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Better Uses of $5 Billion?

Original post made by Fiscal Responsibility, Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2019

Since the media and lawmakers aren't doing a good job looking at this issue, I would like to put it to the readers: What do we most desperately need to spend $5 billion dollars on? (I am also not ruling out border security on that list, but perhaps local techies can suggest a more cost effective way to get a better result to help a political compromise? Both parties could stand to focus on FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.)

-The budget of the entire National Cancer Institutes is about $5 billion. What could be done for curing cancer if it were doubled? It’s easy to find many, many essays and articles about the need to increase funds for cancer research, and it’s far, far more likely that millions of American lives will be protected.

-The government spends about $50 million on ALS research. What could be done with 100 times that? Or even just double that, which is a drop in the bucket by comparison.

-Lyme disease and associated tickborne diseases are estimated to cost our economy billions annually. Federal allocations for Lyme disease funding are still only around $10 or $12 million annually. That’s one quarter of one percent of $5 billion, almost in the noise. CDC estimates the number diagnosed just with Lyme disease every years is around 300,000 people.

-Asthma is estimated to cost the US economy $80 billion a year "in medical expenses, missed work and school days and deaths” Web Link
"According to the authors, the study likely underestimated the total cost of asthma to the U.S. economy because their analysis did not include people whose asthma went untreated.”
I’m guessing $5 billion would more than be enough to create a drug production facility under the auspices of the NIH, FDA, or a federal research laboratory to provide low-cost medications that would save our nation that $5 billion many times over every year. And many lives.

-The National School Lunch Program, often attacked by spending watchdogs, spends about $13 billion to feed 30 million children daily, and about $4 billion to feed about half that many breakfast. $4 billion feeds 15 million American children every day for a year. If properly educated, those children grow up to contribute to the economy.

-Budget of the entire Food and Drug Administration was around $5 billion in 2017.

-Budget of all of ICE is about $5.7 billion annually. The whole organization. ATF has a budget of about 1.3 billion.

-In 2018, the US DOT made $225 million available to help fix the nation’s dangerous old bridges. Web Link
The estimate to do the repair work needed is $140 billion Web Link

I just wish the people who don’t want to spend the money would start talking about how to achieve the goal of border security in a cheaper better way, and those who think the only way to achieve border security is a $5billion wall that will cost yet more to maintain, would look at the goal in more specifics and how to better achieve the goal. All I’m hearing is people on one side seeming to make the case that this expenditure is equivalent to border security, and people on the other side failing to address that, and failing to argue from a place of fiscal responsibility. Meanwhile, lots of ordinary Americans are caught in the middle.


Comments (7)

Posted by “mnemonic device” for dummies
a resident of Fairmeadow
on Jan 8, 2019 at 9:33 am

>> The budget of the entire National Cancer Institutes is about $5 billion.

You do not understand, obviously. Curing cancer is not nearly as important as a political crisis created because Rush Limbaugh mocked Trump about a lunatic campaign promise, disregarding the promise that Mexico would pay.

Republicans had the House, the Senate and the executive branch for two years. If it was a crisis, why didn't they do something?

Because it's all a joke. From Forbes - Web Link

Open the government. Quit hurting the economy.


Posted by What is the point?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Jan 8, 2019 at 12:23 pm

What is the point of this posting? Our voices don't matter anyway.

The Democrats are playing politics, just don't want Trump to get his way. Here is Obama stating that we need fences to stop illegal immigration: Web Link And there are plenty of videos out there of Hillary Clinton stating that she voted to have a "fence" to keep illegal immigrants out.

How about the millions of dollars being spent on illegal immigrant incarceration or health care?

Welcome to California, Sanctuary State: Web Link


Posted by “mnemonic device” for dummies
a resident of Fairmeadow
on Jan 8, 2019 at 12:38 pm

The Democrats are playing politics? Trump told you he owned this Trump Shutdown, and you've seen the video. He was ready to sign multiple deals for border security, but backed out of each as a political stunt. Remember the Cheeseburger Summit when Schumer offered him $25 BILLION for border security? Mr. Art of the Deal had it all, but didn't accept out of fear that Rush limbaugh would chastise him. Web Link

Trump was too weak to take 25 BILLION for Border Security, because he knew he needed room for a political stunt when he was obviously going to lose the House 11 months later. So Schumer took the offer away after awhile when it was obvious Trump could care less about actually fixing immigration.

Try reading the Forbes article linked above

Also the Wall Street Journal: "In a December 2018 editorial, the Wall Street Journal pointed out building a wall is not the best way to reduce illegal immigration and it represents a questionable use of taxpayer money."

When you've lost both Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, you know it's all a trump political stunt, at the expense of hardworking, taxpaying Americans.


Posted by CrescentParkAnon.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Jan 8, 2019 at 2:17 pm

This wall will cost a lot more than $5 billion and disrupt thousands of people's lives, businesses and properties ... and after all of that will not enhance our security by very much, and in addition cost a fortune to operate and maintain. It will also interfere with animal migrations

Since the wall cannot be built in or on the river or over rough terrain the wall itself is backed off from the actual border creating a "No Man's Land" where Americans, their property and businesses are stuck on the far side of the wall but on the American side of the border, cut off from services and police protection, forced to travel long distances to access the continental US.

There are some videos on You-Tube about this. They have already found ways the walls already built are being defeated, by catapult, drone, plane, boat, tunnels.

Trump's wall is an incompetent waste of money and resources, as well as the time of all Americans who have to waste time hearing about it on the news or arguing about something that should not even need to be discussed except for the fact that we have an intellectually challenged President in the White House who despite his mental shortcomings is very good at lying to, manipulating and defrauding people.

It has been shown and proven that the hypocrite in chief himself has imported and hired illegals amongst all his other ways to cheat people out of money and run shady businesses.

The compromise legislation has already been agreed to in a veto-proof bill that Mitch McConnell the legislative complement to our evil chief executive will not bring up for a vote.

Trump could not exist or continue as our President if the powers that be were not just as bad as he was, and we can see that by the lack of problems being solved by any Republican vision or plan ... the only thing Republicans do is to create more inequality, more rigging and more lies and distrust of government while they try to infiltrate the Democratic party with money so it looks just as bad.

We need to get rid of this destructive party of corruption, and put Trump in prison as a warning to his backers of what will happen to them when they make war on the citizens of this country from inside it.


Posted by CrescentParkAnon.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Jan 8, 2019 at 2:30 pm

Finally, the way to stop mass immigration is to check people's citizenship and work status when they apply for jobs and work. Another way is to stop giving them hope that they will at some future date be included in a giant amnesty simply because there are too many of them and it costs too much to prosecute them.

Both sides have been dishonest about this, but Trump and the Republicans are the ones that are forcing the issue for no point or benefit.

The people coming over the border are not voting, and certainly if some small number are somehow taking part in voting they are not having an effect on the outcome that money or media and internet manipulation are.

The people who come over and have children are using resources and taking jobs from Americans.

There is also a lot of crime in poverty stricken areas. It may not all be done by illegals, some of them are legal, but increasing the numbers and density of people in poor ghettos is not a recipe for success for anyone ... but those who benefit from exploiting desperate, unsophisticated and vulnerable people.

I'd estimate that a few tens of million invested in tightening up our employment verification system, and strict prosecution of those who hire illegals would do much more to prevent illegal immigration and crime than building a wall to impress vacuous Trump boosters.

American must devise a way to exist without various systems of what amounts to slavery, and all to help a shrinking number of people on top who are no longer sharing the prosperity of this country with others.


Posted by “mnemonic device” for dummies
a resident of Fairmeadow
on Jan 8, 2019 at 3:11 pm

Donald Trump, for a year: "mexico will pay for the wall"

Donald Trump tweet, one month ago: "Border is tight. Fake News silent!"

Donald Trump, a month ago: "Tremendous amounts of wall have already been built, and a lot of — a lot of wall."

Donald Trump tweet, one month ago: ".....Ice, Border Patrol and our Military have done a FANTASTIC job of securing our Southern Border... We have already built large new sections & fully renovated others, making them like new. ..."

Any quotes on Donald enforcing the massive federal land grab from private citizens through eminent domain for the Mexican funded, already finished, in the middle of nowhere, wall??


Posted by resident
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on Jan 8, 2019 at 4:02 pm

Important issue not ever discussed: Each of the nations involved is a constitutional government with a nation to run. You can read up on Wikipedia what the strengths and weaknesses are of each nation as well as who the Presidents are of those countries. The US President needs to be talking to the Pres of each country - not migrants, not non-profit groups who want to help migrants, not the Catholic Church which is the primary church noted for each of the Central American nations.

People and organizations are now aiding and abetting the removal of the main workforce for each country which will drive them further into chaos. The US Gov is providing funds to help reduce crime, as are other countries that have economic issues in those countries.
The best outcome for each of those countries is to have a good work force in the country; the churches providing schools which teach the students at each grade level what they are suppose to be learning, and exercising some social guidance for the society as a whole. Each is trying to develop an economic plan to support the citizens.
So follow the money - who is gaining great wealth from this debacle - the Coyotes and the cartels. And they are providing funds to politicians to maintain the status quo.

We know we have a great drug problem and we know where the trail of drugs is coming from. The is costing us more than 5 Billion to try and stop. It is to everyone's benefit that each of the country nations gets assistance to build a sustainable platform for the citizens. And the religious organizations need to help balance the citizens as opposed to fueling the flight.

Side Note - I had to stand in the line at Walmart MV to return something and it was apparent that Walmart is the "bank" that is a money transfer location. So our US companies are financially awarded for aiding and abetting the transfer of money.

It is to everyone's benefit that each country is developing economically and socially so the citizens have a healthy nation. Aiding and abetting flight based on falsehoods of going to the Great US - the land of gold - are the biggest harm going on here.


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