Government Shutdown: The Wall Now and Later
After 35 days of a closed federal government, the effects are being felt by all manner of the public. Over this shutdown period, many federally funded and controlled businesses were left without the required oversight and monetary budget.
For example, a member of my family, who is part of the U.S. Coast Guard, was left without a salary while out on patrol for this long length of time. She was required to take loans to continue paying for the apartment she needed to maintain as a residency.
Meanwhile, during this 35-day postponement of a debate over a budget increase, the overall cost of this productivity impediment was estimated to be $6 billion. This is $300 million higher than President Trump’s border wall proposition. The reason why the shutdown cost such an exorbitant amount of money is due to the 380,000 employees who have to be paid for this period in which no work was done, as well as the uncollected tax revenue of businesses.
Overall, if the democratic party were to concede to the construction of the border wall, this dispute would then have cost the American public over $11 billion. Meanwhile, it has been reported that a border wall of this magnitude will disrupt migration patterns of 1,506 animals and plants.
The stainless steel design proposed, according to National Geographic, can ignore all manner of environmental laws based on the REAL ID Act that allows Homeland Security to waive the requirement to follow other laws when an act is in the name of “national security.” In this butting of heads between the two political parties, each has thrown out the importance of a wall or lack thereof.
What should probably be clarified is that illegal migration across the border is at a low over the past 18 years according to the number of apprehensions registered along the border. Also, the majority of illegal immigrants are actually from those who remain after their visas expire. In a parting quote on the logic of this wall and the need for the shutdown, Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of Homeland Security, often said, “Show me a 50-foot wall and I will show you a 51-foot ladder.”
