# Trump declares "National Emergency" to build The Wall-Will it hold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 15, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617 "2019-02-15T17:54:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/81 "2019-02-16T00:12:57Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Explain the joke, please. Only government employees and those with income sources from outside the territory pay federal income taxes in Puerto Rico. Which doesn’t mean redirecting hurricane relief funds away from Puerto Rico doesn’t give them a good argument for standing in court. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/82 "2019-02-16T00:19:18Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You guys can just say my name. I’m not (quite) Voldemort. Too bad. Not (Quite) Voldemort would be a good screen name. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/83 "2019-02-16T00:19:31Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In the humor section, we have the Governor of Puerto Rico threatening a lawsuit: > > Yes, [THAT Puerto Rico, the one known for all the federal tax dollars it pays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax_revenue_by_state#Fiscal_Year_2015). They do [pay federal taxes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Puerto_Rico) > [@](#): > > The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and Puerto Ricans are US citizens. However, Puerto Rico is not a US state. Because of this, only Puerto Rican residents who are government employees, and those with income sources outside of the territory, pay federal income tax. All other employers and employees pay no federal income taxes. However, residents of Puerto Rico and businesses operating in Puerto Rico do pay some federal taxes, and the commonwealth’s government has its own taxes as well. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/84 "2019-02-16T00:24:34Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I think the joke is the idea that the US has any obligations to brown people. That’s certainly how it comes across to me. Well, _poor_ brown people who are US citizens in name only and have been repeatedly fucked in the ass by a spiked mainland horsecock. . ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/85 "2019-02-16T01:16:01Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Where is the line drawn for how much tax dollars a state/territory has to pay before you think a lawsuit from them has merit? (really asking) Oh I think the lawsuit’s “merits” (such as they are) would exist independent of the amount of federal tax dollars a state/territory has to pay. It would, however, probably be a good idea for the state/territory to be in some other position besides “distant last place” in per-capita tax contributions before their governor decides to start complaining about what they have to pay for. It’d be a bit like an unemployed, homeless guy indignantly telling a cop “I pay your salary!” ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/86 "2019-02-16T01:22:26Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Oh I think the lawsuit’s “merits” (such as they are) would exist independent of the amount of federal tax dollars a state/territory has to pay. It would, however, probably be a good idea for the state/territory to be in some other position besides “distant last place” in per-capita tax contributions before their governor decides to start complaining about what they have to pay for. It’d be a bit like an unemployed, homeless guy indignantly telling a cop “I pay your salary!” Hilarious. Fuck those guys for being poor. From your own cite, Utah only pays about 3 times as much as Puerto Rico. And California pays about 20 times more than Utah. By your logic, why shouldn’t I be laughing at you and your rights? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/87 "2019-02-16T01:29:37Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Hilarious. Fuck those guys for being poor. > > From your own cite, Utah only pays about 3 times as much as Puerto Rico. And California pays about 20 times more than Utah. By your logic, why shouldn’t I be laughing at you and your rights? I think you’re failing to do some math properly here. Fiscal Year 2015: Utah gross collections = $20,178,718,000 Puerto Rico gross collection = $3,524,557,000 That’s closer to 6 times as much as Puerto Rico. Utah revenue per capita = $6,747 Puerto Rico revenue per capita = $1,015 That’s again about 6 times as much as Puerto Rico. Where are you getting “about 3 times as much”? Anyways, it’s not that they shouldn’t have rights. I’m fine with their lawsuit being objectively evaluated by the courts. I just don’t think their Governor’s choice to highlight just how little Puerto Rico actually pays for at the federal level was a good one. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/88 "2019-02-16T01:33:26Z")
You’re right, I meant 6. I was busy eating while I typed. But yet again, for all of your target practice, you’re missing the point. Laughing at poor people is despicable. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/89 "2019-02-16T01:35:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I just don’t think their Governor’s choice to highlight just how little Puerto Rico actually pays for at the federal level was a good one. How much do you have to pay before your argument is a good one? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/90 "2019-02-16T01:35:26Z")
Lemme rephrase. Laughing at someone’s poverty is despicable. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/91 "2019-02-16T01:48:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Oh I think the lawsuit’s “merits” (such as they are) would exist independent of the amount of federal tax dollars a state/territory has to pay. It would, however, probably be a good idea for the state/territory to be in some other position besides “distant last place” in per-capita tax contributions before their governor decides to start complaining about what they have to pay for. It’d be a bit like an unemployed, homeless guy indignantly telling a cop “I pay your salary!” I support this idea. In fact, people who live in states in the bottom half of this list should shut the fuck up about the federal government. ```auto 1 Connecticut $10,861.24 2 District of Columbia $10,624.76 3 Massachusetts $9,503.20 4 New York $8,849.66 5 New Jersey $8,834.72 6 California $7,424.24 7 Wyoming $7,392.61 8 Washington $7,111.99 9 Illinois $7,005.35 10 New Hampshire $6,977.27 11 Maryland $6,929.99 12 Alaska $6,805.26 13 Colorado $6,691.16 14 North Dakota $6,690.84 15 Minnesota $6,580.09 16 Virginia $6,543.78 17 Texas $6,253.94 18 Florida $6,023.37 19 Pennsylvania $5,837.21 20 South Dakota $5,657.29 21 Rhode Island $5,492.29 22 Nevada $5,478.30 23 Kansas $5,315.03 24 Wisconsin $5,204.04 25 Delaware $5,200.01 26 Nebraska $5,104.38 27 Michigan $4,917.18 28 Oregon $4,888.63 29 Vermont $4,823.69 30 Ohio $4,786.28 31 Hawaii $4,785.54 32 Georgia $4,727.09 33 Iowa $4,707.79 34 Missouri $4,689.74 35 Utah $4,670.48 36 Tennessee $4,670.13 37 North Carolina $4,474.21 38 Montana $4,436.92 39 Arizona $4,422.17 40 Indiana $4,416.98 41 Oklahoma $4,370.22 42 Louisiana $4,331.61 43 Maine $4,084.02 44 Idaho $3,899.83 45 South Carolina $3,897.15 46 Alabama $3,749.03 47 Kentucky $3,714.74 48 Arkansas $3,677.47 49 New Mexico $3,600.42 50 West Virginia $3,207.77 51 Mississippi $3,024.18 ``` [Source](https://www.money-rates.com/federal-reserve/federal-income-taxes-by-state.html) ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/92 "2019-02-16T02:43:14Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I support this idea. In fact, people who live in states in the bottom half of this list should shut the fuck up about the federal government. … If you want to have people who don’t contribute enough “shut the fuck up about the federal government”, why don’t we do it at the individual taxpayer (or tax-taker in the case of those whose opinions you seem to be suggesting we shouldn’t hear) level? Perhaps ban anyone who is not a net contributor from voting? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/93 "2019-02-16T03:07:23Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > If you want to have people who don’t contribute enough “shut the fuck up about the federal government”, why don’t we do it at the individual taxpayer (or tax-taker in the case of those whose opinions you seem to be suggesting we shouldn’t hear) level? Perhaps ban anyone who is not a net contributor from voting? Do you realize that Blue States fund Red States? [AP FACT CHECK: Blue high-tax states fund red low-tax states](https://apnews.com/2f83c72de1bd440d92cdbc0d3b6bc08c) ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/94 "2019-02-16T03:19:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Do you realize that Blue States fund Red States? > > [AP FACT CHECK: Blue high-tax states fund red low-tax states](https://apnews.com/2f83c72de1bd440d92cdbc0d3b6bc08c) I realize that the two most expensive federal programs are Social Security and Medicare, so a “study” of “which states receive the most tax dollars” is a bit like asking “which states have the most old people”. It is unsurprising to me that old people often choose to retire in relatively low-tax red states. ETA: If Puerto Rico were a state, it would be blue as can be, and it sure as shit isn’t “funding” anybody. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/95 "2019-02-16T03:32:22Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I realize that the two most expensive federal programs are Social Security and Medicare, so a “study” of “which states receive the most tax dollars” is a bit like asking “which states have the most old people”. It is unsurprising to me that old people often choose to retire in relatively low-tax red states. How popular do you think you would be if you toured red states telling them you want to take SS and medicare away considering they have “the most old people”? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/96 "2019-02-16T03:35:51Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Explain the joke, please. Like 99% of right-wing “humor”, it’s punching down. Conservatives think that’s hilarious, while normally-socialized human beings find it tasteless and unfunny. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/97 "2019-02-16T03:38:14Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > How popular do you think you would be if you toured red states telling them you want to take SS and medicare away considering they have “the most old people”? Probably not very. Do you imagine that being popular rates very high on my list of concerns? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/98 "2019-02-16T03:59:05Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Probably not very. Do you imagine that being popular rates very high on my list of concerns? Libertarian concerns clash with the real world so as to be unworkable. So you pine for some impossible fantasy land. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/99 "2019-02-16T04:56:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Libertarian concerns clash with the real world so as to be unworkable. > > So you pine for some impossible fantasy land. _shrug_ Even if true, pining for some impossible fantasy land would not be my most egregious failing. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617/100 "2019-02-16T11:59:06Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > _shrug_ Even if true, pining for some impossible fantasy land would not be my most egregious failing. No but your lack of concern for others has to rate pretty high. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-declares-national-emergency-to-build-the-wall-will-it-hold/829617.md?page=6)