re: #60 EmmmieG

Could someone please explain to me what the difference between Mexico and the US is that the disparity should be so huge?

It’s not genetic. The richest man in the world is a Mexican.

It’s not environmental. Southern California is a mess, but not poor, and Arizona is doing just fine.

It’s not like Mexicans aren’t hard workers or don’t want jobs.

So what is it?

I have heard it described in terms of their colonial heritage: Spain was just into exploiting its colonies for maximal gain, Britain was into building stable, enduring outposts.

Another clarification came from a Mexican-American colleague of mine who joked, “It’s bad enough you Gringos stole half our country in 1848. But you had to take the half with all the paved roads!”