Donald Gets Going on the Wall: Repurcussions
The clock has turned full circle and a man which the 4th estate detested and many even in the GOP led by Mitt Romney abhorred has won. The result? He is the president of the United States. Here was a man a year back dismissed sometimes as a clown for stating things that looked unbelievable, knocking out all his opponents with a blow. All through the election campaign, Donaald railed against migrants, he was against illegal migrants and most came from Mexico and the war-torn nations of the Middle East. His solution was also simple. Rather too simple and his opponents talked that it was "unreal".
The Wall
Donald proposed the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico to stop the Mexican people from entering the USA. There is no doubt that this migration is a big problem in the southern states which border Mexico. The reason is simple. The economic conditions of Mexico with many people being destitute and a prey to poverty looked for a brighter future just across the border into the USA. So many people flooded into the USA and at a conservative estimate, there are 8-10 million illegal migrants from Mexico in the USA. That's a huge number weighs down the economy and creates fewer opportunities for the genuine American citizen as the migrants work cheaper and take away jobs.
Donald had a simple solution. He proposed the construction of a wall with a beautiful door to allow in "good" Mexicans while keeping out the lumpen elements. Donald also claimed that Hispanic are responsible for most crimes of murder, rape, and homicide. He proposed a wall and this struck a chord with the people of the Southern states. Maybe, it was rhetoric but sometimes a man gets carried away by his own rhetoric which becomes logic. So Donald convinced himself and people believed him that a wall is the only solution to stop the illegal immigrants from entering the USA.
Cost
Nobody really thought about the cost of the wall and the practicability of its construction. Now the border between Mexico and the USA is close to 2000 km. It touches 4 states and is a border replete with hills, jungles, and ravines. Constructing a wall could cost the exchequer $ 25-30 billion. That's a lot of money for an economy which has a $ 3 trillion deficit. Donald sidestepped this issue by stating again and again that he would make Mexico pay for the wall. The Mexican president clearly stated that Mexico would not pay for the wall and the matter was back to square one.
Now that Donald is president he has acted on one of his poll promise with a vengeance. In one of his first executive orders, he has signed for construction of a wall. Signing for this was the easier part but getting money say $25 billion is the difficult part. Trump will have to take Congressional approval for the same. He has said he will ask Mexico to pay for the wall by indirect taxes and tariffs.
This again is easier said than done as Mexico is incensed and the first repercussion is that the scheduled visit of the Mexican president has been called off. Donald, of course, is unfazed and not really bothered. He has a one track mind and goes after his promise with a hammer. The people of the border states are happy and that is what really matters. Mexico is damned!
He has also said that NAFTA will be re-negotiated and one can see that he is going to turn the world upside down. It could lead to an antagonstic Mexico, but Trump is not the man to bother about such trivalities.
Last Word
History records that the Berlin wall which was 96km in length lasted just 3 decades and collapsed under its own weight. Considering that this wall is over 1800km long one wonders what is the feasibility of its permanence. The wall will take years and Donald can rest that while he talks the end result is not going to happen soon. Maybe that is the saving grace of this wall. Which may end up just as a rhetoric to please the people of the border state.
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