Reply #5: NAFTA allowed cheap (and sometimes subsidized) U.S. corn to be sold in Mexico. [View All]

[amandabeech]

That broke the back of Mexican farmers. Some came here and some took the former U.S. jobs that went to Mexico for the cheap labor.

The jobs that went to Mexico after NAFTA continue to break the back of of American workers and their families.

Prices for grain, particular corn, have been high for several years. There really isn't much stored corn or wheat lying around anywhere anymore. Part of the problem is the 50%+ of U.S. corn fields planted to varieties suitable for making ethanol.

The other parts of the problem, and this is moreso for wheat, are that population continues to increase and farmland is not, some countries, like China and India, have more people who can afford to spend more money on food, especially on meat which is often fed with corn, and bad weather in many countries like Australia, Canada and northern China.

Because world corn prices are so high and corn is a big crop in Mexico, I wondered if Mexican farmers would be able to go home and make a go of farming again. I'm glad that they can return home.

Now if some of those manufacturing jobs would move back to the U.S. . . .