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That damn wall
Dec. 13th, 2018 02:09 pmOK. I've raised this point before, but my thinking has evolved.
First of all, I believe that, whether it would work or not (it wouldn't), having the government build a wall across the southern border of the US is un-American.
What would be an American way to do this?
1) Let the advertising sector do it. Have companies bid on the advertising space, with higher prices for those areas nearer higher population areas. As a bonus, let companies advertise on the Mexican side too so, via the world economic, Mexico *can* pay for the wall.
2) Let the private sector do it. Require all land-owners who own border land to build their own piece of the wall. Give them a special interest tax break to "lower the burden". Let private wall-building companies advertise their services and, the next year, let the plethora of wall-maintenance companies appear. (Most of them staffed by labour from Mexico, since it's, like, right there.)
3) Auction off the land with the provision that the big companies that get the deals have to build and maintain the walls. Let the special interest groups fight over who gets which regions. Let "wall swaps" become a thing so asset management can further reduce an already-at-zero tax "burden" on the megacorps.
4) Let trash companies buy leases to bury our (truly astonishing amount of) waste along the border. They have to build walls anyway, lest anyone sneak in and steal their precious precious garbage.
5) Have silicon valley build virtual wall technology, so no one with a smartphone can get through it. Since everyone in the world can afford modern technology and is never without it, it should work fine. Should only take five unpaid interns, really.
Any of these methods would result in a badly-built and poorly-maintained wall-like structure that sort of stretches across the space, but that would have enough gaps to not get in the way of the animal migrations ... and it would be more effective than the current approach. We'd get to maintain our national identity (such as it is), we wouldn't have to raise taxes, and everyone can walk away saying "yep, we sure did a thing". It's win/win.
First of all, I believe that, whether it would work or not (it wouldn't), having the government build a wall across the southern border of the US is un-American.
What would be an American way to do this?
1) Let the advertising sector do it. Have companies bid on the advertising space, with higher prices for those areas nearer higher population areas. As a bonus, let companies advertise on the Mexican side too so, via the world economic, Mexico *can* pay for the wall.
2) Let the private sector do it. Require all land-owners who own border land to build their own piece of the wall. Give them a special interest tax break to "lower the burden". Let private wall-building companies advertise their services and, the next year, let the plethora of wall-maintenance companies appear. (Most of them staffed by labour from Mexico, since it's, like, right there.)
3) Auction off the land with the provision that the big companies that get the deals have to build and maintain the walls. Let the special interest groups fight over who gets which regions. Let "wall swaps" become a thing so asset management can further reduce an already-at-zero tax "burden" on the megacorps.
4) Let trash companies buy leases to bury our (truly astonishing amount of) waste along the border. They have to build walls anyway, lest anyone sneak in and steal their precious precious garbage.
5) Have silicon valley build virtual wall technology, so no one with a smartphone can get through it. Since everyone in the world can afford modern technology and is never without it, it should work fine. Should only take five unpaid interns, really.
Any of these methods would result in a badly-built and poorly-maintained wall-like structure that sort of stretches across the space, but that would have enough gaps to not get in the way of the animal migrations ... and it would be more effective than the current approach. We'd get to maintain our national identity (such as it is), we wouldn't have to raise taxes, and everyone can walk away saying "yep, we sure did a thing". It's win/win.
