(03-18-2018 10:02 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Guys,

You do realize that your policies would

1) Seriously damage the US economy in many ways. It would cause severe economic distress in our border states. And cause far reaching economic problems for areas dependent upon trade and migration from Mexico. Your proposal hurts Texas, economically, and would do so in ways that would be obvious. And tradeoff gains would take time to develop, but the bad consequences would be immediate. Farmers having crops rot in the fields. Factories in the MW shutting down because their input costs go up and they can't compete on exports. And then there's the companies and firms that rely on exports to Mexico.

2) Risk actually destroying the Trump EC coalition by finally getting Mexican Americans to start voting in Texas. And it will cause higher Mexican American voter turnout across the board.

Guys, whites are only 43% of the population in Texas and are only 51% of eligible voters. Trump is not popular with a sizable portion of Anglo Texans. The only reason keeping the Dems from a lock on the Electoral College is low voter participation rates among Mexican American US citizens in Texas.

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But back to Mexico. There are things that the US cannot compel Mexico to do. And they can hurt us if we make it worth their while to do so.