The Atlantic treats us to a discussion of what we learn about America from a GoFundMe campaign to fund the border wall – that, well, something, blather. And the article entirely manages to miss the main point – Americans aren’t willing to spend $5 billion of their money on a border wall. Therefore, presumably, $5 billion shouldn’t be spent upon a border wall. This being something that you’d think would accord with The Atlantic’s extant prejudices – with mine too but that’s another matter – which makes it a slightly odd thing for them to miss:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]What a Border-Wall GoFundMe Campaign Says About AmericaA far-fetched online fund-raiser shows the lengths to which Americans will go to circumvent the country’s broken systems.[/perfectpullquote]
People spending their own money on their own desires is a circumvention of a broken system? Rather than being a desirable system in and of itself?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]With control of the House of Representatives set to switch to the Democrats in the new year, the odds that Trump will secure money for the wall in the near future have been dwindling. In an effort to fill that gap, several crowdfunding campaigns have popped up to collect money for the wall directly from Trump supporters online, with the purported intent of passing that money to the White House or the Department of Homeland Security. The most successful one, a GoFundMe started by an Iraq War veteran with a background in Facebook accounts that trafficked in conspiracy theories, has raised more than $14 million. It aims to raise at least $1 billion.[/perfectpullquote]Well, OK, people are sending their money to build what they desire. What’s the problem here?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Whether or not raising money directly from Trump supporters can fund the entire wall misses the point, though.[/perfectpullquote]Ah, no, that is actually the point.
Taxation is the art of taking money from those people over there in order to provide something for these people over here and thereby purchase, or at least rent, their vote. Something we need the power of government to do – in the absence at least of private sector muscle and violence. Much of what does get built and done with such cash isn’t of any great interest to those the money is taken from. But, you know, that’s politics.
This brings us to our favourite economic point, the difference between expressed preferences and revealed. People say they want all sorts of stupid stuff. They say this more when they think someone else is going to pay for it. They want very much less stuff – stupid or not – when they themselves have to cough up for it. At which point we can say that the things people really do want are only those things which they themselves are willing to pay for. Revealed preferences rather than just what people say.
So, now, here’s a $5 billion bill for a wall, we find that $14 million is what people are willing to pay for it. We’re, umm, 99.8% short? 99.7%? That is, some people want the wall but not very much and in aggregate we don’t want it at all. So, you know, don’t build it.
Which is an interesting lesson in real voting, isn’t it?
Wandering around with Google StreetView shows there’s a fence or wall along most of the US/Mexico border already: https://goo.gl/maps/HFUt2axhSPu
I believe there’s a lot of fencing, some of which is pretty wall like, along the CA, AZ & NM borders, but not so much in TX where the border is the river.
Interesting yes, but informative only if the voters get to express, in the same way, their willingness to pony up for, say, transgender operations for military employees.
I’d wager a large sum that most people haven’t even heard that there’s a GoFundMe campaign to build the Wall. Second, many of us who have heard of it and would gladly chip in to build the Wall haven’t done so because this pile of cash probably can’t make it happen. And then there are those who don’t feel they should have to pay again (you know, all those taxes we cheerfully fork over) for something that is the Federal government’s responsibility. Other than that…
First of all, I’d wager most people haven’t even heard there’s a campaign to raise money for the Wall. Second, many of us who would willingly chip in to build it realize that this pile of cash probably can’t be used to do so. Third, many people are reluctant to pay again (taxes) for something that the Federal government is responsible for constitutionally. Other than that…