American taxpayer is the Forgotten Man in the Border Wall Debate

The US government shutdown over the budget impasse involving the border wall went into effect on December 22, 2018. 420,000 federal employees working in agencies categorized as “essential” will show up to work but will not get paid immediately (they will receive back pay once the government shutdown ends). Another 380,000 federal employees working in “non-essential” agencies will be furloughed during the shutdown and will likely receive back pay once the shutdown ends.

The US annual budget is roughly $4 trillion. The total cost of the wall is estimated at $16 billion or 0.4% of the overall budget. The President is asking for $5 billion, or .125%, during this fiscal year. Put in perspective, the funding request is infinitesimally small. It is clear this has nothing to do with money. The Democrats want an open border where anyone can enter America on demand. Republicans want immigration to be legal, limited and based on America’s needs: Someone illegally running across the border should not have precedence over a Doctorate from Nigeria waiting in line for a visa. The Democrats have come up with a plethora of excuses including claims the border wall will not work. It is interesting how the same crowd that claims to have the ability to lower the temperature of the planet does not believe we have the ability to build a wall that will prevent illegals from entering the country.

Border control has been willfully neglected by both parties. Back in 1986, the US granted blanket amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants. The bill contained, and was supposed to enforce, strict border controls and stiff sanctions of employers who hired illegal immigrants. Once amnesty was granted, the border controls and employer sanctions never happened. Fooled once, Republicans have no desire to play this game again. While President Trump has agreed in principle to grant amnesty to 1.8 million of today’s illegals, such amnesty cannot happen without a border wall that ensures illegal immigration will not continue ad infinitum. What the Democrats want, is not just amnesty for today’s illegals but an open border with unfettered access for anyone who chooses to walk across our southern border well into the future. In shutting the government down by denying the border wall, Crying Chuck (who didn’t shed a tear on 9/11 when thousands of Americans died but was ”emotionally overcome” over a temporary travel ban on foreigners) and Speaker Pelosi have placed the interests of illegal aliens over that of federal workers and Americans availing themselves of federal services.

One final point: Back in 1876, Yale professor William Graham Sumner coined the phrase The Forgotten Man. Sumner refers to “C” as the forgotten man who is forced to subsidize the man at the economic bottom “X”, because “A” and “B” felt a moral obligation to “X”. In today’s context, the American taxpayer (“C”) is forced to subsidize illegals (“X”) because Crying Chuck (“A”) and Speaker Pelosi (“B”) feel a moral obligation to those illegals. Crying Chuck and Speaker Pelosi have a greater obligation to Americans who they represent than to illegals from other countries. If they find that their calling is to represent illegals, they should work for the United Nations. Of course, there is always the option of adopting (or sponsoring) children from south of the border. Preaching morality is easy when the American taxpayer is forced to foot the bill.