>It will truly be interesting when Americans and Canadians start traveling to India for medical care...
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>I've heard some espouse a NAFTA agreement that would require a world-wide minimum wage (it would supposedly be set by cost-of-living per country so the amount would be different in every country) signed by all NAFTA participants. Interesting what the effect of that would be! Many corporations shifted overseas to other countries also simply because those countries have national healthcare so the corporation doesn't have to bear the cost as they do here. Not to mention the lack of healthy work environment regulations in all countries. There are many reasons for the shift but the effect is clear regardless.
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Tracy;

Many Americans go to Mexico for medical care.

My first job was in 1958. Medical, dental, vision, etc. benifits were unheard of. Union shops began an effort during the mid 1960's to include "medical benifits".

Our new governor wants to make us more competitive in the market place. He wants to “reform” workman’s compensation. He will also have to eliminate all medical benefits, retirement, reduce business taxes, the cost of electricity, leasing, and wages. We have to be competitive with Mexico. Five dollars a day should be a good wage to pay employees in California. Then we will have many jobs. With $3600 a month mortgages for 50 year old 3 bedroom fixer upper homes that may be a problem.

By the way our company is shipping some of its Tacoma truck manufacturing to Mexico. We were the only manufacturer of that vehicle. We are being told “we are not competitive with Mexico”. Really? However, we made a good profit last year. A greater profit is what all companies demand. A little is good and a lot is better. Some how I feel that we will not be here much longer. We were the first Japanese company to set up car manufacturing in the United States. It costs too much to do business in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Perhaps we should go back to agriculture in Silicon Valley.

Tom