The observation has been made, quite a few times, that relative to the overall federal budget, the $5 billion Donald Trump wants for wall construction is a drop in the bucket... [A]nother way to look at it is to consider what $5 billion might pay for, and whether or not those things are more valuable than a wall. The National Priorities Project has put together such a list. Here are some other things the federal government could do with $5 billion:Also, it pays to remember, well, you know, that there is no national emergency; that this is a facile media stunt that everybody knows is a facile media stunt whether they are admitting this or not; that Trump is a grotesque liar; that he lies on his signature issue of immigration, especially, given the relentlessly demonstrated racism of his straight white evangelical greedhead bigot base; that there is no real "wall" that could "work" on the terms its "advocates" declare (this advocacy is a cynical trolling exercise in any case, like most things most Republicans have said they care about for over a generation by now) and no legitimate "work" a "wall" would do even if it could work, which it can't; that America needs more immigration if we are to sustain our public services and payments in a demographically graying population; that America is and has always been a nation of immigrants; that American diversity is one of the few things this nation could actually be proud of if we could get our goddamned act together; that an America truly welcoming refugees from catastrophe, tyranny, bigotry, violence, and exploitation around the world would be truly worth celebration; that immigrants cause none of the problems for which racist Republicans (and their many enablers outside the GOP) scapegoat them and are a source of life, beauty, delight, intelligence, production, resilience, and progress in this country to be supported, encouraged, and celebrated. But, you know.
Under the circumstances, none of those is likely to happen, particularly the last two. However, the next time someone says "It's only $5 billion," it's worth keeping this list in mind.
- Provide a year's worth of Medicaid for 1.4 million people
- Increase federal spending on renewable energy by 250%
- Increase the EPA's funding by 60%
- Put 90,000 people to work for one year repairing America's infrastructure
- Increase federal funding for K-12 public schools by 30%
- Fund the National Endowment for the Arts until 2051
- Double heating assistance for low-income households
- Double federal funding for substance abuse and mental health treatment
- Accept 11 times more refugees than in 2018
- Double funding for citizenship and immigration services
Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All
Tuesday, January 08, 2019
The Drop In The Bucket
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