Great Walls

Presidential candidate Donald Trump says that if he’s elected president, he will build a wall along the border between the US and Mexico. Not a fence – a wall. What will it cost? A lot, but Trump says he’ll make Mexico pay for it. Let’s think about this.

The US imports oil from Mexico. According to the Energy Information Administration, the US imported 307 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from Mexico in 2014. So here’s an idea: let’s piss off Mexico and see what happens.

But wait, there’s more.

Presidential candidate Scott Walker says we should think about building a wall along our northern border with Canada. What’s that going to cost? The US-Canada border is the longest international border in the world at 5,525 miles long. And there’s this: the US imports more oil from Canada than from any other country. According to the EIA, the US imported 1.24 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from Canada in 2014. What’s Walker going to do – threaten to quit using Canadian oil unless they help pay for a wall? No, I don’t think there is any way Canada can be talked into paying for any part of a wall on their border. If the US wants it, the US will pay for it.

Now, it so happens that the US has a huge infrastructure problem. After decades of neglect, many roads and bridges are old and in disrepair. Railway infrastructure needs upgrading. Many airports need upgrading. The transportation system is congested. Fixing infrastructure will cost a lot of money but fixing it is becoming urgent. So here’s an idea: let’s take the money we need to fix those things and let’s spend it on a wall between ourselves and our friendly northern neighbor, which will solve a serious problem that no one has noticed: hordes of Canadians sneaking into the US, presumably to escape the free health care they have up there.

Historically, walls have a poor track record. The Great Wall of China, built to protect China from invaders, was never effective at preventing invaders from entering China. The Maginot Line, built to protect France from a German invasion, did not prevent the Germans from conquering France in about six weeks.

History tell us that walls don’t work. People who want to cross them badly enough will find a way. Desperate people will go over, under, around, and through. As General George Patton said, “Fixed fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity.” That won’t prevent candidates from proposing simplistic solutions to tough problems, nor will it prevent voters electing them.