Posted on 03/27/2017 2:29:51 PM PDT by drewh
President Donald Trump’s border wall project could get funding through an unlikely method: voluntary donations from private citizens.
The newly-founded America First Foundation, Inc., has started accepting donations to fund “the great wall of America,” with the ultimate goal of raising $21 billion to contribute to construction of the nearly 2,000 mile, 18 to 30-foot-high barrier between the U.S. and Mexico.
“This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is the REAL DEAL!” a post on the group’s Facebook page reads.
America First’s founders want to bring the American people together to be part of what will be a historic construction project, securing the southern border by slowing illegal immigration, reduce drug trafficking, and reducing the burden on federal coffers.
“They are going to put up the wall. We’re just trying to help,” Steven Vulich, co-founder and vice president of America First Foundation, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Vulich is an Army veteran who was medically discharged after taking shrapnel during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and now works as a police officer on military bases. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is also an entrepreneur who created a social networking app.
America First was founded shortly after Trump won the 2016 presidential election, based on the premise of “getting American citizens together for a common cause,” Vulich said.
Right now, that cause is Trump’s border wall, or the “GREAT SOUTHERN BORDER WALL,” according to America First’s website.
So far, the campaign has raised $138.00 from 130 donations, but Vulich said word about the campaign is spreading. The website launched in February, and people are nervous about donating money to a new nonprofit, but the group is working to legitimize the organization. The group has a small staff, a public relations firm, and other projects as well.
One campaign listed on the website asks for money to help people displaced by the Oroville, Calif. damn floods, and another general disaster relief team that can “Respond Quickly To Many Types Of Disasters Around The Country With The Early Supplies Needed To Assist Those Who Are Effected [sic] And Displaced.”
The border wall campaign is getting positive attention on social media, and significant numbers of people are just waiting to donate, Vulich said. “There are people who give recurring amounts every payday. They drop $50 every paycheck,” Vulich said.
Any money America First raises for the wall project will go toward the border wall construction. Vulich wants to work with the administration and the Department of Homeland Security to directly pay contractors working on the wall through a public-private partnership.
Arizona tried raising funds through private, voluntary donations for a fence solely covering its 200-mile portion of the U.S. border with Mexico several years ago, but the project ultimately failed. State legislators initiated the project in 2011 and hoped to raise $50 million, but by 2015, the project had only garnered $265,000 and the project was abandoned, the Associated Press reported at the time.
The 2016 election may indicate voters want the border wall, according to Vulich. “It’s what the people have been asking for. It’s what people want,” Vulich said.
The Trump administration is seeking $999 million in supplemental funding to start the wall project this year, but that’s a fraction of the cost. A DHS report obtained by Reuters earlier this month put the cost of entire project at $21 billion.
Federal agencies are soliciting prototypes for the wall from construction firms, but ultimately, the project will require Congressional action to fully fund itself, and Democratic leaders have already threatened a government shutdown.
“It’s not about Republicans or Democrat,” Vulich said. Bringing in private money for the construction project could, in theory, allow the administration to fund other parts of the budget important to Democrats. “We’re trying to make everybody happy.”
Imagine a sister site dedicated to medical charity to working poor who refuse to sign up for Medicaid/Obamacare. Imagine how much 21 Billion would do.
Imagine if the 21 Billion were dedicated to efficent medical payment systems such as Evangelical Medishare and Provider Direct Pay on a co-pay basis.
Imagine a friendly rivalry between the two that would generate more than just one site.
Imagine the left when it is demonstrated that don’t have to be done with the coercion of government.
I’m totally in if they place landmines around my portion of the wall.
I’d chip in for bricks and morter. No land mines, as the leftist judges and lawyers would sue me for injury costs.
Yes sell bricks for $50.00 each you can put your name on and I’ll take ten.
HELL NO!
Folks, we do not need to drain the nation of expendable cash.
Mexico was going to pay for it, and Mexico it should remain.
Use your cash to start a business, employ some people, invest, help a neighbor, or a local cause.
Things done locally benefit the community, and it’s not lost to the community.
I know folks mean well, and I want the wall more than most, but I do not want to see private holdings burnt off like this.
Many have been posting this idea on Facebook for weeks. If people want to be a part of this, why shouldn’t they? Names were also mentioned. Some were wanting them as a memorial to family members.
This isn’t a make or break deal for me. It just strikes me as another way to sap the life blood of Conservative money out of our pockets.
People think, “My what a great idea.” Think any Leftist folks will be forking over their savings? Will their pool of available money shrink?
Just trying to toss this out there for folks to think about.
If they want to do it, I’m not going to ding them for it. It’s not like a Leftist project.
Paying for a wall on the border is simple. It costs $6 for an I-94 permit to cross from Mexico into U.S. and go beyond the border area. Raise the price to $10 dollars and use the difference to pay for wall and increased border security. Wait times to cross will be shortened because the time to make change will be far less. Those that buy permits should be happy with the shorter wait time.
War Bonds worked quite well during WW2, why not BUILD THE WALL BONDS?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.