It's completely reasonable to talk about refugees in terms of what they cost -- the number is important since it has to be accounted for in the budget planning

It's completely reasonable to talk about refugees in terms of what they cost -- the number is important since it has to be accounted for in the budget planning after all. When you've got a reasonable feel for how high that number is, it's worth putting it into the context of the general budget to determine whether it "stretches it" (again, whatever that means). I don't have either of those numbers for Denmark. What to do with either of them is a separate question, if the estimated cost (or its relation to the general budget) is so high that it warrants barring the entry to asylum seekers. This is obviously a difficult thing to judge, since it trades off economic policy against what is typically framed in terms of basic human rights. Thanks for staying cool. :) I do think it's possible to have a reasonable conversation about this, and you are right that it is often strange how different the conversation is even just across the border.