Trump's Wall

President Trump proposed a 20 percent tariff on imports from Mexico in order to pay for the wall he plans to build on the southern border. It is assumed that the 20 percent tariff is a negotiating starting point. A tariff is a tax on imports which will make a product more expensive and favor domestically produced goods over imports, while raising revenue for the government of our country.

Tariffs were a major government revenue source during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but today we are a low tariff country, with a few exceptions. Other countries protect their domestic industries by charging heavy tariffs and some as much as 100 percent.

A tariff helps those companies and countries that can supply goods most cheaply, presumably because they are more efficient, but some governments provide their companies with export subsidies in order to allow them to reduce the selling price of their goods on foreign markets.

Dan Lombard argued that “a 3% transit tax over three years would pay for a wall.” Infuriated by the economically illiterate commentators who claim that the tariff would be passed on entirely to the consumer, Lombard said that a $700 washing machine crosses the border with a price tag of $400, but time transit charges, warehousing expenses, sales commissions, overhead markup, and profit are added onto the $400 price, pricing the washer at $700 but the tariff is applied onto the $400 price tag. Customers will pay a certain amount more for that brand produced in Mexico but the company that makes the washing machine “will absorb the cost as the price of doing business.”

What exactly does Mexico export to us? http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-does-the-u-s-import-from-mexico-a-whole-lot/

According to government trade data, Mexico exported $295 billion worth of goods to the U.S. in 2015: autos (74 billion), electrical machinery (63 billion), machinery (49 billion), agricultural products (21 billion), fuels (14 billion), plastics (17 billion), optical and medical instruments (12 billion).  In the agricultural products category Mexico exported to the U.S. corn, soybeans, dairy products, pork and pork products, beef and beef products.  https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/mexico

On January 27, 2017, President Trump tweeted that “Mexico has taken advantage of the U.S. for long enough. Massive trade deficits and little help on the very weak border must change, NOW!”

A trade deficit with Mexico is the excess of our imports over exports. U.S. goods trade deficit with Mexico was $58 billion in 2015 and U.S. services trade surplus with Mexico in 2015 was $9.2 billion. Mexico was the third largest supplier of goods to the U.S. in 2014 and supplied services in transportation, travel, and intellectual property (software). https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/mexico

U.S. foreign investment in Mexico totaled $107.8 billion in 2014 by nonbank holding companies, manufacturing, and finance/insurance.

Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert told Fox News that billions of dollars had been appropriated for a virtual wall on the southern border during the Bush administration but Janet Napolitano disregarded Congress and “we let her get away with disobeying the law.”  http://investmentwatchblog.com/funds-already-appropriated-for-wall-its-going-to-happen/

According to the Daily Caller, “The transition team is planning big spending negotiations with Congress, which will include money for the wall.” President Trump “plans to make Mexico pay for the wall directly or indirectly by increasing fees on visas and border crossing cards, enforcing trade tariffs and taxing money transfers abroad.” The pre-cast concrete wall will be 35-50 feet tall, costing an estimated $8-$12 billion. Of the 2,000 mile border with Mexico, 650 miles are already fenced and illegals have no problem climbing the existing barrier. http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/10/trumps-plan-for-the-wall-on-the-mexican-border-materializes/

It is obvious to any traveler that Mexico must repair their own country and must stop using the United States as their social security blanket at the expense of American taxpayers. Drug cartels operate across the border back and forth unimpeded, and illegals send home billions of dollars of untaxed money to Mexico.

As many have suggested, a tax should be levied on money wired to Mexico via Western Union, Money Gram, etc. On the average, money wires are only charged a service fee of $10.99 to transfer a few hundred dollars.

Most illegals, who do work hard and long hours, request to be paid in cash which means that they evade paying state and federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, etc.  At the same time, they benefit from our free medical care and other forms of welfare. As they consume goods and services in this country, they do pay sales taxes.

Some Illegals pay tax via ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) also known as W7. The earned income tax credit they receive based on reported income on W7 is far greater than the actual state and federal taxes they pay. Some even claim children who are not even theirs or do not reside in the United States. Tax refunds amount to $4.2 billion according to a 2011 audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/08/20/trump-bashes-4-billion-in-irs-refunds-to-illegals/#4945c4de7025

Let’s assume that the 11 million illegal aliens that apparently have not grown in numbers in 20 years since the MSM has championed their cause, send home south of the border $1,000 per month, a sum total of one billion untaxed income earned while illegally in the U.S., a cool $12 billion a year. Some may send less, some may send more. To save money, several illegals rent one apartment and use one common van as transportation. The money sent to Mexico support their families left behind for years and helps them save for building a nice home.

Michael Savage made the argument on his radio show that you cannot and should not deport law-abiding illegals (although when they cross the border of another country illegally, technically they are not law-abiding), that only criminal illegal aliens should be deported. Quoting data from the Government Accountability Office, 25 percent of the prison population is made up of illegal aliens and “criminal illegal aliens are arrested on the average 7 times.” https://www.numbersusa.org/pages/incarcerated-illegal-aliens-0

One of the reasons Savage cited for not deporting “law-abiding” illegals was that many work diligently and very hard in construction and in restaurants. “Who is going to wash the dishes,” he asked rhetorically. “And who is going to pick the crops? You?” This argument is weak as humans no longer need to pick crops, there are machines that can pick any kind of crop – back-breaking manual labor is no longer necessary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VKBb9MmJc

The assumption is also made that millions of low-skilled Americans who are unemployed are either too educated for the job, lazy, or are unwilling to work in the restaurant business or construction industry.

But, for every illegal alien who is gainfully employed, if they are not here alone, he has a wife and children at home who are dependent on Medicaid and some or all of the thirteen U.S. Welfare Programs, costing American taxpayers plenty. And anchor babies make their parents eligible to stay in the U.S. and eventually the extended family.

The welfare programs include: http://federalsafetynet.com/us-welfare-programs.html

-          Negative income Tax (Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC, and the Child Tax Credit)

-          SNAP (food program, formerly food stamps, but is now a debit card which is often abused)

-          Housing assistance

-          SSI (cash to low-income individuals)

-          Pell Grants (up to $5,500 in grants to students from low-income households)

-          TANF (cash for individuals moving from welfare to work)

-          Child nutrition

-          Head Start (pre-school program to low-income families)

-          Job training programs

-          WIC (healthy food to pregnant women and children up to five years of age)

-          Child care (block grants to states and private agencies who administer child care programs to low-income families)

-          LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for heating and cooling)

-          Lifeline (Obama Phone) – discounted phone service to low-income individuals.

Savage argued that Americans must tread lightly in withdrawing these benefits to Mexicans as it would destabilize their economy and would create a vacuum of financial support of the population, leaving it open perhaps to a country like China to become the Big Brother provider which might not be in the best interest of the United States.

Even though Democrats and their leftist cohorts are lobbying against the southern border wall, and shrieking that it cannot be built, that it is inhumane, that it is being escalated anyway, that it would take a long time to build, and states like Texas, California, and New Mexico are rightfully Mexico’s anyway, they build tall security armed fences around their mansions and properties. The wall worked for China and it works for Israel. A former Mexican president even went as far as saying that Mexico is wherever there are Mexicans. However, if anyone crosses their borders illegally, they go straight to jail.

Only in America, How Wise an Immigrant

As a legal immigrant, I came to America because it was “the shiny city on the hill” where everything was possible if you were willing to work hard because everyone had the freedom and equal opportunity to succeed.

I came to America because I wanted to pursue higher education, something that was very limited under communism as the children of the communist party elite had first choice at any college no matter how bad their grades were. I did not want to wait until I was 60 years old and had the approval of the communist party to pursue a doctoral degree.

I came to America because I wanted a better life for myself and my children. I did not want to toil day and night under the watchful eye of the totalitarian government who decided how much our labor was worth and how much we were allowed to eat, where to travel, or live.

We knew there was a better place to live, a place called capitalism, a place called America, where they had freedom of speech and assembly. I knew there was a better life under capitalism where everybody had the opportunity to create wealth if they “served their fellow man” with needed products and services. I also knew that equal results were not guaranteed, only equal opportunity.  

I did not want to live any longer under the failed socialist economy and the failed communist utopian ideology where wealth was stolen, property plundered, and the workers, “lovingly” called the proletariat, were enslaved with the false promise that the government will take care of them if they relinquished their most cherished possession – their freedom.

I wanted to own a home, no matter how small and I did not want it indebted to the government. I wanted proper medical care and medicine when needed for which I fully expected to pay. I did not feel entitled to anybody’s wealth that I had nothing to do with creating.

I wanted freedom to exercise my faith if I so chose and be able to own or read a Bible. I wanted my children to learn historical truth, not revisionist communist indoctrination. I also did not want to yield to other religions imposed by the government whether be the worship of Gaia, atheism, environmentalism, or Islam.

I did not want free housing, free medical care, free child care, free cell phones, free education, and I certainly did not want to be indebted for generations to the federal government for my family’s well-being. I did not want welfare and I expected to have as many children as I could afford to bring into this world, raise, support financially, and educate without the government’s interference. I certainly did not expect political correctness to stifle my freedom of speech.

I came to America to escape having to march in May 1 (May Day) forced parades paying homage to the grand communist party. Yet now our President has proclaimed May Day “Loyalty Day,” to “reaffirm our allegiance to the United States of America, our Constitution, and our founding values.” Do we really need a loyalty day? Are we not loyal to our country already?

I must admit that I am a bit confused. Since the rest of the world celebrates May Day as a communist day, does this mean that we are joining in with the commies, or is it just an accidental and unfortunate coincidence that we celebrate loyalty to the United States, fly our flag, and pledge allegiance to our Republic on the same day?  http://www.whitehouse.gove/briefing-room/presidential-actions/proclamations

Listening to the Voice of America, the only radio of freedom news that we could covertly listen to under the oppressive communist regime, we held in high esteem the 100 Senators from the magical and free land of milk and honey, the United States.  Unfortunately, living here as an American citizen, I must admit that I am shocked and puzzled by the bizarre behavior of some U.S. Senators and Representatives.

Take for instance Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) who spoke on May Day in Chicago to a rally of “nearly two thousand trade unionists, open communists, socialists, anarchists and illegal aliens.” He spoke of May Day as “Law Day.” I must admit, I have never heard of such celebration, “Law Day.”

Sen. Durbin, quoted by Rebel Pundit, said that, because he believes in free speech and the Constitution, he decided to come to “Law Day” rally attended by individuals who promoted the goals of communism. It is hard to believe - I fled communism 35 years ago and communism is following me to the United States, promoted by a U.S. Senator who also thinks that illegal immigration, breaking the laws of the country he swore to protect and defend, should be legalized because, he said, “My fellow immigrants, this is a once in a lifetime chance to get immigration reform.” I wonder from what country did Senator Durbin immigrate illegally. http://www.breibart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/02/Exclusive-Senator-Durbin-Defends-Rallying-with-Communists-and-Anarchists

We did “get” immigration reform in 1986 for 3 million illegal aliens and it did not work so well, we have gained since then 11 more million illegal immigrants. And they are still coming because the largesse of the American government towards invaders is world-renowned and their rights trump the rights of any American immediately upon arrival. All they have to do is “lawyer up.”

According to the Border Patrol, thousands have been apprehended since the administration and the Gang of Eight’s announcement of amnesty has been made. CBS news reported that in McAllen, Texas, 900 illegals were caught over a three day period. In March, 7,500 illegals were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, more than triple from previous months. (Todd Beamon, Newsmax, May 1, 2013)

Illegal immigration in the U.S. had slowed during our deep economic recession, particularly since Mexico’s unemployment rate has held steady at 3.68 percent from 1994-2012. This prompted the American Border Control, the formerly U.S. Seaport Commission, a project of the U.S. Public Policy Council, to demand through its Executive Director, Jonathon Moseley, that U.S. citizens have the right to take jobs in Mexico. Moseley commented that “We are gullible suckers. The error of amnesty is the myth that Mexicans are in financial trouble.” www.AmericanBorderControl.org

American Border Control is “demanding that any compromise include a right for unemployed U.S. citizens to find jobs in Mexico after losing their jobs in the United States as a result of Sen. Marco Rubio’s policies.” Executive Director Jonathon Moseley said that “Those who showed contempt for our country by violating our laws and crashing the gate should not be also stealing jobs from U.S. citizens.”

Our President took an apology tour to Mexico to tout his immigration reform and shore up more Democrat voting support for the upcoming election. According to Daniel Halper of the Weekly Standard, he made the following gaffe, “It would provide a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are already in this country illegally.”

He apologized to Mexican college students for our sovereignty and thanked them for helping elect him President. Should Mexico not apologize to us for their lack of social responsibility to their citizens? Should Mexico not at least thank us for feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating, and treating medically for free millions of their citizens who sneak into our country illegally, becoming a burden to the U.S. taxpayers?

Perhaps instead of waiting 8 years to gain a green card and then my American citizenship, I should have crossed the southern border with Mexico illegally. It would have been quicker, I would have received immediate financial help to support myself instead of working, I would not have needed to learn English or assimilate, the government would have translated everything for me, given me free medical care, free education, easy citizenship, no waiting in line, earned income credit for other people’s innumerable babies, and no uncomfortable interrogations and interviews.

Isn’t self-suicidal, tolerant America grand? What other country in the world rewards law-breakers with citizenship for anchor babies, voting rights, free education, free housing, free health care, welfare, and chain migration? La Raza should be so proud! Our own officials are subtly promoting Reconquista of southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

I came to this country to find freedom and I did find it for a while. But the bright lights of “the shiny city on the hill” are getting dimmer day by day, and the “shiny city” is getting more tarnished with every new regulation, law, executive order, and proclamation that benefits illegals and other foreign groups and hurts American citizens.