[DoughtyOne]

I believe that if the United States put together an economic team to help them, Mexico could double their GNP in less than ten years. I will admit I don't bass this on any inside informtion. I base it on the idea that there are many available cheap labor workers down there. Put them to work. Provide incentives. Get their system to fluorishing. It'll be better for them and US. It'll also spur activity in Central and South America. Open borders isn't the only way to achieve this. We didn't have open borders here to prosper. Other nations don't necessarily need it either.

[jeremiah]

The illegals come here for the freebies. Free school, free SSI, free medical and work. They take much more out of the economy, then they put back. Until the Mexican govt starts providing all of the bennies of the American govt.

[FITZ]

Open borders isn't the only way to achieve this. We didn't have open borders here to prosper.

I agree --an economic team from the US could be the right approach, they need to change many of their laws also and of course do something stronger about their crime and corruption. Open borders is about the WORST way to build up a country because Mexico is losing many of it's poorer people but it's losing it's more ambitious poorer people who could become it's middle class if they were allowed that. What stays behind isn't what will make that a better economy but even worse. Instability in Mexico is very high because in some villages half the people have gone to the US. Sometimes they'll at least send money home but often that's just for a few months to a couple of years.

[bam]

I believe that if the United States put together an economic team to help them, Mexico could double their GNP in less than ten years.

According to a report on CNBC last night:
U.S. factory work pays an average of $20/hour
Mexico factory work pays an average of $2/hour (maybe it was $4/hour)
China factory work pays $0.40/hour (maybe it was $0.20/hour)

The report emphasized that thousands of U.S. and Mexican jobs were going to China. Something like 700,000 U.S. jobs had already gone to China.
An economic team might find itself in a position of not being able to bail fast enough to keep the boat from sinking. Not saying it's a bad idea. Just that things may be getting worse, both here and in Mexico -- but especially for Mexico with a much higher percentage of no/low skilled workers.