Thread: Study shows increasingly intertwined Texas,Mexican economies

http://www.statesman.com/hp/content/sha ... ONOMY.html

Warning .. reading this politically correct whine will make your blood pressure skyrocket!

To prosper, state must aid immigrants, study says
Study shows increasingly intertwined Texas, Mexican economies.

By Juan Castillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Texas must invest in education, job training and health services for its growing Hispanic and immigrant work force or, in coming decades, the state will become older, poorer and less educated, a report on the economic relationship between Mexico and Texas concludes.

By 2040, the state will be more diverse, according to the report, "The Economic Integration of Mexico and Texas."

"Education is the key to take advantage of these trends," said Justino De La Cruz, the study's author and an international economist at Trinity University in San Antonio.

De La Cruz's study bolsters previous research on the shifting demographics of Texas showing that Hispanics will replace non-Hispanic whites as a majority. But it also offers a rare look at the economic dependencies of the state and Mexico.

Movement of goods, services and labor produces gains on both sides of the border, De La Cruz found.

Texas is the top exporting state in the nation, and Mexico is its largest trading partner; more than $40 billion of Texas' annual $100 billion in exports is to Mexico. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. exports to Mexico increased 175 percent from 1994 to 2000. In Texas, 650,000 jobs were tied to exports in 2001. Mexican workers in the United States sent nearly $17 billion to their families last year.

The study was commissioned by Texas-based advisers for Mexicans living in the United States, a citizens group known as Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, which reports to the Mexican government on behalf of about 25 million U.S. residents of Mexican heritage.

Better education would mean increased wages and productivity and greater economic contributions, his report found. De La Cruz calculates that immigrants contribute $14 billion per year in net benefits to the U.S. economy. He also concludes that NAFTA, the target of widespread criticism, is a success story "not yet finished."

"It's a very timely and important study," said Jeff Moseley, executive director of the governor's office of economic development and tourism. "Exporting is going to continue to grow jobs in Texas, so it's important for us to have more understanding of our relationship with Mexico."

A member of the group, Jaime Chahin, said advisers wanted to dispel misconceptions about the state's growing immigrant work force, the majority of which comes from Mexico.

"I think the biggest (misconception) is that people think immigrants take more away from the economy than what they contribute," said Chahin, dean of the College of Applied Arts at Texas State Univer- sity-San Marcos.

Adviser Laura Gonzalez of Dallas said the group hopes to reach out to factions in the United States and Mexico with extreme views about Mexican immigrants â€â€

Another person who fails to grasp the difference between legal and illegal
immigration. I did not see the word "illegal" mentioned.

"Whether immigrants are a net plus or drain on the U.S. economy is a point of contention."

Only if you can't count.

Originally Posted by dataman

Another person who fails to grasp the difference between legal and illegal
immigration. I did not see the word "illegal" mentioned.

"Whether immigrants are a net plus or drain on the U.S. economy is a point of contention."

Only if you can't count.

But it would be so un-PC to state the obvious and/or the truth.

I am fed up with pc being driven down my throat.
Calling this article propaganda is a compliment.