This morning on the Today Show, Vice President Joe Biden responded to Matt Lauer question of “if a member of your family came to you said look I want to go on a commercial airliner to Mexico and back in the week, would that be a good idea?”, “I would tell members of my family and I have. I wouldn’t go anywhere in confine places now. It’s not that is going to Mexico. It you are in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes through the entire aircraft. That’s me. I would not be at this point, if they have another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway. So, from my perspective what it relates to mitigation.”
Now Vice President Biden’s office has come back with a statement qualifying his statement as “if they were sick”. Really! The President last night said that closing the borders right now is not an option and equated to closing a barn door after the horse as already gotten out. WOW!!! No one knows how this Swine Flu will mutate or how we can combat it outside of staying out of confined places.
The Vice President needs to understand that his words carry weight. By telling the American public on the Today show that he’d tell his own family to not ride the subway or an airplane can have the same affect on the transportation industry as the label swine flu has had on pork futures. The airline industry is already struggling; the Vice President needs to choose his words more carefully.
Why not close the boarders. MSNBC just had a map of the United States up showing reported cases of the Swine Flu. Every state boarding Mexico had at least one confirmed case. Until the CDC, WHO, and Homeland Security office has a handle on the Swine Flu, doesn’t it make sense to ban all travel to and from Mexico and the United States?
I agree that the Swine Flu is already within our borders but it can still mutate. It is the mutation aspect that closing the borders will protect the citizens of the United States. Whispers online and in the media are hinting toward the notion that Universal HealthCare, had it been established, would have enabled the United States to be ahead of the Swine Flu. Really? Doesn’t Mexico have state run healthcare and look how well it has worked there.
It is time for the teleprompter to say, “We are banning all transportation between the United States and Mexico until we have a better understanding of strain of swine flu.” With the summer approaching and the annual plight of immigrant workers reaches further into the United States, the teleprompter needs to speak.
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So... we should close the borders to Canada too? How about the European nations that have confirmed cases of H1N1? How about state borders that have confirmed cases?
ReplyDeleteEven if it's just the Mexican border, there are huge expenses for doing this without gaining any tangible results. And that says nothing of the other economic costs associated with the loss of trade between Mexico and the U.S. I don't think isolating ourselves and losing our ability to export goods and services would be particularly helpful, especially in this economy.
Closing down borders isn't the solution. Instead, we need to be proactive in mitigating the effects of this disease. Schools, workplaces, etc. should be watchful, and do what's right to protect people. People should be mindful of this and other viruses when/if they travel (to Mexico, Canada, within the U.S. or abroad), and should see their doctors immediately if symptoms arise. That's why the government has dispersed so many courses of Tamiflu around the country.
The U.S. has had a break out of swine flu before, in the 70s... and, while it's a terrible thing to get, we somehow managed through that period without shutting everything down.
We should do everything to ensure further Swine Flu does not enter into the United States. Mexico is, for the most part, a dirty country. Their Universal Healthcare system has failed them and America should not allow further strains of the Swine Flu to migrate into the United States.
ReplyDeleteMany other countries are using scanners and medical doctors to restrict the travel of those showing flu like symptoms. The CDC is doing a great job at dispersing Tamiflu and other precautionary methods as cases crop up. Just as people out to be mindful when they apply for employment or enter into a location that allows smoking, I agree they need to be mindful of travel to Mexico at this time.
The Government has found it best to shut down the option of smoking because people are not responsible enough to make decisions that are good for the health. Appling that logic, the teleprompter needs to shut down the border between the United States and Mexico. As Spring starts and the migrant worker population increases in the Heartland, for the health of those in United States the teleprompter needs to close the border.
The United States does not need to isolate itself completely. What it does need to do is mitigate the opportunity of Swine Flu and the best way is to stop all transportation between the United States and Mexico. The President of Mexico has asked the United States to assist to stem the flow of automatic weapons going to Mexico Cartels. If it makes it easier to swallow, and then let the teleprompter say we are closing the borders to stem the flow of automatic weapons to Mexico.
So what you're saying is that we should cut off our legs to make sure we have a better chance that we won't get the disease... that and we'd have to stay in our own houses since the virus is already here... in Cold Spring, MN along with 100 or so other cases in 12 other states.
ReplyDeleteDo you know how much trade goes between the borders?
The following excerpt is taken from the Migration Policy Institute's website...
"The United States is the most important trading partner—both for imports and exports—for Mexico and Canada. Both Mexico and Canada send at least 85 percent of their exports to the United States. Both countries are also important trading partners for the United States. For instance, Canada is the top destination for US exports while Mexico is the third (World Trade Organization).
Mexico is the United States’ second largest trading partner after Canada, and Mexico-US trade reached $268 billion in 2004. Mexico-US trade has increased by over 165 percent since NAFTA. US exports to Mexico totaled $111 billion in 2004, while imports were $158 billion (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2005)."
By the way, the U.S. Government has not "shut down" smoking. It was state legislation that put restrictions on it. So maybe that logic could apply to state borders...
In regards to your leg analogy, if the disease is in the foot and is posing a risk to spread up the leg perhaps cutting off a portion of the leg (at the ankle) is an option to save the rest of the body. I understand the importance of Mexico and vice versa, but the President of Mexico is telling people to stay home, not go to soccer games, or school.
ReplyDeleteYes, the state legislatures have curtailed the free market by passing smoking bans. Had the national government done so, it would have caused a State Rights discussion. The application of logic was more about government overreaching. If states that have allowed the passing of smoking bans are okay with government overreaching then why not apply it to the Swine Flu situation.
By closing the borders, it will not stop the flow export/import completely. Companies that participate in trade still could fly product in and out. The pilot and small crew can be given masks, not the cloth kind, and checked routinely until the Swine Flu subsides. The transportation of people is the biggest risk to spreading the Swine Flu not the flow of goods.