 November 6, 2012 - 5:49am | Government Done Right and in of all places, Mexico City? Now I'm sure there are still plenty of examples of corruption and bad government in Mexico to go around but this one thing deserves to be praised. A landfill the size of 450 football fields closed in Mexico city and rubbish started piling up around the city and yet the citizens of Mixico City had little motivation to recycle. So the government opened a market where they would take paper, glass, plastic and aluminum in exchange for tokens that could be exchanged for locally grown food. The locally grown food is grown in an area where they wanted to suppress illegal slum building and encouraging the farmers to farm. this does this. The program has 2 criticisms: 1: over half the people coming to it drive cars so some critics point out that its not as green as it should be- What? I hardly think the Mexican politicians really give a damn about global warming and all that but when the trash was piling up they had enough and decided to do something. Also people driving to get to this market of trash for vegatables is a sign that the program should be expanded 2. its run at a loss and the Mexican tax payer picks up the bill. True, between what the government gets for paper and glass manufacturers on the recycled materials and what it spends on over the market priced food it lossed 50,000 pesos/month which is approximately $4,000 dollars and changed. Really? a government looses $5,000 and someone wants to piss about it? America loose far more than that every second and politicians still get re-elected! (BTW go out and vote today). Seriously though here is a government program that does 5 good things and only costs $5,000/month A. local farmers are prospering and illegal slum building that would eat up the last vestiges of farm land around the city is halted. B. the rubbish problem in the capitol is being addressed C. poor people have more food and its not simply being given to them they are working for it by collecting trash. D. On some silly metaphysical level some one picking up a piece of trash in Mexico city is going to help global warming- I'm not sure how but thats one of the religious tenants of the new world religion worshiping the environment- I'm not a practioner of that religion so dont ask me to explain it I just recognize that it exist as a movement in our culture so point D here is or should be considered a good thing- personally I dont care. E. Jobs have been created All that and it only cost $5,000 /month, I'd say the Mixican people got good value for their money and that is not common in government run programs. Rather than pissing about how its not as green as it should be why dont one of these big ecology tree hugging groups offer to pick up the tab to expand this program for one year so that people aren't driving across country to get free food? How much would that cost? and would it not be money well spent to save the envrionment? Wont there be benefit for tourism if Mexico is no longer on the dirtiest city in world list? Personally I'd love to see a Mexico where the citizens are prospering and taking pride in their cities- I dont see how that could be a bad thing. I also think this could work elsewhere: What if it wasn't tokens for food? what if it was credits for money off your taxes? What if you brought all your mass transit bus and subway passes for a tax credit to prove you hadn't opperated an automobile? and if you brought your recyclables and the goverment made money on them and simply passed that money back to you in the form of a tax credit? Poor people could end up not even paying any tax for a change. Not a bad deal and I'm throwing out the trash anyway. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 6, 2012 - 3:16pm | If you consider the loss is only counted in running the place right now and not in the long term benefits of healthier diets for those eating there and a healthier environment with alot less trach and if this is a start for other programs similar to it like community composting and bringing in industry to use the recycle material thus creating local jobs this could really be the start of something. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 November 7, 2012 - 3:00pm | Wow Mexican politicians doing something right! I agree Jedi, this is a stepp in the right direction. And $5000 is a bargain. Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men. Edwin Louis Cole |
November 7, 2012 - 4:10pm | @Jacobsar- I still cant believe it myself but I read it in the Economist. But after growing up and hearing that old hoary chestnut about "You can go to Mexico but just dont drink the water." who'd have thunk I'd be buying and drinking bottled Mexican water all the time these days? Since cutting out all high frutose corn syrup which meant not more soda at the time I started drinking carbonatd water (now that some manufacturers has dumped that ingredient I just cant stomache soda anymore0- makes me feel lousy. the Problem I have is that lots of stores dont bother to stock carbonated water. Fortunately East Boston is 60% hispanic and every little Hispanic corner market stocks Jaritos brand "Minera Agua". So when I'm jonesing for something light and refreshing I'm usually lifting a bottle to Mexico of Minera Agua. which I totally find ironic. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
