Trade with Mexico is a Two Way Street

A recent editorial in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times criticizes Obama’s administration for its decision to back the Teamsters Union that caused the NAFTA program to take a step backwards. The decision cut off a pilot program that once allowed Mexican freight trucks to drive on U.S highways. In light of this cut off, the Mexican government struck back and put trade tariffs on 10 to 20 percent of U.S. products that are imported into Mexico.

The authors editorial is directed to a general Texas based audience. This is evident since he/she states how the direct result of the trade tariffs will most likely impact Texas trade locally. The editorial also implies that these unions are based in the north and their push to pass this cut off would require Texas and some of the other southwestern states to take the blow. The editorial does not go into lengthy legislative details regarding NAFTA, so it makes the reading easy for a general audience to understand.

The author makes his/her point in the editorial in a clear concise manner. A brief history of what NAFTA was supposed to allow, why the cut off was proposed, and what it will do to the local economy. The author also provides a few facts and figures regarding the trucks that came into the U.S. without incident, and the dollar amount that this tariff imposed will hurt our economy. These are just enough statistics to hold the readers attention without overwhelming them with numbers.

I personally agree with the author’s editorial criticizing Obama’s administrations decision to ban trucks from Mexico into the U.S. This can only result in a damaging trade relation with our neighbor. The tariffs imposed by Mexico can only hurt an already damaged U.S. economy that needs all the help it can get. The argument that these trucks are banned because of the safety issue on our roads is ridiculous. I think this is just another example of how big unions influence government policy negatively.

City Cuts Facing Challenges

Our struggling economy is starting to affect some of our most important city departments. The article titled “City manager to rethink cuts of fire truck staffing” can be found at http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/03/06/0306fire.html and describes the backlash the city is facing.
City manager Marc Ott was in favor of cutting the manpower on fire engines from four to three but due to city council opposition as well as firefighter pressure he has decided to rethink. Over 100 firefighters held a news conference outside of city hall to discuss the potential problems that this could cause. Union representatives argued that these cuts would jeopardize their reaction time to emergencies and would create a safety issue for the firefighters. Ott said that the change is staffing would save approximately $200,000.00 dollars and after hearing all sides to this proposed cut, there was no doubt that the fire department would participate in budget cuts. Ott has now asked to hear community input whether or not the fire department should make such cuts. The article is important because citizens should be aware of the possible issues that could arise from city budget cuts. It is apparent that these tough economic times are putting our most valued city services in crisis.