By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
The individual who preceded Joe Biden as president of the United States used to proclaim that “Mexico is going to pay for the wall.”
It didn’t happen. It won’t happen. Not ever.
Now we have the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, declaring his intention to build a wall along the state’s lengthy border with Mexico. He isn’t making the same preposterous claim that the ex-POTUS did. However, we need some specifics on this matter if it manages to survive the expected challenges to whether it is even constitutional for a state to assume a federal responsibility.
Texas border wall may not be feasible, or even legal | The Texas Tribune
How much will it cost, Gov. Abbott?
You see, the U.S. Constitution requires in the Fifth Amendment that the government provide “just compensation” for any private property seized for public use. Texas’s share of public land comprises a tiny fraction of its total land mass along the border, which will require the state to pay a whole lot of money it takes from private ownership. So, we have that expense.
As for the rest of the price tag, which would be bound to skyrocket as the state grapples with ways to erect a secure border, well, we haven’t heard a word from Gov. Abbott on how much that might cost you and me.
The state’s economy happens to be performing quite well in the wake of this COVID pandemic. However, we shouldn’t be asked to spend an unspecified amount of money to seal off our southern border from “hordes of criminals” who, in my view, do not exist.
We’ve got to do something! Biden’s administration is doing all they can to make things worse at the border. Trump had the border the most secure it’s been in decades and Biden destroys that on day one. Which brings the question again, what has Biden doe that’s actually helping the American people? And don’t say stimulus checks. That killing the workforce and supply chain.