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| Mexican emigrants send $16bn home | ||
| 2005-02-01 | ||
Mexican labourers living in the US sent a record $16.6bn (£8.82bn) home last year. The Bank of Mexico said that remittances grew 24% last year and now represent the country's second-biggest source of income after oil. Better records and greater prosperity of Mexican expatriates in the US are the main reasons behind the increase. About 10 million Mexicans live in the US, where there are 16 million citizens of Mexican origin. Remittances now represent more than 2% of the country's GDP, according to the Bank of Mexico's figures. Last year, there were 50.9 million transactions, with an average value of $327 per remittance, the bank said. According to Standard & Poor's, which has recently upgraded Mexico's sovereign debt rating, the rise in remittances helps protect the Mexican economy against a potential fall in the international oil prices.
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #22 maybe if they started paying their education and medical bills first.... ummmm no - build the fence |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-02-01 6:37:59 PM |
| #21 Canada - ruled by Frogistan and Britain Mexico - ruled by Frogistan and Spain And they really hate us that we weren't. Colonial legacy right on our doorsteps if we just pay attention. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2005-02-01 6:28:49 PM |
| #20 You annex them. Uhh, no. Make them a Commonwealth. Uhh, no. Open the border fully. Uhh, NO. [...] If we can rebuild a free democratic Iraq, we can build a free democratic Mexico. It's not like Mexico is some country halfway around the planet. It's right next door, and it seems rather inconceivable that they haven't noticed how we've conducted ourselves and haven't tried a similar formula in an attempt to achieve similar success. No, their solution is to encourage their peasants to break our laws and violate our sovereignty, while at the same time badmouthing us in the process, or not standing by us (witness Mexico's stance on Iraq). No, at this point the Mexicans themselves need to fix whatever's wrong with their society, and stop being the remora on our undersides. We only get involved in the event of a catastrophic collapse, and even then, no annexation and no Commonwealth. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-01 4:11:57 PM |
| #19 Headline: Mexican emigrants send $16bn home That's a feature, not a bug. That's $16b that won't be used to inflate the US real estate market. That's $16b that won't be used to inflate the US stock market. Better that they build nice big homes for their families back in Mexico, than send for the whole family to come over here. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-02-01 2:48:29 PM |
| #18 Of course they send money back home. Immigrants have always done that. This allows the others to remain in place, and finances bringing the most ambitious to America to continue the process. The issue isn't the money, because they send back American stuff, too, but the illegal status of so many. Also, a lot of the illegals go back and forth across the border, as the job situation here changes, or family situation requires. Regularize the situation -- guest worker visas, income tax, health insurance, no citizenship for children born here to non-citizens, no purchase of real property for guest workers (to prevent de facto immigration). Oh, and fix the drug smuggling -- a lot of the border violence is from drug gangs fighting over territory... or whatever it is that gangs fight over. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-01 2:45:29 PM |
| #17 I have news for you... it's not only illegal Mexican immigrants doing this. Just about every legal immigrant sends some money back home to support the family. Money that could have been saved or spent here. The only difference is, this money has already been taxed. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2005-02-01 2:15:21 PM |
| #16 #2 Well, whaddaya suggest, then? You annex them. Make them a Commonwealth. Open the border fully. End the exclusion of foreigners to own property. Promote real investment like in the US, as done by the English, Dutch and Japanese. Send the El Norte federales in to take care of the corrupt officials and their drug lord financers. If we can rebuild a free democratic Iraq, we can build a free democratic Mexico. |
| Posted by: Glereper Thigum7229 2005-02-01 1:51:28 PM |
#15 Mexico's falling birthrates may begin to significantly lower illegal immigration That's too damned long to wait. There's a problem NOW. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-01 1:13:59 PM |
| #14 $16 billion divided by 10 million Mexicans is an average of $1600 each. I'm not going to get worked up over it. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-02-01 1:03:37 PM |
| #13 Hey, I know! Let's play "Tax That Cash!" |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-02-01 12:53:58 PM |
| #12 Sea, a big reason is the way that the government treats their own citizens. They don't really make any effort to educate them (most of the ones who get an education go to a private school, the state schools, if there are any, are a joke....I can't remember how many illegals I used to run into in my past job who were illiterate in Spanish and couldn't even sign their names). The wealthy Mexicans would rather invest their pesos overseas instead of in their own country to create jobs. Foreigners are the big investors in Mexico...not rich Chilangos. If you are born poor, you are really SOL as far as getting ahead....unless you manage to go North and get a job so you can send some money home to improve your family's situation, or you save it up until you can go home and build yourself a nicer house, etc. Also, while you are up North, maybe your kids can get some schooling....even our worst schools are better than what they could hope for back in Mexico. I can't blame them for coming....hell, if I was one of them, I'd be crossing the border myself. It's just that our government shouldn't make it so damn easy for Mexico to keep their status quo. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-02-01 12:52:16 PM |
| #11 I wonder how switching from an income to a sales tax would change the situation. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-02-01 12:41:16 PM |
| #10 Russia has many natural advantages, too. But, between a tradition of authoritarianism and corruption, and wasting their substance empire building, not much is left for the citizenry. WRT Mexico, which hasn't troubled itself building an empire, the citizens that come north appear to be the most ambitious, not the problems. While the lack of control of our border is a serious security concern, along with the Mob tactics of the coyotes, the workers themselves would be a real benefit if the situation could be regularized. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Bush's guest worker proposal is do-able just yet -- not until we control our southern border. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-01 12:35:12 PM |
| #9 No, not a trick question, not exactly. I'm just pointing out that Mexico has many advantages that other struggling countries do not and by all rights they should be a prosperous nation. And I'm not happy that their biggest export right now is their problem citizens... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-02-01 12:05:08 PM |
| #8 Remember, Mexico is doing its best to keep out a flood of illegal immigrants from their southern border. I assume they can turn that spigot on if necessary later. Seafarious: Is this a trick question? It's all about political culture. Now if the English had invaded Mexico... |
| Posted by: someone 2005-02-01 12:01:11 PM |
| #7 "Mexico's birth rate drops as planners worry about future With falling birth rates, babies are a scarcer sight in Mexico CNN's Harris Whitbeck looks at what the decrease in birth rate means for the country July 28, 1999 Web posted at: 9:31 p.m. EDT (0131 GMT) By Correspondent Harris Whitbeck MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- After years of steady increase in the number of babies born, Mexico's birth rate is now dropping. Although Mexico's population will grow to 130 million over the next 30 years, experts say the population explosion has now stabilized. For much of the 20th century, the average Mexican woman gave birth to seven children. That number has since decreased to an average of 2.5 children per family, largely due to family planning. "About 80 percent of the couples we see here agree that family planning is a responsible measure to take," said Dr. Ana Cecilia Montes, who works at a family planning center. The Mexican government welcomes such news, but worries that the decrease in family sizes could make the elderly more dependent on its services in the years to come. By 2050, a quarter of Mexico's population will be over 65 By the middle of the next century, one in four Mexicans will be over the age of 65. The current birth rate decrease does provide a window of opportunity, government officials say. "If we take advantage now, we will be able to create an infrastructure of necessary services in order to provide for the needs of the elderly," said Rudolfo Tuiran of the National Council on Population. The government's prescription is more investment in social programs now to prevent problems later. But such a plan depends on the emerging Mexican economy, which recently has shown more instability than long-term growth. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-02-01 11:51:57 AM |
| #6 Why can't they make a go of it and stand on their own? Corruption as an accepted way of life. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-02-01 11:38:26 AM |
| #5 Mary Jordan Washington Post Foreign Service The Washington Post 08-09-2001 U.S., Mexico Await Migration Drop; Declining Birthrate South of Border May Slow Tide North Byline: Mary Jordan Washington Post Foreign Service Edition: FINAL Section: A Section MEXICO CITY, Aug. 8 -- Mexico's falling birthrates may begin to significantly lower illegal immigration to the United States within 15 years, according to Mexican and U.S. officials working to craft solutions to their shared problem. Immigration specialists have long said that the flood of Mexican workers to the United States would cease only when ... google is your friend:) |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-02-01 11:30:05 AM |
| #4 The sad fact is that Mexico *should* be a very wealthy country, with a prosperous populace. They are geographically well situated, with beautiful coastlines on two oceans. There are plenty of natural resources (even some oil), a great climate, a fair amount of arable land, and their only security threats along the southern border. Why can't they make a go of it and stand on their own? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-02-01 11:23:31 AM |
| #3 Interesting…might be some good news there. Is Mexico a high birthrate nation with a failed government and economy that generates an unending supply of illegal immigrants? Or is the Mexican economy improving, partially stabilized by money from the US? Is Mexico growing wealthier as the poorest Mexicans move to the US? Has Mexico’s birthrate declined? Are most of the potential illegal Mexican immigrants already in the US? Does anyone know? |
| Posted by: Anonymous5032 2005-02-01 11:16:11 AM |
| #2 Well, whaddaya suggest, then? |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-02-01 10:58:37 AM |
| #1 What is not mentioned here but is the real travesty is that the great majority of those remittances come from non-taxed income. Its mostly cash and "black" wages. So, there is at least $10-25bn in possible federal, state and local taxes - to help defray welfare, medical and other costs that illegals run up every year in just about every municipal, county and township in the USA. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2005-02-01 10:56:54 AM |