Mexican Trucks and Government Soda
Memphis prides itself as being the “Transportation Hub of the US.” Living in West Tennessee, as many would guess, I work in the transportation industry. I recall as a greenhorn, learning that goods that were shipped from Mexico had to be transferred to US trucks in a buffer zone beyond the US border (up to 25 miles within our border) and then they would return to their domiciles. I recall thinking that that was a silly and inefficient way of doing things, until I saw a few Mexican rigs up close and personal.
Many Mexican rigs (and trailers) are old US rigs that were sold due to their age and non-compliance to newer DOT standards over the years. Some of these vehicles are so derrilect, I’m surprised they still run. Many would not pass US clean air laws, and are generally unsafe on the road (especially some of the trailers they pull).
When NAFTA was passed, Clinton faced serious criticism for the provisions that would allow Mexican truck drivers over our roads, so he did not implement this element during his tenure.
Many Mexican drivers were 18, did not have adequate training for the rig they were driving, were not subject to regular medical exams, did not have to submit to drug tests, were not limited to the number of hours they could work, and were making only a few dollars a day.
Fast forward to 2007. The Bush administration creates a pilot program for allowing Mexican trucks roll over our roads, first allowing up to 100 trucking companies access. The pilot started September 7th, 2007 after the Teamsters attempted to block the pilot in the 9th Circuit Court.
What really disappoints me about this whole situation is the fact that there was no debate on the floor of the House or the Senate about this issue. Our elected representatives were going to allow this action to go unchecked until public hysteria over a dynamite truck exploding and killing 34 people in Mexico on September 9th. It is no wonder Congress has the lowest approval rating in the history of our nation.
Now both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate agree that this pilot isn’t such a great idea after all due to public safety. On September 11th Senate Amendment 2797 to HR3074 was proposed to defund the pilot. It passed 74-24. Now I guess we’ll have to see what the President does about it. I’m not hopeful.
Proactive government scares me. Reactive government scares me worse.
As a libertarian I am an advocate of free trade, but not at the expense of public safety.
An interesting story came across my desk from the Mises Institute a few days ago, and I think it really displays how “un-free” our free market really is in the US. The premise of the story is the age old question, “Why does American soda not taste as good as foreign sodas?” (In my opinion most notably sodas sold in Mexico and the Caribbean.)
The answer is not necessarily the fact that high fructose corn syrup is cheaper than cane sugar, or that it is better for you, or that it tastes better (because that most definitely isn’t true).
An import quota and higher tariffs on foreign sugar was lobbied for by domestic farmers in 1982, thus using the strong arm of government to force domestic soda manufacturers to buy an inferior domestic product to sweeten their products. In effect, the government has legislated that we get to ingest an inferior product that is comprised of more processed additives and chemicals than the rest of the world.
The lesson here is that as long as government is involved, no market is free.