Convenient memory lapses

It never ceases to amaze me how some American voters are completely lacking in long term memory.  But then again maybe it’s not a memory deficiency but simply a case of “reality denial.”

This condition is best emphasized by the recent government shutdown.  No matter whether you support or not support the building of a wall/barrier, one reality fact clearly stands out.  The recent government shutdown would have never occurred if the Republicans, who controlled both houses of Congress for two years, had voted to allocate monies for President Trump’s project  for “the security of our nation,” as they now profess.   This fact seems to be conveniently forgotten by most of the present day “build the wall” supporters.

As early as November, 2016, it was noted by Texas representative, Louie Gohmert , “that Congress should have no problem finding the money to pay for Trump’s wall between Mexico and the United States.”    He made the case that Capitol Hill had already appropriated money in the past for similar projects, only to have them sidelined by an uncooperative executive branch (Democratic President).

However, Mr. Gohmert’s dream never came to past, for even with a Congress totally controlled by Republicans for two years, they never saw fit to allocate the funds to accomplish it; even during a vote to continue funding the government during those years.  Now Republicans claim they are all for the wall/barrier because it is a matter of national security.

It would seem that perhaps they are all for it simply because the Democrats now claim they are against it.  Even the Democrats’ sudden total rejection of the wall/barrier appears at odds with some of their previous voting records.

I suspect that if one really thought about what was going on here, and based it upon the Republicans’ past actions when they had the majority votes in both houses of Congress, one could conclude that most of those illustrious representatives are quite happy that the Democrats are continuing their initial two year denial of funding for the wall/barrier construction.  Reality sometimes hurts doesn’t it?

So let the blame games continue, but also let’s all try to remember how we got into this mess in the first place.   It all could have been settled two years ago by the Republican-led Congress simply funding the project for their party’s President.

The cost reality for latest government project

If you watch Fox News or CNN you can’t help but wonder why both media outlets are not exactly reporting the “realities” of the construction of “The Wall” on the Mexico/US border.  They both give the impression that the wall will be competed in a timely manner similar to constructing a house.

Whether you are for or against the construction of a steel/concrete, wall/barrier, you need to realize that it is doubtful that it will be completed during President Trump’s reign and certainly not at the cost his administration is proposing.  The fact missing from the entire equation is that most land owners whose property the barrier will traverse don’t want it on their property and are already organizing a cadre of lawyers to fight the government’s desire to invoke the right of eminent  domain to take their land.  Eminent domain is a legal strategy that allows a federal or local government to seize private property for public use. The seizing authority must pay fair market value for the property seized.

The  barrier reality is, the land owners are digging in, vowing to reject buyout offers, and preparing to fight the administration in court.

“You could give me a trillion dollars and I wouldn’t take it,” said several property owners, whose land sits along the Rio Grande, the river separating the U.S. and Mexico in Texas. “It’s not about money.”
Obviously, some may conclude that eventually the Feds will win and take the land, which may or may not be true.  It’s quite possible this entire “land grab” will eventually play out in the Supreme Court.

However, some of these court cases could languish in the legal system for years during which time project over runs will kick in; something for which the U.S. government is famous.  Bet you can’t name a single major U.S. government project that hasn’t resulted in cost overruns three times what its initial estimate was.  Several reach the 200% or more mark.

One recent stellar example of our government’s ineptness with projects was a proposal to build an integrated electronic health records system so that the Pentagon and VA could share health data.  Simple enough project, right?  The project was on track to cost a total of $28 million-seven times the original estimate.  It was recently curtailed due to the absorbent cost overrun.  How about the D.C. parking garage estimated to cost $40 million?  After 16 years it is still not completed and its cost has risen to $120 million.  Need I continue?

Hopefully, the realities of the construction of the Mexico border barrier will move past political posturing and gamesmanship to analyzing the practical realities of the project.  Fooled you,  just a joke; the factual realities of this project will never prevail.  It’s just not the U.S. government’s mode of operation.

However, you can be assured of two things regarding this project.  One, you ain’t going to see it completed anytime soon and, two, it’s going to cost way more than $5.7 million.  Simply put, “The Wall” is yet another ill-conceived government project whose chief advocate wants it to serve as a monument he can point to as glorifying his presidential tenure.  So pathetic!