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This falls prey to the same fallacious thinking as gambling with the house's money. Assuming we can extort billions of dollars from Mexico, that's money we coul

This falls prey to the same fallacious thinking as gambling with the house's money. Assuming we can extort billions of dollars from Mexico, that's money we could be spending on anything – why is a wall the best use for it? And if a wall is the best use for it, the government should be prepared to build it with our own tax dollars, regardless of whether we extort money from Mexico.

jjawssd 10y ago
I believe the idea is that illegal immigrants are causing more than that amount in harm to our society, i.e. through free healthcare
- bjacokes 10y ago
  Maybe this is a better way to look at it. Candidate: "We're going to build a wall between us and Mexico. It'll cost us $7 billion." Electorate: "Umm. That's a lot of money. Let's do something else with it." If that's how people would react, they should react the same way even if we're getting the money from Mexico. Money is fungible, and as much as our hearts enjoy poetic justice, it shouldn't matter where it's coming from. There are a couple of situations where we would still want it built, even if its cost exceeded what we were willing to pay ourselves. One is if this is a cooperative, non-zero-sum situation: if Mexico were getting some value from the wall, they might be willing to pay some of the cost, beyond what we can extract via tariffs and seized remittances. The other is if Mexico is terrible at negotiations, which is likely what Trump is assuming.
- stouset 10y ago
  And this idea is painfully ignorant of the simple fact that illegal immigrants pay taxes just like everyone else.
  - theparanoid 10y ago
    Lower income people's taxes don't offset their use of government services. The break even point is around 60k.
    - stouset 10y ago
      Then your problem is apparently with lower income people in general.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Illegal immigrants get free healthcare?
  - jjawssd 10y ago
    Hop the border, call 911. They have to pick you up and treat you. No SIM required for 911.

jjawssd 10y ago

I believe the idea is that illegal immigrants are causing more than that amount in harm to our society, i.e. through free healthcare

bjacokes 10y ago
Maybe this is a better way to look at it. Candidate: "We're going to build a wall between us and Mexico. It'll cost us $7 billion." Electorate: "Umm. That's a lot of money. Let's do something else with it." If that's how people would react, they should react the same way even if we're getting the money from Mexico. Money is fungible, and as much as our hearts enjoy poetic justice, it shouldn't matter where it's coming from. There are a couple of situations where we would still want it built, even if its cost exceeded what we were willing to pay ourselves. One is if this is a cooperative, non-zero-sum situation: if Mexico were getting some value from the wall, they might be willing to pay some of the cost, beyond what we can extract via tariffs and seized remittances. The other is if Mexico is terrible at negotiations, which is likely what Trump is assuming.
stouset 10y ago
And this idea is painfully ignorant of the simple fact that illegal immigrants pay taxes just like everyone else.
- theparanoid 10y ago
  Lower income people's taxes don't offset their use of government services. The break even point is around 60k.
  - stouset 10y ago
    Then your problem is apparently with lower income people in general.
nommm-nommm 10y ago
Illegal immigrants get free healthcare?
- jjawssd 10y ago
  Hop the border, call 911. They have to pick you up and treat you. No SIM required for 911.