[A]s a long-time Texan and someone who has lived near the Mexican border for much of my life and traveled throughout much of that country, I find myself questioning why we would not want to pursue such an economic alliance.
Look, we don't want the Mexican illegals to continue to flood our borders so why not help their economy grow to such an extent that their country prospers and they no longer need to come north to earn a livable wage? Since I first began to travel to Mexico in the early sixties, I have seen remarkable developments and advancement. There is a rapidly growing middle class and while poverty is still a huge problem there are millions of Mexicans living much better lives than their parents ever dreamed of. It used to be, you went to a coastal resort in Mexico, you saw only Norte Americanos, Europeans and Ricos Mexicanos. Now you see Mexican middle-class families enjoying a good life they couldn't have possibly experienced a generation earlier.
Another consideration is the tremendous natural resources that both our North American neighbors possess. Both Canada and Mexico have significant petroleum reserves and a wealth of other mineral resources. A tri-country system developing modern, efficient methods to extract these resources to not only fuel our own growth but to sell them to the resource-poor, but burgeoning economies such as China, India and Japan could lead to great prosperity for North America.
Mexico and Canada are already our two biggest trading partners; why not remove artificial barriers that only inhibit that trade? Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating giving away the store; but I do feel it would be extremely short-sighted for us not to take maximum advantage of this tremendous opportunity to create the most awesome economical force the world has ever seen.
The Chinese and Indians think the future is theirs; I would like to think it is North America's. Just another viewpoint.
Regards,
Russ