re: CO to raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals

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You could have saved the Chinese a lot of work with your wisdom.

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The Great Wall had mixed results - it was somewhat effective but never the impenetrable barrier many imagine.
What it did accomplish:
Slowed invasions: It forced raiders to concentrate at defended passes rather than spreading across the frontier, buying time for defenders to respond
Early warning system: Beacon towers allowed rapid communication of threats across vast distances
Controlled trade and migration: It regulated movement along the Silk Road, allowing taxation and preventing smuggling
Psychological impact: Projected power and defined the boundary between "civilization" and the "barbarian" lands
Where it failed:
Never stopped determined invasions: The Mongols went around it. The Manchus got through because a Ming general opened the gates. Major invasions typically succeeded through betrayal, going around endpoints, or simply overwhelming specific sections
Massive resource drain: The construction and maintenance costs were staggering - millions of workers over centuries, with enormous human suffering
Limited against cavalry: Mobile steppe warriors could probe for weak points and weren't trying to hold territory anyway, just raid
The wall worked best against small-scale raids and for controlling commerce. Against serious military campaigns by organized states, it was more of a speed bump than a true barrier. Its real accomplishment might be more symbolic and administrative - defining borders, enabling taxation, and demonstrating state power - rather than purely military.

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