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Bill Owens: Governor Walker’s Bad Idea

Governor Scott Walker announced his support for considering building a wall along the Canadian border, which is clearly a really, really bad idea. It appears the governor is now back-tracking through his aides.

I wrote an article several months ago entitled, “The American Question: Where’s Canada?” I should have sent a copy to Governor Walker. What is so striking about Governor Walker’s statement is that, even though he apparently has lived in a border state for most of his life, before deciding to suggest building the wall (which can only be viewed as bordering on the absurd), he failed to take into account several facts, such as: Wisconsin does $12.4 billion in trade with Canada, has 158,000 jobs dependent upon that trade (as an aside, Governor Walker’s job creation credentials are fairly dismal, so why not kill a few more), and Canada is Wisconsin’s largest customer. Let me repeat that. Its largest customer.

Let me demonstrate the impact of our economic ties with Canada beyond Wisconsin. US imports from Canada and exports to Canada represent 77.3 percent and 68.6 percent, respectively, of Canada’s total exports and imports. On the US side, trade with Canada represents 13.3 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of our total exports and imports. Canadian shoppers come into the United States on a regular basis because, as is reported to those of us who live along the border, the variety of goods available is substantially greater in the US marketplace than in the Canadian marketplace, and frequently cheaper. Even with the current weakness of the Canadian dollar, there has not been a sharp decline in Canadian visits to the US, as reflected by sales tax revenue in border communities and overnight stays in border hotels and motels.

It is very difficult to believe that a governor and presidential candidate could be that ignorant of these economic realities.

It is clear that Governor Walker is also not aware of the Beyond the Border agreement, the Regulatory Cooperation Council, nor the Northern Border Counter Narcotics Strategy Act, as well as many other informal information-sharing activities that lend themselves to a safe, secure and fluid border.

While most of us who live in border states and are engaged in trade are doing everything possible to reduce the barriers to trade, along comes Governor Walker, straining to move as far right as he possibly can to compete with Mr. Trump and build a big barrier to trade.

Let me remind you of the extraordinary cooperation that exists between the US and Canadian governments, who work diligently together to share information related to illegal activity, terrorists or otherwise. This is not a border rife with illegals drifting across.

Now let’s examine the cost associated with building a wall. It is estimated that it cost $7 billion to construct 653 miles of fencing along the US/Mexico border, which is approximately 1,900 miles in length. The Canadian wall would cover at least two times that length. The cost, without taking into account the terrain or weather, would be more than $40 billion.

If Governor Walker had responded with some level of intellectual curiosity, such as “I need to find out what the level of risk is along the northern border,” and then propose doing a risk assessment, I would have said that sounds like a thoughtful and intelligent human being. However, even his attempted retraction contains no analysis. There is constant clamor from folks like Governor Walker for cost benefit analysis to be done. One can only conclude he is not capable and recent poll results seem to confirm that conclusion.

Mr. Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 23rd, a strategic advisor at Dentons out of its Washington, DC, office, and a partner in the firm of Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher & Trombley, PLLC, in Plattsburgh, New York.

 
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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