Monday, February 25, 2019
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Trump’s Wall: $25 Billion. Illegal Aliens: $165 Billion. DO THE MATH
National Economics Editorial ^ | Feb 10, 2019 | Spencer P Morrison
To begin with: how much will Trump’s wall cost to build?
In her informative piece, statistician Liberty Vittert estimates that Trump’s wall will cost some $25 billion to build. Vittert breaks her estimate down as follows:
Size of the wall: 1,150 miles long; 40 feet high; 10 feet deep into the ground; 1 foot wide
Total volume of material: 11.2 million cubic yards
Materials: Approximately $8.7 billion in concrete (97 percent of the materials); approximately $3.6 billion in steel (3 percent of the materials)
Labor: Approximately $12.3 billion (given the labor costs on the original 654 miles of barriers we can assume a conservative 1:1 ratio of materials to labor)
Land acquisition: About 60 percent of the border is privately owned land. While the federal government has the power to take privately owned property for public purposes, it must provide “just compensation.” Based on previous purchases from the 2006-2009 wall construction, the cost at most would be $300,000 per mile acquired, or approximately $200 million altogether.
In total, the actual physical cost of the wall would be about $25 billion...
Illegal aliens cause economic harm to Americans because they consume far more in government services than they contribute in taxes. We make: they take.
According to a 2017 report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), illegal aliens and their children cost American taxpayers $135 billion annually—$8,075 per alien per year. These costs are partially offset by taxes collected from illegal aliens, which total around $19 billion. Thus, the net cost of illegal immigrants to American taxpayers is $116 billion annually...
America could build a highly-effective border wall for some $25 billion. Meanwhile, illegal aliens cost Americans $165 billion worth of taxes and remittances every year. Do the math.
To begin with: how much will Trump’s wall cost to build?
In her informative piece, statistician Liberty Vittert estimates that Trump’s wall will cost some $25 billion to build. Vittert breaks her estimate down as follows:
Size of the wall: 1,150 miles long; 40 feet high; 10 feet deep into the ground; 1 foot wide
Total volume of material: 11.2 million cubic yards
Materials: Approximately $8.7 billion in concrete (97 percent of the materials); approximately $3.6 billion in steel (3 percent of the materials)
Labor: Approximately $12.3 billion (given the labor costs on the original 654 miles of barriers we can assume a conservative 1:1 ratio of materials to labor)
Land acquisition: About 60 percent of the border is privately owned land. While the federal government has the power to take privately owned property for public purposes, it must provide “just compensation.” Based on previous purchases from the 2006-2009 wall construction, the cost at most would be $300,000 per mile acquired, or approximately $200 million altogether.
In total, the actual physical cost of the wall would be about $25 billion...
Illegal aliens cause economic harm to Americans because they consume far more in government services than they contribute in taxes. We make: they take.
According to a 2017 report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), illegal aliens and their children cost American taxpayers $135 billion annually—$8,075 per alien per year. These costs are partially offset by taxes collected from illegal aliens, which total around $19 billion. Thus, the net cost of illegal immigrants to American taxpayers is $116 billion annually...
America could build a highly-effective border wall for some $25 billion. Meanwhile, illegal aliens cost Americans $165 billion worth of taxes and remittances every year. Do the math.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Chicago Dem (AOC buddy) Wants Socialism to Have ‘Control of Every Single Facet of Our Life’
Washington Free Beacon ^ | 2/23/19 | Nic Rowan
Ugo Okere, a Democratic candidate for Chicago city council, said Thursday he believes democratic socialism should have total control over how people live!
In a Thursday interview with the left-wing Jacobin, Okere was asked to define democratic socialism, and he gave a remarkably expansive answer.
"Democratic socialism, to me, is about democratic control of every single facet of our life," he said. "Government is led by the people, not by big corporations, not by multibillionaires, and working people actually have control over who we elect to be our politicians, over how elections work, and over how our government is structured. People have the power."
Okere went on to say he believes socialism should guide a society's entire course, not just its political structures:
Democratic socialism even extends to our relationships and how we treat each other. [It looks] at the world through a socialist-feminist lens, in how we treat people who are black, who are brown, who are femme, who are non-binary, who are gender-nonconforming, and who are working class.
To me, we’ll have achieved democratic socialism not when there is no conflict in the world, but when our societies are not governed based on power, but are governed based on the mutual understanding that everybody deserves a decent and quality life.
This socialist vision of society seeks to overturn the existing order and should not be confused with the mainstream progressive left, Okere explained.
"One part of the Left wants to reform the existing society that we have now. They want to make changes that will make life easier, that will make life not so bad," he said. "But there’s another side of the Left that wants to radically transform the way the world works — not simply say that we can make some changes here and there and that things will be alright."
Okere has received the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, which backs such progressive leaders as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). He faces incumbent Alderman Patrick O’Connor, who has been in office since 1983, as well as three other candidates. Although it's a tough race, Okere said he's happy enough just to be spreading socialist ideology.
"This campaign is literally making socialists, and I’m proud of that," he said.
Ugo Okere, a Democratic candidate for Chicago city council, said Thursday he believes democratic socialism should have total control over how people live!
In a Thursday interview with the left-wing Jacobin, Okere was asked to define democratic socialism, and he gave a remarkably expansive answer.
"Democratic socialism, to me, is about democratic control of every single facet of our life," he said. "Government is led by the people, not by big corporations, not by multibillionaires, and working people actually have control over who we elect to be our politicians, over how elections work, and over how our government is structured. People have the power."
Okere went on to say he believes socialism should guide a society's entire course, not just its political structures:
Democratic socialism even extends to our relationships and how we treat each other. [It looks] at the world through a socialist-feminist lens, in how we treat people who are black, who are brown, who are femme, who are non-binary, who are gender-nonconforming, and who are working class.
To me, we’ll have achieved democratic socialism not when there is no conflict in the world, but when our societies are not governed based on power, but are governed based on the mutual understanding that everybody deserves a decent and quality life.
This socialist vision of society seeks to overturn the existing order and should not be confused with the mainstream progressive left, Okere explained.
"One part of the Left wants to reform the existing society that we have now. They want to make changes that will make life easier, that will make life not so bad," he said. "But there’s another side of the Left that wants to radically transform the way the world works — not simply say that we can make some changes here and there and that things will be alright."
Okere has received the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, which backs such progressive leaders as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). He faces incumbent Alderman Patrick O’Connor, who has been in office since 1983, as well as three other candidates. Although it's a tough race, Okere said he's happy enough just to be spreading socialist ideology.
"This campaign is literally making socialists, and I’m proud of that," he said.
Friday, February 22, 2019
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