When Trump retires in 7 years I really feel it's going to tough hiring another president that can come close to perfection as Trump.

@Xuan12 Collecting money on trade with Mexico to pay for the wall, how quick can you build a wall that long and that high?

@cherokeepatti That doesn't actually work, we pay those tariffs. Companies that import those goods pass the cost of those tariffs onto US consumers. We're still paying.

@Xuan12 it will work

@cherokeepatti Sure the funds might get raised, but out of our pockets.

@Xuan12 that's not the only way, I would like to see a fee on money transfers to Mexico, since the people want to make money under the table and not pay taxes and take it out of circulation, maybe tax them on the transfers...might stop a lot of that stuff.

@cherokeepatti Easier said than done. Ever since 2001 financial institutions that transfer money like Western Union have been under much closer scrutiny by counter-terrorist efforts. It's estimated that at least 60%, and as much as 80% of remittences to Mexico are already made through informal channels since that time. Many alternatives already exist, such as wiring though a third party, generally a caribbean nation first. Or hiring a carrier to legally cross the border with the currency and distribute it domestically in Mexico. Or even simply carrying the money back in person. You certainly could make some money by taxing remittances to Mexico, they are at an all time high, but most of it would be coming from legal immigrants or citizens of the US. And that of course, would tempt them as well to use informal channels. Then of course we have to talk about the magnitude of the tax, how to enforce it, and how much enforcing it would cost. Current known remittences to Mexico are about $26Billion. Even a 10% tax on that would yield $2.6 billion. Assume some overhead for doing so and you come out at maybe $2.4 billion annually, assuming the current rate maintains. The Department of Homeland Security estimates the cost of the wall to be about $21.6 billion. So we'd be looking at 9 years to collect the funds to build the wall. Longer than he could even be president. At that's a rosy estimate. It assumes no setbacks, legal fees, price increases, or changes in revenue.

Bottom line, it's a feel good fantasy, not a reality. Either we pay for a wall, or we don't get one.