Posted on 05/21/2006 4:58:16 AM PDT by ovrtaxt
The federal government will have to reach deep into taxpayers' pockets if it goes ahead with plans to build a security wall along the U.S.-Mexican border – it could cost at least $3 million per mile.
That's $568.18 per foot.
President Bush this week sent Congress a $1.9 billion request to increase border security. But that money would go not only for new fencing, but also for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents, the temporary deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops, two new surveillance aircraft and five helicopters.
In December the House voted to build a security barrier – with a double set of steel walls, floodlights, surveillance cameras and motion detectors – along 700 miles of the 1,952-mile border.
The Senate this week voted to build 370 miles of barrier.
After the House vote, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., estimated that the 700-mile barrier would cost $2.2 billion, or about $3 million mile.
But that estimate could be way off the mark.
NewsMax looked toward Israel as an example and found that the 425-mile complex of fences, concrete walls, trenches and razor wire it is building along its border with the West Bank will cost $1.56 billion, or $3.67 million per mile – in an area where labor costs are far lower than in the United States.
The San Diego experience points to even higher costs.
A 14-mile, 15-foot-high double fence is now under construction near San Diego. Roughly $39 million has been spent on the project so far, and Homeland Security plans to spend $35 million more.
"If that $74 million is enough to finish the job [Border Patrol says the cost could keep rising] and the price is multiplied over the proposed 700 miles, the new fence could run $3.7 billion," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
"Even that estimate doesn't take into account the expense of purchasing or condemning many miles of privately owned land abutting the border or of potential legal challenges."
At $3.7 billion, the 700-mile fence would cost $5.28 million per mile – or an astounding $1,000 per foot.
The fence near San Diego has slowed the flood of illegal aliens traveling through the border city of Imperial Beach, Calif., from about 2,000 a day to just a few a day on average.
That has driven aliens and drug smugglers to more remote and treacherous migration routes, and migrants increasingly hire smugglers to help them make the three-day hike through parched terrain – a tactic they could use to circumvent the new 700-mile fence.
So building the fence could turn out to be an expensive boondoggle, according to Mike Allen, director of the McAllen, Texas, Economic Development Corp.
"We want people to support our immigration laws because we live here," said Allen, whose home is half a mile from the border.
"But this will be a tremendous waste of money, and it will not stop immigration. People will just go around it."
The only solution that will work, according to a number of anti-immigration activist groups, is to build the fence along the entire 1,952-mile border.
Hmmmm... A one time $3.7 Billion or the biggest expansion of the welfare state in 30 years. Really tough choice.
Remember.....
This is GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING here...
Prevailing Wage, environmental impact studies, endless paperwork, fees, permits, graft, lobbying, prefferred supplier, and minority set-asides all have to be included in the costs, lawsuits.....
The average person doesn't deal with all of that (and more) when putting up a fence......
3 million / mile.
2,000 miles for a real, "comprehensive" fence.
3 x 2000 = 6000 million, divided by 10 million illegal aliens.
$600 per illegal.
hehe- I linked some other articles earlier in the thread, but I missed that one! Thx.
So cheap! What are we waiting for? Let's build two walls of 1000 miles.
Agreed! Even at this ridiculous price, it's under 6 billion to build a fence the entire way.
I like the idea of supporting it with 20-30K. Since some don't like the idea of using military, let's use a domestic force recruited for that purpose.
A fence is secondary. Fine and jail employers that hire illegals and cut off all public services to illegals.
A quick Google search reveals that Mexico's per capita income in 2004 was $9,600 compared to Russia-$9,800 or Bulgaria - $8,100 or Bosnia-$6,500 --- (all quasi European countries) or Brazil-$8,100.
Let's stop making Mexico out like there is mass starvation or no jobs whatsoever. My dad had a chemical/pharmacutical company when he was alive, and he did plenty of business in Mexico with MEXICANS.
He traveled there several times a year, and always spoke of how business and the economy there was better than the average American imagined.
Millions of Mexicans make a comfortable living in the tourist industry thanks to the 'wild and crazy' Americans who think nothing of dropping $5,000-$10,000 there in a vacation weekend.
The real problem in Mexico is cultural, I believe, with the native indiginous peoples (Aztec anscestry) suffering much more than the Spanish descendants (from Spain).
We are doing Mexico no favors if we simply let them continue their corrupt way of life.
They have the means, the resources, and the brainpower to solve their problems, but Pappa Bush would rather be their "enabler" rather than force them to solve problems.
They probably got this story from the Asspress, who suddenly becomes concerned about financial matters such as "paying for tax cuts." Who cares what it costs? Do it.
I presume you got that "40-percent live below the THEIR poverty line" from the CIA website on Mexico.
If you check further, you'll note that the average Mexican's life expectancy rate is 75.41 years, which rivals the US rate, does it not. Hardly dire poverty with starvation. (women on average live to 78.5)
Also, Mexico has a labor force of 43.4 million people, but wouldn't cha know, they have 38.4 million CELL PHONES and more than 18 million homes have land phones (hardly abject poverty).
And LOOKY HERE, their per capita income in 2005 was $10,100, according to the CIA, again hardly abject poverty.
Again, I have a loving heart and I try and help anybody and everybody I can in a reasonable fashion, but your impression of Mexico as this country of abject poverty is just nonsense. The people, I believe, watch a lot of American TV and they think that EVERYBODY in the US is living that lifestyle, and thus they bust the borders seeking a dream that doesn't always exist.
Good idea- see my home page!
THAT is about CURRENT LEGAL voters, of which, I suspect only a small fraction were of "illegal" origin. Once the illegals get the right to vote, they will vote overwhelmingly Democrat.
"Our system is difficult to change, thanks to the wisdom of the Founders. People being people, there will not be a 100% support for anything in any demographic. We survived 8 years of Clinton. We survived FDR and 20 or so years of entrenched Soviets inside the government. We survived LBJ's Great Society. It is just as likely that we will survive whatever 2006 and 2008 bring, as difficult as it could become."
Yes, it "is" difficult to change, but change it they have. They have managed, one piece of legislation at a time, to convert us from a Constitutional Republic, to something that pretty much functions as a "parliamentary democracy". I think they have figured out that they can't "convert" a large enough number of citizens into socialists, so the strategy now is to IMPORT as many as possible that will tend in that direction, who will then support the final push into a European style socialist state.
Who are we kidding?! The politico's will find one way or another to weasel out of building a real wall. A wall would interfere with their global village "free trade zone". Of course if we DID build a proper wall then we still have 20 million or so illegals INSIDE the country that the weasels will do nothing about. We all know the solution here but our politicians(with the exception of a small few) lack the spine to do what is right!! Makes me sick!!
We can simply establish work camps and have our illegal aliens build the fence before they are allowed to register under the amnesty program. (LOL)
The Great Wall of China is an example of how the fence will ultimately fail. The solution eventually will be the annexation of Mexico or part of it.
The Roman limnes were maintained by a significant military force. If the Tejanos who live in the valley want to continue to enjoy an American life style, they will join that force. Otherwise, the violence and corruption that infects Mexico will spill over into their back yards.
Do I misread him or is he proposing to pull out of Iraq and Iran? One should not become so obsessed with the border problem that he forgets the Islamist threat.
Roger, that.
As I see it, the Minutemen (with our $150 per foot) can put up a lot of sections of fencing on the property owned by those who agree with us. What will that do?
THAT will encourage the invaders to infest the land of the unbelievers (water runs downhill) and increase those fools' unhappiness which will cause many of them to join us and request that fences be built on THEIR properties! Within a couple of years, the whole shebang should be protected, we don't need to keep them out, just delay them, then catch them with patrols.
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