2,000 Busloads of New Immigrants Are Heading to Your Town
Are YOU Ready for the Caravan?
by Pem Schaeffer: Sometimes it helps to convert big numbers to tangible imagery of some sort that helps average humans grasp the scale of the figure at hand. Recent attempts to explain the magnitude of a $1.9 TRILLION bill have all fallen flat. The number is simply too big to symbolize with anything of remotely human scale.
Another number in the news these days is much, much smaller. Remarking on illegal entries into the US at our southern border, the numbers in February this year were reported as more than 100,000, and significantly higher than last year. This is attributed to Biden's reversal of Trump's policies on border control, and in particular, calling a stop to border fence construction.
Open border advocates like to say that a country as vast as ours, with a population in the range of 350 million (350,000,000), should have no problem at all absorbing and supporting 100,000 new arrivals, diseases, criminal records, and what have you as part of the mix.
Per month.
I could think of a few different ways of picturing 100,000 people. Our largest football stadiums can hold roughly that amount, at least for a 3 or 4-hour game.
But then I thought about another way. A typical large bus (motor coach) holds in the range of 50 passengers. That means transporting 100,000 new arrivals would take at least 2,000 such buses. Can you imagine organizing that brigade of buses, routing them to the pickup point in an orderly manner, and then loading and dispatching them to their destination, again, in an orderly manner, each with clear instructions and full fuel tanks?
Quite a task, and quite an image to behold. It would take helicopters high above to capture the scene for broadcast.
Now imagine that caravan of 2,000 buses arriving in your town to spend the night, make bathroom breaks, and allow passengers to eat. Who is going to organize and handle that?
If that seems too big to get your arms around, ask yourself what it would look like if your town was the final destination for those 2,000 bus-loads. Where would you like them to park and unload their passengers? Who will be there to greet them and make arrangements for their living arrangements and all the other needs they will have?
Look, if it will make things easier for you and your fellow residents, those 2,000 buses won't have to arrive all at once. Instead, they can come in a steady stream, averaging just under 70 bus-loads per day. But, fair warning, that daily rate will continue for the foreseeable future, according to the new managers of America's borders.
And remember; this is not a “crisis,” this is a “challenge.”
You're up to the challenge, we assume. Welcome centers, medical personnel, translators, temporary housing, and all the rest.
After all, this is a great country, and all because of folks like you. Washington is counting on you, so don't let them down!
------------------------------
Pem Schaeffer is a retired engineer who progressed to a position in business development leadership in defense electronics. He lives and writes in Brunswick, Maine, and blogs at The Other Side of Town.
Tags: Pem Schaeffer, blogger, 2,000 Busloads, New Immigrants, Heading to Your Town To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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| Pem Schaeffer |
Another number in the news these days is much, much smaller. Remarking on illegal entries into the US at our southern border, the numbers in February this year were reported as more than 100,000, and significantly higher than last year. This is attributed to Biden's reversal of Trump's policies on border control, and in particular, calling a stop to border fence construction.
Open border advocates like to say that a country as vast as ours, with a population in the range of 350 million (350,000,000), should have no problem at all absorbing and supporting 100,000 new arrivals, diseases, criminal records, and what have you as part of the mix.
Per month.
I could think of a few different ways of picturing 100,000 people. Our largest football stadiums can hold roughly that amount, at least for a 3 or 4-hour game.
But then I thought about another way. A typical large bus (motor coach) holds in the range of 50 passengers. That means transporting 100,000 new arrivals would take at least 2,000 such buses. Can you imagine organizing that brigade of buses, routing them to the pickup point in an orderly manner, and then loading and dispatching them to their destination, again, in an orderly manner, each with clear instructions and full fuel tanks?
Quite a task, and quite an image to behold. It would take helicopters high above to capture the scene for broadcast.
Now imagine that caravan of 2,000 buses arriving in your town to spend the night, make bathroom breaks, and allow passengers to eat. Who is going to organize and handle that?
If that seems too big to get your arms around, ask yourself what it would look like if your town was the final destination for those 2,000 bus-loads. Where would you like them to park and unload their passengers? Who will be there to greet them and make arrangements for their living arrangements and all the other needs they will have?
Look, if it will make things easier for you and your fellow residents, those 2,000 buses won't have to arrive all at once. Instead, they can come in a steady stream, averaging just under 70 bus-loads per day. But, fair warning, that daily rate will continue for the foreseeable future, according to the new managers of America's borders.
And remember; this is not a “crisis,” this is a “challenge.”
You're up to the challenge, we assume. Welcome centers, medical personnel, translators, temporary housing, and all the rest.
After all, this is a great country, and all because of folks like you. Washington is counting on you, so don't let them down!
------------------------------
Pem Schaeffer is a retired engineer who progressed to a position in business development leadership in defense electronics. He lives and writes in Brunswick, Maine, and blogs at The Other Side of Town.
Tags: Pem Schaeffer, blogger, 2,000 Busloads, New Immigrants, Heading to Your Town To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:20 AM - Post Link
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