When asked about how a giant wall may affect the economy, a CNN reporter will most likely give an extensive, drawn out rant on how building a wall is "racist". At the same time, someone on FOX news might be squawking about how illegals should not be living in the United States.
These arguments, although sensible if presented with direction, are advertised in aimless ways and do not elaborate on the physical effects of a wall.
This is Trump's plan we are discussing. He is not stepping into the presidency not as a politician, but rather as a business tycoon. As a result, this leaves me to eminently believe he is simply not considering those less concrete factors. Think of him as someone who is willing to accomplish a task no matter what, like Shrek.
So, let us take a look at the raw details of building a wall.
Trump has estimated that the wall's cost will range from $15 billion to $25 billion. According to the plan, the wall will be paid for by Mexico. Some may call this extreme but as a savvy businessman, Trump knows ways to cover these expenses.
Journalist Katie Kieffer states that "every year, Mexicans working in the U.S. send at least $20 billion back to Mexico in the form of remittances, placing a huge drain on our economy. Through a combination of legal and procedural challenges, Trump could impound such remittances." This would cover the expense of the wall in a little over a year!
Many propose that a deportation of undocumented immigrants will leave a strain on the economy due to a sharp decrease in taxes being paid to the U.S. In reality, federal government data shows that "while roughly half of illegal immigrants file federal tax returns, the vast majority of them don’t pay any federal income taxes. Instead, they use these returns to claim refundable tax credits, which are a form of cash welfare. In other words, illegal immigrants mainly use the federal income tax code to collect money from U.S. citizens."
Not only that but approximately $67 billion dollars are spent on welfare, food assistance programs, Medicaid, and education alone for just illegal immigrants and "anchor babies".
Whether or not the wall will prevail is debatable. Assuming it will work, the question we must ask ourselves is "does the gain outweigh the cost?" The answer is yes. America gives more than it gets from those who come live here against the law. It is time to stop harboring criminals and start allowing those who wish to improve their lives as well as our economy across our boarders legally.
Sources:
www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.htm
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
http://tinyurl.com/zob77
http://transcripts.cnn.com
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