Let me
be clear. The proposed border wall* is a monumental waste of money and will do
little if anything to stop illegal immigration. (According to some sources, at
least 25-30% of illegal immigrants come in by plane and then overstay their
visas; no wall will change that, although cheaper solutions for that problem
actually do exist.) Instead it will be a monument to a narcissist's ego, so it
does have that going for it.
You
think I’m being sarcastic. Well, it is my nature, but in this case that’s
only a small part of the picture.
Our
government wastes money by the barrel, although you and I may disagree on what
actually constitutes some of that waste. In the big scheme of things, a $25
billion wall is a relatively small output for what I expect we would get in
return.
Wait,
what? I just said it’s a monumental waste of money and won’t work. No, that’s
not a Trumpian Truth (convenient shift of position). Because there are, in fact, benefits
to building the stupid thing, just not its intended one. Incidentally, the
money won’t be spent either up front or all at once, so it is quite possible
the waste will actually be less than that. The wall will take years to build
and construction probably won’t begin until 2019 at the earliest. Assuming we
elect someone competent in 2020, such a project can stop faster than it
started.
Much of
the expenditure for this vanity project will go to pay workers (at least some
of whom, I’m willing to bet, will be immigrants, dreamers, and even
undocumented aliens). So that money feeds the local economy.
Political
pressure will almost certainly require the actual wall components, unlike most
other Trump brand merchandise, to be made in this country, using domestic
materials and suppliers, again fueling our economy.
Again, I’m
not in any way suggesting the wall is the most, or even a, critical
infrastructure need, but from a “trickle down” perspective it will serve the
same purpose, creating jobs.
I’m a pragmatist.
I do not think our immigration “problem” is the most pressing thing on our
plate, certainly not in my neck of the woods. Its costs and alleged dangers are
overblown and exaggerated, using isolated anecdotes, rather than research, to
make things seem far worse than they are. But perception trumps reality, and
this seems to be a front and center issue for the president and the trumpet
section, one that is getting in the way of finding solutions to real (more
important, IMO) problems, including a shortage of workers in jobs filled by immigrants on temporary work visas (that Americans will not take).
“….If
we don’t truly secure our borders, you can say goodbye to our
country.
[Senator
Schumer] needs to understand that this isn’t just my demand. These are the
non-negotiable demands of the American people!” (victory.donaldtrump.com)
Now I
don’t trust either President Trump or Senator McConnell to actually KEEP their
promises (both have demonstrated a complete lack of trustworthiness), but if the
stupid wall is TRULY the obstacle to solving that mythical problem, it’s time
to call the bluff, move on, and take this stupid idea off the table. Sometimes,
as all parents know (to our chagrin), you give the toddler the damn piece of
candy so you can get him in the carseat and move on down the road.**
* You
might read The House of the Scorpion (2004) for an
interesting take on a dystopian future prominently featuring a wall between
Mexico and the U.S.
** Yes,
I am aware of the dangers of such a strategy when the toddler is already a
spoiled tantrum-throwing brat, that you are reinforcing that kind of behavior, but I’m
pretty sure that ship has already sailed in this case.
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