Mexico announced yesterday that it will raise tariffs on 90 U.S. products, affecting some $2.4 billion in goods across 40 states. The move was retaliation for the recent decision by Congress, signed into law by Mr. Obama, to close the Southern U.S. border to Mexican trucks. By rejecting Mexican trucks, the Administration violated the North American Free Trade Agreement and picked a needless fight with a good neighbor. Mark this episode as another early example in which Mr. Obama has refused to stand up to a powerful Democratic interest group, with damaging consequences.
I read an article yesterday that the independent trucker averages about 28k a year after expenses, 73% have zero health insurance. Regulation has trashed the trucking industry and Obama wants to protect the industry. Too little too late. The average trucker has no control over expenses yet is limited by how many hours he can work (subsquently how much money he can make). They are caught in a no win situation.
I guess cocaine, heroine and meth prices will be skyrocketing now that trucks from mexico are being halted!!
Yeah, no kidding. I want to go on record saying I agree with obama on this. It was madness to allow mexican trucks access to the US.
OMFG!!! Obama isn't going to allow these great bricks in anymore! What is he thinking? Mexican bricks blamed for crumbling homes 09:02 AM CDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 By SHELLY SLATER / WFAA-TV DALLAS -- When you think about brick, the word sturdy probably comes to mind. Yet hundreds of North Texans are running across a similar problem: the brick on their homes is crumbling to pieces. If you don't have the problem yet, don't think you're safe either. Experts say what they've seen is just the start. "You can easily crumble the brick in your hand," said Tina Belcher. Builders bricked Belcher's brand new home in south west Grand Prairie with Mexican brick. In no time, she noticed something odd in the backyard. "I would hit the brick with the lawnmower, and I'm like 'okay, where are these bricks coming from?'" she said. It turns out, they were falling off of her house, piece by piece. "The bricks in the back, like I say, were just like a cracker, they would just crumble," said Belcher. "We've had homeowners tell us they could actually stick a knife through the brick," said Gregory Graze, who represents the Brick Industry Association, Southwest. He says hundreds of homes, from McKinney to Fort Worth, have seen this problem. "It's just a matter of time before the brick fails and turns to powder," said Graze. Graze says brick was in short supply during the housing boom around 2004. So builders bought in Mexican brick to make up the difference. The problem: we now know not all Mexican brick is treated for severe weather. Belcher's brick, like so many others, was only good for moderate weather. "Because the brick has not been cured properly, moisture gets in the brick, then it freezes, it expands, and then it thaws. It destroys the integrity of the structure, it's as fundamental as that," said Graze. "I was just really waiting for something to cave in, no I was not safe, I didn't feel safe at all," said Belcher. It took four months, but Belcher's builder replaced the brick for free. Now that builder is suing the brick manufacturer for not reimbursing the cost to repair homes. City inspectors and the North Texas Council of Governments are working to close a loophole in the law that allows moderate brick to be placed on North Texas homes. That way, in the future, putting homeowners like Belcher through this, would be illegal. "You put a lifetime into a home, a lifetime, and then you discover your home is faulty," Belcher said. Experts suggest before buying a home, ask the builder if the brick is American-made Severe Weather grade brick. Then get the answer in writing.
On second thought, Obama has finally done something that is good for the USA. Now if he can just keep the cars and people from coming across the border from Mexico that would be really, really great. It's time for the Great Wall of the USA!
You're right. Its better to leave the border unprotected so terrorists and drugs can be shuttled through unmolested. Thats a much better security policy. America is courting disaster for a reason. Troops deployed in the homeland, spy-state machinations everywhere, martial law legislation and citizen internment camps built. The dots point to a forgone conclusion thats made abundantly clear by the conscious non-action to secure our ports and borders. We should see Martial Law by 2012, after the next "Big One". Enjoy your house of cards.