Ohio Congressman: We can fund border wall with “WallCoin” ICO

[Hydrogen]

Author of proposal for regulating ICOs thinks one could help secure border.

As President Donald Trump threatened to allow a government shutdown if Congress did not provide funding for his proposed wall along the Mexican border, a Republican congressman from Ohio offered up alternative routes to getting the wall built: through Internet crowdfunding or through an initial coin offering.

During an interview with NPR's Morning Edition on December 12, Rep. Warren Davidson said that he had offered what he referred to as a "modest proposal" in the form of his "Buy a Brick, Build a Wall Act." The bill, which he submitted on November 30, would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to accept monetary gifts from anyone "on the condition that it be used to plan, design, construct, or maintain a barrier along the international border between the United States and Mexico." The funds would go into an account called the "Border Wall Trust Fund," and a public website would be set up to process donations electronically.

Rep. Davidson told NPR's Steve Inskeep that the donations could come from anyone and be gathered in a number of ways."You could do it with this sort of, like, crowdfunding site," Davidson explained. "Or you could do it with blockchain—you could have Wall Coins."

Ars reached out to Davidson's office for further comment but has not received a response. Davidson, a member of the Republican Party's Freedom Caucus, is also drafting proposed legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. Davidson announced his plans at the Blockland Solutions conference in Cleveland on December 3. At the same conference, Ohio Lieutenant Governor-Elect Jon Husted spoke on the potential of using blockchain as a means for citizens to communicate with government as part of the InnovateOhio government modernization initiative.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/12/ohio-congressman-we-can-fund-border-wall-with-wallcoin/

....


After reading his ICO proposal for accepting donations to fund Trump's Wall.

Is it my imagination or does it seem as if politicians responsible for drafting regulatory legislation for ICO's and crypto currencies not seem to understand how either of those things work?

In politics that usually means politicians communicate with banks and ask them to write the regulation. Politicians "drafting" anything is a mere formality as they lack the expertise, experience and knowledge necesssary.

Anyways, if there's any question in the future as to why state regulation is ineffective, dysfunctional or fails to work as it should in theory. Perhaps this topic will come up again. We might question how computer illiterate politicians can be expected to draft internet regulation in terms of net neutrality. And how crypto currency illiterate politicians can create effective regulation for ICOs.

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[davis196]

An ICO to fund the wall on the mexican border?Wallcoin?Hahaha,what a stupid idea.
I'm not suprised that a politician proposed such a stupid idea.It's kinda normal.
This project is ridiculous,however,I'm glad that there are some crypto supporters left in the congress.

[hatshepsut93]

If you take a closer look, ICO's are full of ridiculous ideas, so this one is not so special, the only think that makes it interesting is that it comes from a congressman. Like, how is this idea going to work? People will be buying "WallCoins" and then what, what will they be used for? This wall isn't some business that generates profit, and those tokens wouldn't have any utility, so it's basically just a scam like very other ICO.

[exstasie]

If you take a closer look, ICO's are full of ridiculous ideas, so this one is not so special, the only think that makes it interesting is that it comes from a congressman. Like, how is this idea going to work? People will be buying "WallCoins" and then what, what will they be used for? This wall isn't some business that generates profit, and those tokens wouldn't have any utility, so it's basically just a scam like very other ICO.

I can wrap my head around security tokens (as in company equity). Nothing wrong with that, really. And maybe even some utility tokens too....maybe.

But these analogies to crowdfunding sites grind my gears. Crowdfunding sites don't have their own ICO tokens. What makes them think "Wall Coins" need to exist? People like this truly don't get it. If they did, they'd realize how scammy it looked.

[cluit]

I really understand that Ohio is a leading state in the crypto currency deals for USA since they were also the first place that accepted bitcoin payments as well but this is a bit going too much forward.

People do not start doing ICO because they want funding period, they do ICO because they need funding for their coin which would be given out to the people and hopefully make them money later on. What are they thinking about wallcoin ?

Do people really think if you get wallcoin and than the wall is built the price of wallcoin will go up? I doubt it. Hence if you want to do something like that you might as well start a fund and take peoples money without the hassle of ICO. Using the crypto currency in smart ways like tax payments is great but please leave crypto out of your politics.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Is it my imagination or does it seem as if politicians responsible for drafting regulatory legislation for ICO's and crypto currencies not seem to understand how either of those things work?

I'm not sure if politicians understand anything other than how to get elected, to be honest, and the decisions they make I've always assumed to be the result of lobbyists and other influencers. 

This idea sounds pretty retarded if you ask me.  I'm not sure how building that wall, crowdsourcing the funds, and creating a new shitcoin in the process have anything in common.  The financing certainly could be done through crowdsourcing--and that's not a bad idea at all if there are enough supporters, and it would be a morale booster for those who contributed....but how blockchain tech fits into this escapes me.  It also seems to me that if that wall were to be financed with crypto, bitcoin or a combination of bitcoin and any number of other coins could do the trick.  I just don't get this.

People do not start doing ICO because they want funding period, they do ICO because they need funding for their coin which would be given out to the people and hopefully make them money later on. What are they thinking about wallcoin ?

From all that I can tell, the only people who make money on ICOs are the developers behind them, not the investors since most of them are useless or outright scams.  I'm pretty sure this politician doesn't know what the fuck he's doing or talking about.  Typical.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Wait. Wasn't Mexico going to pay for the wall? I'm sure I heard Trump say that no less than 100 times during the campaigns. Now they've resorted to crowd funding? Having said that, there's no shortage of idiots to throw money away at ICOs, and there's no shortage of idiots who think a border wall is actually a good idea, so maybe it's not such a ridiculous pairing after all.

Someone get Jet Cash in here and tell him www.wallcoin.com is for sale.

I'm pretty sure this politician doesn't know what the fuck he's doing or talking about.  Typical.

That's almost certainly a given, but he maybe also knows that almost all ICOs are get-rich-quick scams for the developers, and wants to cash in on some of that sweet, naive, newbie money.

[clrpod]

Doesn't sound like an ICO, instead a crowdfunding event. I don't think they'd get anywhere near the level of funding required for such a large scale project. Also as the article spoke about, I'm not sure that the government can legally do such a thing.

[stompix]

And how does it work in the real world?
You get your token that is backed up by 2 feet of wall and you get a bonus every month your portion of the wall has no tunnel drilled under it? Or does the wall comes with special gates and every drug dealer chooses the ones with the lowest fees? 

This actually tops Maduro's plan with a coin that is supposedly backed by oil...which he plans on selling. Scammers should really watch more politics shows, they would come with better ideas that labeling vegetables or that skin care blockchain.


Oh god!!!!
Now that I checked his name, this guy is trying to regularize ICOs?
While he has no f*** clue what an ICO is.

[snipie]

Those politicians are leaving in a parallel world where everything seems to be going very well, no poverty, everyone working...
Didn't trump said that Mexico will fund the wall? or is it just another election lie? Why would tax payers fund a giant wall?
I find the idea of this guy creative but as usual politicians are living outside the real world.

[arpon11]

Author of proposal for regulating ICOs thinks one could help secure border.

As President Donald Trump threatened to allow a government shutdown if Congress did not provide funding for his proposed wall along the Mexican border, a Republican congressman from Ohio offered up alternative routes to getting the wall built: through Internet crowdfunding or through an initial coin offering.

During an interview with NPR's Morning Edition on December 12, Rep. Warren Davidson said that he had offered what he referred to as a "modest proposal" in the form of his "Buy a Brick, Build a Wall Act." The bill, which he submitted on November 30, would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to accept monetary gifts from anyone "on the condition that it be used to plan, design, construct, or maintain a barrier along the international border between the United States and Mexico." The funds would go into an account called the "Border Wall Trust Fund," and a public website would be set up to process donations electronically.

Rep. Davidson told NPR's Steve Inskeep that the donations could come from anyone and be gathered in a number of ways."You could do it with this sort of, like, crowdfunding site," Davidson explained. "Or you could do it with blockchain—you could have Wall Coins."

Ars reached out to Davidson's office for further comment but has not received a response. Davidson, a member of the Republican Party's Freedom Caucus, is also drafting proposed legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. Davidson announced his plans at the Blockland Solutions conference in Cleveland on December 3. At the same conference, Ohio Lieutenant Governor-Elect Jon Husted spoke on the potential of using blockchain as a means for citizens to communicate with government as part of the InnovateOhio government modernization initiative.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/12/ohio-congressman-we-can-fund-border-wall-with-wallcoin/

....


After reading his ICO proposal for accepting donations to fund Trump's Wall.

Is it my imagination or does it seem as if politicians responsible for drafting regulatory legislation for ICO's and crypto currencies not seem to understand how either of those things work?

In politics that usually means politicians communicate with banks and ask them to write the regulation. Politicians "drafting" anything is a mere formality as they lack the expertise, experience and knowledge necesssary.

Anyways, if there's any question in the future as to why state regulation is ineffective, dysfunctional or fails to work as it should in theory. Perhaps this topic will come up again. We might question how computer illiterate politicians can be expected to draft internet regulation in terms of net neutrality. And how crypto currency illiterate politicians can create effective regulation for ICOs.

This man mind is in cryptocurrencies and like our other leaders I strongly believe that most of them has hands in some of the coins in the market but they will not come out openly to say it.
This wallcoin is going to help raise funds to build the wall of Mexico and that is the beauty of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.  It creates trust and transparency.  If you really what to no what is in the future for us then read most of this idea by our political leaders and see that bitcoin and blockchain technology is in their mind but they are trying to play politic around it.

[clrpod]

And how does it work in the real world?
You get your token that is backed up by 2 feet of wall and you get a bonus every month your portion of the wall has no tunnel drilled under it? Or does the wall comes with special gates and every drug dealer chooses the ones with the lowest fees? 

This actually tops Maduro's plan with a coin that is supposedly backed by oil...which he plans on selling. Scammers should really watch more politics shows, they would come with better ideas that labeling vegetables or that skin care blockchain.


Oh god!!!!
Now that I checked his name, this guy is trying to regularize ICOs?
While he has no f*** clue what an ICO is.

I heard that they're actually going to build a wall which is habitable. And then each time you catch a Mexican trying to climb over your section of the wall you can hold them captive in your bit of the wall and force them to go out each day and mine bitcoin with nothing but a pickaxe. Just the word on the street.

[axecommunity]

Is it my imagination or does it seem as if politicians responsible for drafting regulatory legislation for ICO's and crypto currencies not seem to understand how either of those things work?

I'm not sure if politicians understand anything other than how to get elected, to be honest, and the decisions they make I've always assumed to be the result of lobbyists and other influencers. 

This idea sounds pretty retarded if you ask me.  I'm not sure how building that wall, crowdsourcing the funds, and creating a new shitcoin in the process have anything in common.  The financing certainly could be done through crowdsourcing--and that's not a bad idea at all if there are enough supporters, and it would be a morale booster for those who contributed....but how blockchain tech fits into this escapes me.  It also seems to me that if that wall were to be financed with crypto, bitcoin or a combination of bitcoin and any number of other coins could do the trick.  I just don't get this.

People do not start doing ICO because they want funding period, they do ICO because they need funding for their coin which would be given out to the people and hopefully make them money later on. What are they thinking about wallcoin ?

From all that I can tell, the only people who make money on ICOs are the developers behind them, not the investors since most of them are useless or outright scams.  I'm pretty sure this politician doesn't know what the fuck he's doing or talking about.  Typical.

Of course that can happen. These guys have access to huge funds and can no doubt fund the border wall. There have been occasions in which many of the people from the country come forward to invest in a public project.

[dothebeats]

This will not hit it for the masses. The idea of this stupid 'Wallcoin' clearly promotes discrimination and politicians want the public to fund it. Knowing how gullible some Americans are, this might work, but then again what benefit do they get in return? The politician clearly did not think of what he blabbered on the media about his stupid idea. He literally wants to promote regulation for ICOs and clearly wants to do a nonsense ICO himself which is totally contradicting. I guess we're really past the age wherein people really think hard, as this is a fine example of dumbness done right.

[o_e_l_e_o]

The bottom line is that this will never be funded. Estimates currently put the cost of his wall at anywhere between $20 billion and $70 billion. Given that the most lucrative ICO of all time to date raised $4 billion worldwide, there is absolutely zero chance that "WallCoin" will raise the required funds based solely within the US. This is obvious to anyone.

The question is, then, that if this does go ahead, what will they do with the money they do raise when it isn't enough? Will they return it all? Or will they find some other way of funneling it in to the pockets of politicians and/or Trump's businesses. I suspect the later.

[tdrinker]

This will not hit it for the masses. The idea of this stupid 'Wallcoin' clearly promotes discrimination and politicians want the public to fund it. Knowing how gullible some Americans are, this might work, but then again what benefit do they get in return? The politician clearly did not think of what he blabbered on the media about his stupid idea. He literally wants to promote regulation for ICOs and clearly wants to do a nonsense ICO himself which is totally contradicting. I guess we're really past the age wherein people really think hard, as this is a fine example of dumbness done right.

The benefit for themselves will be that they get the wall they wanted for. That they elected a man in to power who not only promised such a wall, but promised it would be paid for buy Mexico is a moot point. What amazes me with these politicians is not their stupidity, but the fact they're oblivious enough to it that they don't hire some people to advise them and make sure they don't sound like a moron every time they speak.

[coneing]

And how does it work in the real world?
You get your token that is backed up by 2 feet of wall and you get a bonus every month your portion of the wall has no tunnel drilled under it? Or does the wall comes with special gates and every drug dealer chooses the ones with the lowest fees? 

This actually tops Maduro's plan with a coin that is supposedly backed by oil...which he plans on selling. Scammers should really watch more politics shows, they would come with better ideas that labeling vegetables or that skin care blockchain.


Oh god!!!!
Now that I checked his name, this guy is trying to regularize ICOs?
While he has no f*** clue what an ICO is.

I heard that they're actually going to build a wall which is habitable. And then each time you catch a Mexican trying to climb over your section of the wall you can hold them captive in your bit of the wall and force them to go out each day and mine bitcoin with nothing but a pickaxe. Just the word on the street.

In fact I heard that they are going to hold them captive and charge them five Bitcoins for the freedom. Until and unless they are able to mine five Bitcoins with the axe, they will not be set free.