What Good is Foreign Aid?
Dale Netherton
February 07, 2006
Billions of dollars are taken from American citizens every year to be sent to foreign countries that show no gratitude ,openly despise the United States and is wasted on improper distribution, internal corruption, and fraud. Yet the policy continues, the dollars continue to emigrate, the politicians turn a deaf ear and the proposals for more more spending continues. What good does this do?
If an individual gave his earnings to someone who denounced him, denigrated his beliefs and his life style, would not agree to stand beside him against a common enemy and created chaos in the neighborhood, he would be deemed a sucker by his acquaintances . We commit the same error as a nation and those who promote and implement this policy seem oblivious to the reality and the results. They have some strange notion that they are fostering good will, preserving or generating peace and helping the downtrodden. What they are really doing is creating a lower standard of living for the citizens of the country they are supposed to be championing, creating the image of a country that can?t think of anything better to do with its citizens earnings than find some nation claiming a need for help and redistributing those earnings to the beggars. And what do we get in return? They don?t pay back loans, they don?t appreciate our way of life( for if they did they wouldn?t have the kind of government that restricts its citizens from freely and openly trading and prospering ), and they cozy up to terrorist nations, tin horn dictators and denounce us as they whimper their socialist agendas, vote against us in the U.N. and decry our success. What a bargain. What shrewd traders we have become. A perfunctory thank you from a thug seems to be ample payment for we never see fundamental change from this approach. We did see the collapse of the Soviet Union by another approach which shows what naming the essence of a country will accomplish. With the failures that this repeatedly ineffective method of dealing with other nations has produced here is an alternative foreign policy that should be used.
First and foremost we should not solicit friendship from foreign countries. If they want to befriend us let them make the overtures. If they approach us and they have nothing to offer in return ( i.e. they violate human rights, they are undemocratic, they are dictatorial, they sanction and harbor terrorists, they have a bad credit record and they will not agree to support us in our defense ) then we simply say no, we?re not interested in reaching out to you. We are very prudent with our citizens earnings and if you have nothing to offer that will lead to individual freedom and dignity what do we need you for? Like wise if you should think that a threat will get our attention you are right but it is not the kind of attention you will appreciate. A threat to our country will be equated with a step toward war. At the sound of a threat we will immediately begin preparations to invade. Our ships will be ordered to mobilize, our bombers will be activated and our soldiers will go on alert. We are not going to negotiate on your terms. You had better have the means to back up your threats but unless they are retracted we will take preemptive measures to be sure you cannot follow through on your threats. If we announce this policy and live up to it there will be those nations that know that the only way to deal with us is as traders giving value for value and above all respecting our principles as sacred. We have too long had too low expectations of those we would call our friends. We have had allies we fought a common enemy with, turn on us when they could no longer gain from us. This kind of behavior should be remembered and not rewarded. We should be tough with our friends and our enemies. Always alert to a shift in allegiance or the drift toward statism. As a world leader are we so full of doubt as to our independence that we cannot lead by example? Haven?t we worn out the notion that we can cajole and bribe our way into acceptance by a depraved maniacal mob of barbarians? If we are proud of what we have become ( and we should be ) why compromise and submit to the irrational demands and pleas from those we know will never reform under our stance of benevolent sucker. We need to make a fundamental change if we want a different response from foreign nations than we have so far achieved. We need to be honest in our assessment of the worthiness of a nation to be our ally. We need to be scrupulous in our choices of what we will offer assistance to and expect appreciation and reciprocity. There is nothing to be gained by continuing to placate the ungrateful.
Any fundamental change has to be made against the evidence that the old way just doesn?t work. That no matter how or what we do under the old way it hasn?t brought us the desired results. It not only has not brought us desired results it is a drain on our resources , our citizens wealth and our stature as the leader of the free world. Currently any nation that did see us as one to emulate would soon realize that we are on the demise by our reluctance to strike a hard bargain with other nations. We have financed terrorist regimes, traded with totalitarian governments, poured billions into relief efforts for countries that burn our flags in defiance and deface out leaders in public squares and still we go on doing the same old thing trying to buy what can?t be bought. It reminds me of the distressed mother who keeps enabling her near-do-well child with pleas for acceptance and responsible behavior only to be rebuked and bled financially over and over again. As we continue to embrace an unnamed fascist direction. As our educational standards slip, our GDP becomes invaded more by taxes and regulations, our infrastructure deteriorates, our currency is debased and our credit becomes thin we should have the strength and the will to ask what is wrong and what should we do to reverse this trend and do better. These question will not come from the politicians for they are too enamored with the notion that they are still getting away with it and there is no real crisis yet. But time and money is running out. Medicare and Social Security are within predicable bankruptcy dates and we are fighting a limited war ( by our own improper policies ) that should have been won by now. There is need for change to avoid these catastrophes. A good and obvious place to start is with our foreign policy and our multi billion giveaways that need to be curtailed. If we don?t face up to our mistakes , how can we make corrections? If one direction is wrong ,why not try another? Stumbling along on the same old path will not detour our destination. We need a turn and the resolve to find the right way to live and lead in this world. There doesn?t seem to be any recognition that there is a need or a willingness to try anything different. This is our problem and the first step is to recognize it.
If an individual gave his earnings to someone who denounced him, denigrated his beliefs and his life style, would not agree to stand beside him against a common enemy and created chaos in the neighborhood, he would be deemed a sucker by his acquaintances . We commit the same error as a nation and those who promote and implement this policy seem oblivious to the reality and the results. They have some strange notion that they are fostering good will, preserving or generating peace and helping the downtrodden. What they are really doing is creating a lower standard of living for the citizens of the country they are supposed to be championing, creating the image of a country that can?t think of anything better to do with its citizens earnings than find some nation claiming a need for help and redistributing those earnings to the beggars. And what do we get in return? They don?t pay back loans, they don?t appreciate our way of life( for if they did they wouldn?t have the kind of government that restricts its citizens from freely and openly trading and prospering ), and they cozy up to terrorist nations, tin horn dictators and denounce us as they whimper their socialist agendas, vote against us in the U.N. and decry our success. What a bargain. What shrewd traders we have become. A perfunctory thank you from a thug seems to be ample payment for we never see fundamental change from this approach. We did see the collapse of the Soviet Union by another approach which shows what naming the essence of a country will accomplish. With the failures that this repeatedly ineffective method of dealing with other nations has produced here is an alternative foreign policy that should be used.
First and foremost we should not solicit friendship from foreign countries. If they want to befriend us let them make the overtures. If they approach us and they have nothing to offer in return ( i.e. they violate human rights, they are undemocratic, they are dictatorial, they sanction and harbor terrorists, they have a bad credit record and they will not agree to support us in our defense ) then we simply say no, we?re not interested in reaching out to you. We are very prudent with our citizens earnings and if you have nothing to offer that will lead to individual freedom and dignity what do we need you for? Like wise if you should think that a threat will get our attention you are right but it is not the kind of attention you will appreciate. A threat to our country will be equated with a step toward war. At the sound of a threat we will immediately begin preparations to invade. Our ships will be ordered to mobilize, our bombers will be activated and our soldiers will go on alert. We are not going to negotiate on your terms. You had better have the means to back up your threats but unless they are retracted we will take preemptive measures to be sure you cannot follow through on your threats. If we announce this policy and live up to it there will be those nations that know that the only way to deal with us is as traders giving value for value and above all respecting our principles as sacred. We have too long had too low expectations of those we would call our friends. We have had allies we fought a common enemy with, turn on us when they could no longer gain from us. This kind of behavior should be remembered and not rewarded. We should be tough with our friends and our enemies. Always alert to a shift in allegiance or the drift toward statism. As a world leader are we so full of doubt as to our independence that we cannot lead by example? Haven?t we worn out the notion that we can cajole and bribe our way into acceptance by a depraved maniacal mob of barbarians? If we are proud of what we have become ( and we should be ) why compromise and submit to the irrational demands and pleas from those we know will never reform under our stance of benevolent sucker. We need to make a fundamental change if we want a different response from foreign nations than we have so far achieved. We need to be honest in our assessment of the worthiness of a nation to be our ally. We need to be scrupulous in our choices of what we will offer assistance to and expect appreciation and reciprocity. There is nothing to be gained by continuing to placate the ungrateful.
Any fundamental change has to be made against the evidence that the old way just doesn?t work. That no matter how or what we do under the old way it hasn?t brought us the desired results. It not only has not brought us desired results it is a drain on our resources , our citizens wealth and our stature as the leader of the free world. Currently any nation that did see us as one to emulate would soon realize that we are on the demise by our reluctance to strike a hard bargain with other nations. We have financed terrorist regimes, traded with totalitarian governments, poured billions into relief efforts for countries that burn our flags in defiance and deface out leaders in public squares and still we go on doing the same old thing trying to buy what can?t be bought. It reminds me of the distressed mother who keeps enabling her near-do-well child with pleas for acceptance and responsible behavior only to be rebuked and bled financially over and over again. As we continue to embrace an unnamed fascist direction. As our educational standards slip, our GDP becomes invaded more by taxes and regulations, our infrastructure deteriorates, our currency is debased and our credit becomes thin we should have the strength and the will to ask what is wrong and what should we do to reverse this trend and do better. These question will not come from the politicians for they are too enamored with the notion that they are still getting away with it and there is no real crisis yet. But time and money is running out. Medicare and Social Security are within predicable bankruptcy dates and we are fighting a limited war ( by our own improper policies ) that should have been won by now. There is need for change to avoid these catastrophes. A good and obvious place to start is with our foreign policy and our multi billion giveaways that need to be curtailed. If we don?t face up to our mistakes , how can we make corrections? If one direction is wrong ,why not try another? Stumbling along on the same old path will not detour our destination. We need a turn and the resolve to find the right way to live and lead in this world. There doesn?t seem to be any recognition that there is a need or a willingness to try anything different. This is our problem and the first step is to recognize it.
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