Recently, following the inauguration of Donald Trump, the news broke that estimates of the cost to build the infamous border wall along America's southern border crack 25 billion USD, and despite Trump's constant assertions to the contrary, the President of Mexico has gone on the record to say that Mexico will not be paying for it. So essentially the burden of a wall which only a small minority of us actually want will most likely fall to the American taxpayer. However, as an American taxpayer, I can safely say that there are a lot of things I'd rather have my money spent on. I could go on for days, but here's just a few.
3. The Space Program
One of the first things to get axed with a gag rule by Donald Trump's administration, was a host of organizations specializing in science. Among them was NASA. Critics of the space program say that it's a waste of money, but the money spent on the space program is miniscule, especially in comparison to other things the US spends money on. For example, all of America's human space flight amounts to $7 billion/year. Breaking it down, it amounts to only pennies for every taxpayer per day. The Curiosity rover had an even more shocking price tag: 41 cents total a year. Adding to the benefits of the space program, is that for every one dollar spent on it, eight dollars is injected back into the American economy. How? Because the space program generates new technology every day, and we use that technology constantly. From the tools we use for heart surgery to the land mines removal systems that keep service members safe to your handheld vacuum cleaner, the space program deserves thanks from every American.
2. Affordable Education
This year alone, some students are paying nearly $100,000 to go to college, and that's before you factor in textbooks, housing, and a meal plan. To make matters worse, cuts to federal financial aid commonly provided to students via the FAFSA, have made grants smaller and loans bigger. Trump's choice for head of the Department of Education, Betsy DeVos is unlikely to be sympathetic to this plight, as neither she nor anyone in her family has had to use any federal aid to go to school, and she doesn't believe in public school so if your public education is making critical cuts to required courses, you're out of luck.
Even outside of college education, public K-12 schools are also being crushed by budgetary restrictions. Here in Philadelphia, for instance, budget crises have been recurring and nothing anyone seems to do seems to be helping. We've seen schools without nurses for students and students asked to pay for their own toilet paper. In 2015, 37 schools were shut down and thousands of students suffered because of it. Many still question, when is enough enough. When are we going to care for the vast majority of students, the ones who can't afford a private education.
1. Healthcare
Trump and his Republican base want to repeal the Affordable Care Act because according to them it doesn't work. I agree that its implementation was far from seamless but projections estimate that over 43,000 lives a year will be lost if it is repealed and no one in Trump's administration has put forth any feasible alternative to implement in its place. The most recognizable option is a single payer plan which most Republicans are staunchly opposed to. Are we to believe that the best interests of 15 million Americans who rely on the Obamacare are served by attempting an impossible task of passing single payer through a Republican-controlled Congress? I'm willing to rethink my judgement when I see a plan, and a plan that experts say will work, but not a moment before. We need to decide if 43,000 lives is enough to make some sacrifices.
These are all difficult choices, but we live in a difficult time. Our futures depend on this conversation, and you don't need an economist to understand that a wall that will cost us so much is in no one's best interest. The numbers don't lie, so if you want your taxes to go to something that will do some good, you need to get angry and get involved.
