Could the boycott backfire?

Wed26Apr2006

Could the boycott backfire?

21:46 H | Topics: Activism - Immigration - Money

That's what the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and others, are saying, according to AP:

Mexicans' refusal to "buy American" on May 1 could further polarize the debate and make reform supporters seem anti-American at the very moment that lobbyists are trying to persuade lawmakers in Washington to pass a bill that would benefit migrants, worries Larry Rubin, the chamber's president.

"This is like shooting oneself in the foot," Rubin said. "U.S. companies have been the first to lobby, launching a huge lobbying effort for immigration reform. ... Why hurt something that is helping you?"

Um, okay...if you think that U.S. businesses are going to suddenly pull out of Mexico over one day of lost revenue, you are smoking crack. There is too much money to be made there. An example from the article:

Unskilled workers at U.S. companies usually start with Mexico's minimum wage of $4.35 a day. While many earn more, such as seamstresses making an average of $5.89 a day — even these wages pale in comparison to paychecks offered by the same companies north of the border, conceded the chamber's Humberto Banuelos.

A cashier at Subway (or "sandwich artist," as the company refers to them) earns about $189 a month in Mexico City. In Colorado, Subway cashiers make four times that — $824.

You call that helping? I wonder what "hurting" looks like. I think I'd rather help myself.

Via / FOXNews.com

Photo via Pravda.ru