Problems of Assimilation

Kevin Grier amuses me with this Post on NAFTA. He worries about the Agreement not being fully implemented by 2009. He mentions that some Mexican Trucks were allowed to drive in the United States in the 1970s, and implied that the practice should have been continued. Mexican Trucks were prohibited in the 1970s more from inability to get through Customs, rather than through Government edict. Some 23% of Mexican Trucks were found to be carrying illegal Substances, approximately 34% of Mexican Trucks were found to have insufficient Braking systems, and about 15% of Mexican Truckers did not even possess Mexican Trucking licenses. Today, some 85,000 Trucks cross at Border Stations daily; Most delivering loads to Customers residing within 175 miles of the Border, because of their reluctance to do business in the English language.

Another interesting datum comes in the fact that over 40 manufacturing plants on American soil, who employed Workers from south of the Border were closed within the first 3 years of NAFTA; this resulting from repeated discovery of illegal Drugs on plant property. One Furniture manufacturer was found to have 600 lbs. Of Cocaine packed into one sofa destined for Chicago. Nine Proprietors of the 40 closed plants enjoyed some 8 years of scenic vacations in Federal prisons. Some 9000 Guest Workers arriving within the previous 12 months, yearly receive some form of American criminal sentence. NAFTA is not as easy to implement as One might imagine.

Greg Mankiw brings forth a hidden externality: extremely biased people happen to be the happiest people in society. I believe this happiness springs from being firm in their convictions (forestalling troubling contradictions), and by presenting a limited-access front where they are not forced to face any contestation of their beliefs. Greg would advocate a program which would introduce troubling contradictions forcefully, designed solely to destroy happiness among Extremists, but probably generating little advancement in assimilation. Greg might access Sociological studies which indicate forced Cooperation does little to promote Consensus, but vastly increases the input of violence. Pigou cannot solve everything, and the Vote is still out on whether Pigou can solve anything. lgl