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Bob Herbert, columnist for the New York Times, writes about the supposedly bad situation of the American worker, he concludes, American workers are in an increasingly defensive position. In a tight labor market, when jobs are plentiful, workers have leverage and can demand increased wages and benefits. But today's workers have lost power in many different ways - through the slack labor market, government policies that favor corporate interests, the weakening of unions, the growth of lower-paying service industries, global trade, capital mobility, the declining real value of the minimum wage, immigration and so on. The end result of all this is a portrait of American families struggling just to hang on, rather than to get ahead. The benefits of productivity gains and economic growth are flowing to profits, not worker compensation. The fat cats are getting fatter, while workers, at least for the time being, are watching the curtain come down on the heralded American dream. Economist...

The Republican Party is strongly courting the Catholic vote . And many Catholics, once considered a Democrat stronghold, are making the switch. The article writes, Abortion is a major issue for many Catholic leaders. Bishop Rene Gracida, retired head of the Corpus Christi, Texas, diocese who gave the convention's closing prayer Wednesday night, told the rally, "This heresy that human life is not sacred" is a threat comparable to denials of Jesus' divinity. Gracida prayed that God would "help them to achieve the election of George W. Bush." Without naming the president, the Rev. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life prayed that those attending would "mobilize countless others to vote and to vote correctly." Cardinal Edward Egan was giving the benediction at the convention following Bush's acceptance speech Thursday night. Also, according to Catholic Answers , one of the most prominent Catholic Organizations in the country, a true Catholic has no ...

Kevin Grier, Professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma, writes about Mexico's Economic growth problem , I believe the primary two problems with mexico are both political (1) very little real competition in the domestic economy (2) no true rule of law. Fundamentally its still a society where personal connections or bribes get lots of things done. The "ideal" of everyday anonymous transactions working out well even when there are time intervals between beginning and end (payment and reward) just is not there. Also the Mexican civil war at the beginning of the 20th century probably had something to do with the low growth in the first half of the century. That was no joke, that war. The "golden years" could easily be high transitional growth getting back on the BGP after the devastation of the civil war, kind of Mexico's mini version of the Japanese and German growth miracles after WWII. imho Mexico is middle income due to "location location loca...

There has been a lot of negative talk recently about immigrants and how they effect the United States. Stephen Green, writing for the Tech Central Station, has an article rebutting some of those negative comments and brings up other points often ignored in the discussions. He concludes, The New (Nuevo?) America won't be the one we're used to -- but neither was the old one, or even the America we knew just twenty years ago. Latin America will also continue to change, as we all become increasingly intertwined politically, economically, and culturally. In return for losing some control of a culture we never really controlled in the first place, we get to live with neighbors who, for the most part, are increasingly free and prosperous. For that, we can all be thankful, and maybe even a little less afraid.

I am the first member of my family born in the United States. Most of my family comes from a small town in Guerrero, Mexico. This area of Mexico is extremely poor. The farm that my father grew up on doesn't even have hot water or very much electricity. Needless to say, this has always puzzled me. How could a country with so many natural resources be so poor? Don't get me wrong, I've heard the general answers, answers like "there needs to be more Capitalism", or "there is too much corruption" etc. But I want more specifics. I want actual legislation problems or specific things that can be done. That is why I was thrilled to find out that Tyler Cowen , Professor of Economics at George Mason University, is in Mexico and occasionally finds time to blog about Mexico specific things. You can find his blogs on his observations in Mexico at Marginal Revolution . A couple that I found interesting is the most recent one of his visit to a small town in my Fathe...

Chávez wins Venezuela’s Presidential race. The Economist (Paid Subscription) reports , Furthermore, the president has remained popular among Venezuela’s poorest, despite the way his policies have impoverished the country. Since he was first elected six years ago, Venezuelans’ average income has fallen by around a quarter. The recent surge in oil prices has showered the government in oil revenues, allowing Mr Chávez to introduce some populist social programmes that may have swung him the vote. But these handouts are unlikely to compensate fully for years of steep economic decline, nor for roaring inflation (around 30% last year).

Thomas Sowell writes extensively on black issues, nonetheless, his points have a close relevance to hispanic issues, giving the close political ties of our cultures. Thomas Sowell writes , August 20th marks the 40th anniversary of one of the major turning points in American social history. That was the date on which President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation creating his "War on Poverty" program in 1964. Never had there been such a comprehensive program to tackle poverty at its roots, to offer more opportunities to those starting out in life, to rehabilitate those who had fallen by the wayside, and to make dependent people self-supporting. Its intentions were the best. But we know what road is paved with good intentions. What was the result of these social programs? The article goes into specifics , but based on historical economic experience, I can already guess what the results were.

We all agree that the USA has areas of improvement when it comes to immigration, but there is one fact that should not be forgotten in any discussion involving immigration. Compared to the rest of the world the USA is the most pro-immigrant. The Washington Times, in discussing the current immigration bill before congress, documents this , Ronald Reagan once said a foreigner can go to Germany and never become a German, to France and never become French, to Britain and never become English. America is the only nation where a person can move and become an American. No nation has widened its gates to newcomers with greater generosity than the United States over the past 25 years. Over that period, we admitted nearly 20 million new Americans — from every part of the globe. That is more immigrants than were admitted by all other industrialized countries combined. The percentage of Americans not born here has risen from 6 percent in 1970 to 11 percent today. That is a lot of additional p...

There is a good article in the NYT about the changes going on in Mexico Politics. And the hope that brings.

The Washington Post has an article claiming Latino voters are overwhelmingly in Kerry's camp. This is really troubling and, I must admit, very hard for me to understand. Why do my fellow Hispanics overwhelmingly(2/3) support a liberal candidate over a conservative candidate? Maybe it's time for me to lay down my beliefs, and open up the floor to challenges among Hispanics. I am not going to get specific into an individual candidate, unless it relates to the overall point, but going to concentrate on giving an overall belief why I lean conservative(Republican) over liberal(Democrat). Please feel free to critique where you see necessary in the arrival of my beliefs. Economy: Capitalism is the heart and soul of the American economy. As my previous blogs have shown, capitalism is what separates a prosperous nation from an nonprosperous nation. It is precisely this economic system that makes it possible such that a person like my father who came here at age 20, with no education, ...