Presidential Candidate Proposals - A Wish List

Tired of all the same bullshit lines from all the tired old faces in Mexican politics? I sure know I am. "Passion for Mexico" says Calderon. "Roberto Si Puede" says Madrazo. "I am not debating" says López Obrador. It's all the same tired BOshit (Chris Rock pronunciation) as always.

Here are some original ideas that would sway my vote (if I could vote, which I can't 'cuz I am a foreigner). These are concrete ideas that would make a difference to many people and help Mexico out of it's paternalistic 15th century mindset, and not be so much more BOshit.

1. Do away with some taxes. Any tax. Here's one idea - I humbly suggest eliminating the onerous tenencia tax. Tax for having a car. Would that the money be used for a purpose even remotely green in nature. I don't see it. This dumb-ass tax is like the income tax up north in that it started as a one-time thing. A 'temporary measure' to raise money for some Olympics. Well the 'temporary' has become permanent and the politicians must be licking their chops every year when the stupid populace says 'ni modo' and pays up.

2. This one is even better. The 'employment tax'. Here is the Mexican government - at all levels - bitching and moaning about employment, we need more employment, we need jobs, job creation, the private sector has a responsability to provide jobs etc. etc. We need foreign investors to come here and open factories and sweat shops and and and. Bla bla bla.

Then, when the jobs are created, the factories opened, the investor naively believing the fairy tales coming from the mouths of Mexican politicians, you get slapped with an employment tax.

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what the rate is in other states of the Mexican Republic, but in the Yucatan it is 2% of your payroll. In short, you the employer, are being punished for creating more jobs. Thank you for investing here and providing those jobs.... now pay me. Like the 'tenencia' tax, if this employment tax was put to provably good use, well great. But I don't see it. I don't think anyone else does either.

3. The last proposal for the presidential candidates for this particular emission also regards vehicles. The North American Free Trade Agreement opened the border up to imports of personal vehicles. For the first few years of this agreement, the vehicles had to be pickup trucks and OVER 10 YEARS OLD! To help the poor farmers you see. I still don't see any campesinos driving pickup trucks but there sure are a lot of them. So we now have all the old vehicles that in the US are no longer of any use. This policy, a true third world idea, promotes the use of inefficient vehicles and technology which help to destroy the Mexican environment. the message to the world is 'Poor us, we can only afford your first world shitty cast-offs.' Why don't they do this with clothing too? We could all dress in hand me down clothing from the richer nations!

The proposal is this: eliminate the vehicle tenencia tax on any new car featuring non-fossil fuel technology. That is, promote the import and purchase of vehicles that are environment-friendly thereby placing Mexico in the forefront of environmental conservation technology.

I have a few more proposals that I will throw out there in upcoming writings. Perhaps they will make sense to one or more candidates.