TJGuy, I agree. However, I've met Mexican businessmen trying to sue their American counterparts because they are avoiding performing on a contract. In the U.S. there is a more developed judicial system, but people and businesses here in the U.S. also are quick to file bankruptcy, all of this under a legal frame, but at the end here you can also get stuck.

If someone tries to set up a business or a new life in Mexico, the U.S., or even Spain, the issue is how well prepared they are for that kind of challenge. Every country is different and thinking that things will work the same way that in the U.S., is silly. You have to adapt. Some don't have the skills and resources to do it, and others do.

For example, for foreign corporations doing business in the U.S. is not easy or cheap. This is one of the countries where more regulation exists for businesses and where "legal liability" can be a tremendous burden. However, risk takers have to suck it up (or pay the outrageous cost of insurance) in exchange for doing business in the U.S. But you have to know what you are doing.

no arguement here! Gotta know where your gonna land before you leap (how is it said in Spanish, "antes de saltar, mirar..." or something like that.

Jabch: "Less is not expected from a county like the US." That is a good one Jabch. Now for the big questions. What can we "expect" from Mexico? Can we "expect" military help to get rid of scum like Saddam? Obviously not. When can we "expect" Mexico to reimburse the American taxpayer for the cost of health care when your people get sick here and can't pay the bill? When can we "expect" Mexico to reimburse the US for the cost of recovering those bodies in the desert? When can we "expect" Mexico to repay the land owners around the border for the damage done by your "country mates" when they cross illegaly into our country and destroy property on the way. When can we "expect" Mexico to realize that their problems are not our problems. When can we "expect" your people to clean up the trash left in the desert. Crossing from Arizona into Sornora, Mexico it becomes clear right away that your "country mates" need clean up the trash rather that dump it in the desert in their own country. Why would I "expect" them to suddenly develope a degree of self pride just because they have crossed the border?

The problems of Mexico will have to be solved in Mexico City not Washington D.C. or Phoenix, Arizona. When Mexico gets it through their head that the problems are their problems to solve, get rid of the corrupt governemnt officals, and starts to realize that when a "friend" asks for help you give it to them. That is when Mexico will become an economic power house. Mexicans die in the desert because Fox and the rest of Mexico "expect" the US to take care of your problems. That one word "expect" in your last post, sums up the entire attitude I see from Mexico.

Desert dweller, I'm probably not the only one on the board to find your comments in extremely poor taste. Please try to make your point without being so offensive. We might take you more seriously then. Now that I'm here, I'll pose you just one question. When is the US taxpayer, whom you seem so worried about, going to reimburse Mexico for all the land the US grabbed?

Thank you, Barry ....

The recent recovery in GDP growth was not enough to snuff out the economic blow dealt to Mexicans by the 1994-95 peso crash, which plunged the country into its deepest recession since the 1930s. The purchasing power of average wages remains 20 per cent below pre-1994 levels despite the impressive recovery in the economy since about 1997. Mexico's gross domestic product expanded since joining Canada and the United States in the North American Free Trade agreement in 1994.The peso crisis basically left Mexico with just the rich and the poor, and no one in the middle.

The National Statistics Institute (INEGI) found that the 20 per cent of Mexico's families with the highest incomes earned 54 per cent of the nation's total wealth. INEGI found that Mexico's poorest 20 per cent of the population made it through five years of education. The richest 10 per cent went to school for at least 12.4 years.

As an American, I support the legalization of the emigration of Mexican workers into the United States. Most Mexican workers accept strenuous manual labor jobs, jobs most American will not tolerate.

I travel to Mexico often and never lost my wallet.

Barry:It is real easy to divert attention from the issue at hand by bringing up something that happened 160 years ago. Nice shot, but I will not take the bait. The bottom line is if Mexico wants to be a friend and allie that is great,but friendship is unconditional, not a matter of convenience. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

We have immigration now. It is done by going through a gate, not cutting down the fence anywhere one pleases.

DD: Like a lot of Americans you think Mexicans don't pay taxes. Most Mexicans in the U.S. pay taxes, if they do it under a false name or SSN that's another story. I want you to go find a job and not be asked for a social security number. It is almost impossible. So most Mexican people are withheld tax when they get paid. On the contrary, these people are never able to claim a tax return as you do, which is the price for working illegally here. The minority of Mexicans working for cash in the U.S., do so thanks to corrupt American employers that give them jobs without reporting this to tax authorities. However, the number of American employers that will risk getting in trouble by this kind of practice is minimal. Remember one thing is not to work legal and another thing is not being withheld taxes for your work. You see, not everything is as you say. You don’t know it all DD, not even about your own country.

Your problem is that you are biased and hateful with the rest of the world. You always have something nasty to say about other governments and people. What are you doing in a board with such an international connotation like this? Trying to spread your hate for anything that is not American or goes in the favor of Americans? YOU and your social skills SUCK! When you show up you are a disgrace for any thread on the board.

As far as I remember, this thread was about the comparative GDPs of countries, with a focus on Mexico. There was even an intelligent analysis and debate developing. The debate was diverted when one poster brought in body bags, US taxpayers and, bafflingly, Saddam Hussein.

Yeah Jabch, you are so right I am a terrible rotten person. If you don't beleive it ask my Ex-wife. Love or hate me, I make dudes like you and Barry think.

My social skills suck, your the first one to ever point that out.

William Randolph Herste use to say "I don't care what you say about me, just talk about me."