For almost a century, the Rio Grande Valley was one of the most economically depressed places in America. A lot of coverage about Appalachia and the Midwest's economic woes have perhaps made us forget, if we ever knew to begin with, that unemployment routinely reached as high as 20% in the border region. That began to change with NAFTA. I'm sympathetic to the concerns of labor and I consider myself a pro-union progressive, but we have to recognize the benefits of trade. We can't actually produce everything we need or want here in the United States. We'll always need trade to really prosper. A growing Mexican economy is good for us. For too long, we've dismissed our southern neighbor as hopelessly corrupt and poor. We need to view Mexico as a partner in trade and global affairs.

For almost a century, the Rio Grande Valley was one of the most economically depressed places in America. A lot of coverage about Appalachia and the Midwest's economic woes have perhaps made us forget, if we ever knew to begin with, that unemployment routinely reached as high as 20% in the border region. That began to change with NAFTA. I'm sympathetic to the concerns of labor and I consider myself a pro-union progressive, but we have to recognize the benefits of trade. We can't actually produce everything we need or want here in the United States. We'll always need trade to really prosper. A growing Mexican economy is good for us. For too long, we've dismissed our southern neighbor as hopelessly corrupt and poor. We need to view Mexico as a partner in trade and global affairs.

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