“The Donald” captures headlines because he is outrageous and outlandish. But he clearly spotlights some very basic issues bothering many Americans. Spotlighting these issues gets him votes, notwithstanding how outrageous and outlandish he is.
Take for example “immigration”. He advocates stopping illegal immigration. This makes sense. But he advocates doing so by building a “wall” between Mexico and the United States. That wall would be 1,954 miles long. Assuming it would have to be at least twelve feet high (the height of the “Berlin Wall”), it would probably cost somewhere between 6 and 8 billion US dollars to build (and maybe much more depending on terrain). In America, where our government spends over 3 trillion dollars a year, this may seem like a small amount. But in Mexico, where their government spent only 322 billion dollars last year, this is a very large amount. Nevertheless, Donald Trump insists he will build this wall, and get Mexico to pay for it.
The concept of stopping illegal immigration with such a wall is outrageous. A wall like this would take years to build. It would send a terrible message to the rest of the world about what America stands for, and how it deals with its neighbors. And it would utterly fail to stop illegal immigration. Remember: Mexico has 12 foot ladders and some very good tunnel makers (who may be looking for work now that “El Chapo” is not employing them anymore).
The concept of Mexico paying for such a wall is outlandish. Its economy is hurting with slow growth and the low price of oil, and its government is currently operating at deficits of 3% to 4% of GDP. Even if Mexico wanted such a wall (which they don’t), they are not in a position to afford it.
The message from this Observation: it is indeed important for our President to focus on the right problems (and perhaps Trump would do this). But it is equally important that he have the right solutions for these problems (which Trump clearly does not). Over and over again Trump offers outrageous and outlandish solutions. These Trump solutions will not solve problems, and will undoubtedly make the problems worse.
“It ain’t what you do; its how you do it”. Don’t vote for Trump…Bill O’Neill