economic benefits for America than one that narrows the income gap between Mexico and its North American partners.

Bridging that gap was supposed to be one of the many benefits that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would deliver. And indeed, since NAFTA took effect in 1994, trade and investment among the United States, Mexico and Canada have nearly tripled, making North America the world's largest free-trade area in terms of territory and gross domestic product (GDP). Yet the income gap has widened: the annual per capita GDP of the United States ($43,883) today is more than six times that of Mexico ($6,937).

Shawn added this:

I've been talking about this with lots of people lately. Most of the Mexican folk I know say that if they could make more money in Mexico--not a lot more just enough to live a little more comfortably and provide for their families a little better--that they would much rather stay home. It's a positive way to start changing the situation for a long term solution rather than walls and fences that won't change a thing...really.