Why We Should Stop Foreign Aid.
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
by Dr. Carla Goddard
Foreign aid. Watching a recent political debate between parties, I was struck at the opposites of what the debate was on and the advertisements coming at the breaks. While the politicians of this great nation were discussing the rate of homeless now in the country, the number of families living below the poverty line, the number of students who are unable to read, the number of jobs lost, and the number of foreclosures happening there was an advertisement of one of our tax paid politicians promoting aid for a third world country.
Why is the United States trying to take care of other nations when it can not take care of its own people. We allow so many foreigners to come into our country both legally and illegally and we support them. The government helps them realize the 'Great American Dream'. Yet that same dream is out of reach of the average American today. Scholarships are given to those coming here to study, when many of our own children can not read let alone pay for a college education.
I was interviewing an elderly woman in March about her social giving back to the community, she got up to take her medication and was cutting it in half. I asked her if she needed help and her reply was no, but thank you. She went on to explain that she cuts her medication in half so it lasts longer as she can not afford to pay for taking the prescribed amount.
These things are amazingly difficult for me to understand with the knowledge that millions perhaps even trillions of dollars are sent out from our own government to other countries for economic aid. I get angry when I see my tax dollars paying for a politician to travel overseas to see if the foreign aid we have sent is being used to help the people, especially when while there they take the publicity opportunity to do a paid endorsement commercial for a private organization trying to raise money to help this other nation.
If Oprah wants to send her personal money to Africa, that is her prerogative. It should not be the prerogative of our government to spend our tax dollars outside our country for anyone's aid. Especially when they turn around and cut programs for our children, elders, jobs, or any number of programs.
Where is the accountability to our own tax paying citizens?
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More commentsAmen to all that feel the way I do about our government blowing the Americantaxpayers money and then borrowing money from other countries. Why are payingSenators, representives and Presidents. They are already rich,take their money.
I am absolutely disgusted with our foreign policy. I recently graduated from a top 10 University with a bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering and another in Mechanical Engineering. Guess what? Right now I am completelly destitute, living out of my car. Why? Because I suffered an injury after graduation when my school insurance ran out and before my insurance thru my employer became available. The injury required surgery which set me back $110,000 (Simple flexor tendon repair and I didnt even stay in the hospital overnight). As a result of the time required for physical therapy, I lost the position at my job. Now, with the recession, I am unable to find another job and did not qualify for unemployment. I've been eating at a homeless shelter for the past 3 weeks. I can not get any aid from the government, yet they spend billions (if not trillions) of dollars annually to help other countries that hate us and do nothing but condemn us. Yet when they need money, they have no issues with taking from the country that they hate so much. Honestly, right now I don't give a $%&*@$%& about any foreigners or their problems. I, like so many other americans, have my own problems to deal with. I am a productive hard working american who has been sold out by his government and his health care system. Where is my help? If we took all of the money that we spend on foreign aid, applied it to our health care system, and in conjunction laid down mandates restricting hospitals from charging $30 for a tylenol, we would all have free health care. As an engineer I will spend loads of money paying taxes so that the government can give it to foreigners, yet I can't get any of it back when I need it. American tax dollars are for AMERICAN CITIZENS, not third world countries that have existed for much longer that the US but can't seem to get their $%&*@$%& together, despite having an abundance of natural resources. When did this country start caring more about foreigners than its own citizens? Most of the countries that we give aid to don't even show any appreciation. In fact, it's gotten so bad that now they just expect us to give them money, and if we don't, oh, then we are evil non-caring americans. The whole purpose of a nation is to take care of its own citizens, not the rest of the world's. Supporters of foreign aid seem to be suffering some sort of dellusion in which they think that the entire world is one big country, and that it is our responsibility to take care of all the world's people. Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but this is not Utopia, and giving away money is just going to make it worse. It will encourage complacency and dependency. If these countries can't be self sufficient, maybe that is saying something. Maybe we should allow nature to take its course, rather than providing funding for further breeding which will only compound their problems my diluting their money per capita even more. Our grandparents, (the so called greatest generation), didn't build up this country and fight in WW2 so that the baby boomer politicians of today could give away all of its money to undeserving foreigners. This country will collapse if it continues down this path, not just due to foreign aid, but also due the fact that it's easier for foreigners to get into college here than it is for americans. Are these politicians crazy? Welcome to neo-capitalist America, the country that sells out its own citizens to help self interested foreigners.
All so egoïstic. You say america can not solve their own problems.. well we create luxury problems. All other problems are solved and you're just avaricious. We think we have a problem when we don't have electricity. They don't think they have problems when they live without houses, food or clothes. Don't see the difference?
Alright fine, let the Americans stop all AID to extemely poor and exploited countries. But in return, you are no longer allowed to use their cheap labour that allows you to live like the greedy slobs you are, you are no longer allowed to steal their oil, diamonds, gold and other natural resources, and you are no longer allowed to consume 45% of the worlds food (while USA only produces about 17-18%).When all this happens, you might realise the only reason there isn't MORE starvation and a lower standard of living in the USA is because of the BILLIONS of people your country exploits daily. I love how American's think they are so resourceful and smart, when really your just murders and thieves, as an outsider, its not hard to see why someone could be angry enough to drive a plane into a couple towers. Think about it, American greed killed more children in ONE week than 9/11 killed in its entirity.Have fun wearing your sweat shop nike clothes and driving around with oil that has killed thousands of innocent civilians, meanwhile complaining about the peanuts your government tosses the poorest of the poor. Thats right, keep thinking about yourself...Don't group all of us Americans into one. Many of us don't agree with what our government does and have been forced by the rich into the lives we have and more and more of us are living in poverty. We are not responsible for what are government does any more than you are. Just try to stop them and see where you will be? We have been trying to stop this kind of thing but to no avail. Also where are the Canadians? Going along with the illegal wars that George W. Bush started. By the way we did not elect him, it was a political coup by our "Supreme Court". Not only that we seem to be importing a hell of a lot from Canada lately. Maybe we should stop that and see how much it affects your lives. Every country in the world has it's hand out to the US and expects us to come to their aid in war time and in peace time but where are all the countries right now. If you think we have it so good why don't you give up your health care, education, pension and the like. Why don't you send your foreign aid to the US?
I am grateful that this article is still generating emails to my inbox. It is my belief that the purpose of the written word is to cause one to pause and evaluate what they have read and come to their own conclusions. When something that you have written causes people to pause, reflect, and feel strongly enough to comment it is truly a blessing regardless of the perspective they may have.BlessingsRev. Carla Goddard
again an hundred times and a thousand CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME !!!! it is appaling that we have to work our asses out for 12 hours an hour then get taxed almost in half then our tax money goes OUT, and when we get in trouble here no help , the employment insurance does not keep a family alive. ok i am not against helping others, but we are a nation of 32 million individuals and we hear about unemployment rising to 8% and homelessness, why don't we donate internally and the government matches our dollar to help a fellow canadian citizen who also busted their ass paying taxes to the system, but instead we see CANADIAN citizens losing their homes in a blink of an eye, and the government sending hundreds of millions of dollars also in a blink of an eye outside the country. it's bad enough as it is that we have jobs going out of the country, factories closing and going out of the country thinking they are going to reduce costs, well, you ain't gonna enjoy this money if you can't have enough purchasing power in it in canada, YES, the more factories go out and more jobs go out the weaker our dollar will be and less purchasing power in it so yes, the dollar you saved mister factory offshorer is going to be worth less. we cannot give what we do not have !!!!!!!!!!! if there is one person out of work in our country then we are not supposed to send aid outside the country and leave our people starving, for those who say there are shelters, I hope you have trouble one day and be faced with the shelter option !!!! for those who say there are government programs and so on, the red tape and regulations are frustrating !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! enough of taking our tax money and give it outside, we need more help with all the inflation and troubles we already HAVE in canada, now we're gonna be called disruptive because we ask for help .....???? when will we see a government that gives a rat's ass about its citizens and not its image with other countries... in which law is it NORMAL to have your children starve because your government is sending money outside to someone else so they can have fun and MAKE babies by the dozens, what do they care, they are getting money for nothing from canada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....taking the food from the mouths of our children !!!! YES >>>> sending aid is taking money from our CHILDREN ... if revenue canada left any money on us after income tax hst, and all that, we would have money to buy food !!!!! I wonder who is going to help us if we had trouble ???? those who are used to our canada aid ???? most likely they won't be able to do anything.... we had a slight tremor few weeks ago, thank god it did not get catastrophic, but if it did ,,, who is going to help ? ...the US had catastrophies and look where foreign aid got them ... all sorts of aid ! on all aspects..... get off our backs with all this aid and embellishing our image, we need work, we need food we need houses, not more taxes, we don't have work to pay you taxes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????? you've sent our jobs out, our factories out, what's left ? sell ourselves ????
I agree that foreign aid should stop, especially as our country is in a bit of a mess. We need to sort ourselves out first before giving to others. I'm sure there are a lot of people who agree.
I believe this article reflects the thinking of every American citizen who watches helpless as many American citizens that have paid taxes for years are having their belongings put to the curb as they have lost their jobs and could not pay their mortgage anymore. Why is it that our great politicians can't tour the inner cities of America like they do foreign lands. Is it just because they like to take plane rides and stay at fancy hotels and guzzle down expensive meals? I watched our Secratary of State say the "American people are proud to come to the aid of...." WHAT!!!! Who is she speaking for? The fat cats who don't have a care in the world? Certainly not the children of America that are starving every day. Yes why don,t these "great leaders" who want so desparately for their name to go down in history tour our inner cities , if they truly wanted to help Humanity they can start right there. Folks Black and White are living (if you can call it that) in sheer agony. Crime is rampant everywhere. A lot of this crime is committed out of sheer helplessness and loss of self esteem. Children are walking around hungry every day. Health care you say? The politicians have that all figured out. FOR THEMSELVES! Does the man or woman put to the curb continue to recieve paid for healthcare for HIS or Her family at the publics expense? Idon't think so.Getting back to the family that was put into the street due to loss of their jobs. These are people who on the most part have been working and paying taxes all there lives only to watch the money paid go overseas to help the "needy poeple", while they and their children are put into the streets. Tell this to our leaders and they will prove they "care" by telling you there are programs they have put into effect. Oh thats right, I forgot, if you are in trouble you can dodge forclosure for 3 months. That makes one happy so go ahead and ends some more millions overseas to rebuild homes. Puff out your chest and talk about wha a humanitariun you are. Education???? Thats right, continue giving free money to educate foreign children while you breed hatred among the American children and divide the races over what portion of society should recieve aid over the other from our tax dollars. Oh that's right I forgot everyone can apply for aid. Just meet the guidelines that have been established. If you make a paperboys wage you will not be qualified as you make to much money. one has only to read the small print to realize that any offer in bold lettering to aid an American citizen is a smoke screen to show that there are programs in effect. Yes there are but one needs only to read how to be qualified to realize it is a dead end road. Where are these leaders who brag about their record on Human Rights? Simple, they are taking a mini vacation eating fine meals and guzzling down expensive meals while they are "touring" countries overseas that have felt dissaster. In closing, DO SOMETHING FOR THE PEOPLE THAT PAY YOU! The AMERICAN people!!!
Why do we give countries like Egypt 1.5 Trillion dollars a year? Most to that goes to their military! Why do we give money to Japan every year? Why is out tax money supporting hispanics (legal and illegal) in this country? If they can't make it here, they need to go back where they came from. Until every American has everything they need, we don't have a dime to give away. Cuts need to start at the top, with Foreign aid, bailouts, hand outs, government workers, and politicians. NOT at the bottom where people can't even make ends meet.Because Americans are too stupid to know the difference between 1.5 billion and 1.5 trillion dollars.
The truth is that America doesn't give foreign aid unless it's in her interests. Most foreign "aid" actually benefits US corporations. A prominent senator once said that "for every $1 donated through foreign aid, US corporations receive $1.30 in procurement contracts." So it's another corporate subsidy... same old, same old... the answer to 99 out of 100 questions - money
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