Comments on: Tor-Buff-Chester, meet Schengen

By: Mike from Grand Island

Mike from Grand Island — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:57:12 +0000

It’s funny that B-Lo and Rocha “don’t trust each other” and Amherst doesn’t want light rail from Buffalo and we can’t have regionalized government but two old enemies like France and Germany can have no borders and high levels of integration.

We are not Buffalonians — we are Bosnians. This is a mental thing — Afraid of others.

By: dave in Rocha

dave in Rocha — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:08:07 +0000

A high-speed train linking TO-Buff-Rocha would make me as happy as a little girl. It’s too bad there’s a distrustful attitude between Buffalo and Rocha, let alone along the border.

By: Mike from Grand Island

Mike from Grand Island — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:55:24 +0000

Thanks Russ but the votes you talk about by the danes and dutch was for the EU constitution not about the borders per se. Apples and oranges (for c smith) but your point is well taken about recent xenophopic developments in the EU. Having given you your props let me say that America and Canada are no way near the level of integration seen in the EU. The EU has a common currency for goodness sake. I’m not saying the EU is a paradise either - there is subtle racism / classism there to. Anyplace with a monarchy (NL and DK) inherently is OK with some people being born better than others. My prior point above is that if France and Germany can have seamless borders after having faught the wars they have, not just last century but for millenia, than we are woefully falling behind. Moreover, the concept of a multilingual America is scary to most Americans - Dem and Rep. I gleen from your comment that integration is not just about borders — i agree w that too. But to say getting stopped for an hour at the border w the risk of getting your car torn apart is not a trade impediment is kind of silly. The guys who run the peace bridge will attest that cross border traffic should be way up given the exchange rate but isn’t — i was in the room when it was said. That my friend is a problem. Also, take a peak at UB geography’s website - they did a study of it and found that it has been negatively impacted. This isn’t WBEN — it’s the truth!

By: Russell

Russell — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:02:06 +0000

Everyone is moving towards less open borders. The trend in the 90s was for more open borders, but the trend for the past few years has been to constrict that a bit, even in the EU. Look at the border restrictions still in place for the newer members, for example. Also look at many failures to further integration of the Union, even among some of the staunchest supporters like Denmark and the Netherlands.

My point was and is that even while borders were opening further, even in this country, our region was not capitalizing on that. If we get to the root problems, we can better position ourselves. Bush and all those other things were not problems when the train left in the 90s so I don’t think it’s helping us much to say they’re the problems now.

By: Mike from Grand Island

Mike from Grand Island — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:35:06 +0000

The train is moving and we are standing on the platform Russ. The bar is being raised all the time [I need to add these to Chris Smith’s thread…]. The point is we are not even standing still while the world is moving - we are going backward to more parochialism and less open borders.

They were impediments before and they remain impediments today.

By: Russell

Russell — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:12:56 +0000

We weren’t capitalizing on this when the troops were home, before DHS existed, under the old passport requirements, or before Bush came to office so you really can’t say they are the impediments today.

By: Mike from Grand Island

Mike from Grand Island — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:24:03 +0000

Nice to see everyone playing in the economic geography sandbox.

It’s painful to me that the US and Canada can’t create a common Schengen type zone. How cool would it be if it were called the Buffalo zone in our case? I’ve often thought to myself how crazy is it that France and Germany have open borders but we have roadblocks w Canada. What the hell has happened to our country?

And I love the high speed train concept but I think we need to connect Toronto with a larger center of population gravity than just B-lo to pay for it. Boston or New York, TO, Detroit, Chicago makes sense to me in that regard. After 9/11 it became pretty clear that the country needed an alternative to air travel and so the exec administration and their congressional ditto-heads naturally announced funding cuts (if not the elimination) for amtrak.

By: Mike In WNY

Mike In WNY — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:42:08 +0000

N, Nafta is not free trade. Under NAFTA billions of dollars are given to Mexico to prop up the peso. U.S. government connected businesses have benefited at the expense of small and medium sized businesses. NAFTA was perpetuated on the U.S. citizens using the “Big Lie” theory and actually constitutes an increase in governmental power over trade.

By: N

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:23:02 +0000

There is free trade between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Just not freedom of movement or freedom of labor.

Also, Pundit, it’s important to note that non-EU citizens do not have to present passports when traveling between Schengen countries either. Once you get into one, there is freedom of movement between all.

By: Mike In WNY

Mike In WNY — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:08:10 +0000

Bring the trooops home, eliminate the DHS, role back the passport requirements and institute free-trade with Canada. Problem solved.