22 Million Bux (From US) Goes To Madagascar In A Year?

[Armelius]

The five year plan I see says they get 110 million in a five year period. Now after a coup the economic aid will be stopped until there are elections.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.c....html

http://www.mcc.gov/

Population there is about 20 million. And 80 percent of the population lives on about 2 bux a day.

I wonder where is the best place in the world to go to in order to get a welfare check from the US?

I think it's great our government runs so many corporations that do so much good in the world. WOW. Just got to love government hand outs.

[HashiriyaS14]

US foreign aid is a powerful political tool and, generally (i.e. Israel notwithstanding), a worthwhile investment.

In particular, to developing nations, US foreign aid establishes a tie between us and them. It lets them know that we care about their development. This MATTERS, because they are thus less likely, as a nation, to tolerate anti-US sentiments or anti-US terrorists on their soil.

Nations that get a lot of US foreign aid are much less likely to become "problem" nations in the future. It's very cheap insurance. $22 million a year is nothing compared to the potential cost of a military deployment to neutralize problems.

[nissangirl74]

US foreign aid is a powerful political tool and, generally (i.e. Israel notwithstanding), a worthwhile investment.

In particular, to developing nations, US foreign aid establishes a tie between us and them. It lets them know that we care about their development. This MATTERS, because they are thus less likely, as a nation, to tolerate anti-US sentiments or anti-US terrorists on their soil.

Nations that get a lot of US foreign aid are much less likely to become "problem" nations in the future. It's very cheap insurance. $22 million a year is nothing compared to the potential cost of a military deployment to neutralize problems.

Granted, good PR and foreign relations are necessities, but one can't help but wonder how that money could benefit the people in our country. I say take care of your own before worrying about taking care of everyone else.

[Armelius]

US foreign aid is a powerful political tool and, generally (i.e. Israel notwithstanding), a worthwhile investment.

In particular, to developing nations, US foreign aid establishes a tie between us and them. It lets them know that we care about their development. This MATTERS, because they are thus less likely, as a nation, to tolerate anti-US sentiments or anti-US terrorists on their soil.

Nations that get a lot of US foreign aid are much less likely to become "problem" nations in the future. It's very cheap insurance. $22 million a year is nothing compared to the potential cost of a military deployment to neutralize problems.

Sounds like during the time of Jefferson, you would be on the pirates side and we would continue to pay them off for safe passage.

How do you feel paying for the world to just lay around and wait for another welfare check?

[themadscientist]

America is a welfare state, is it really that surprizing we subsidize the whole world?

[Armelius]

Is that in the constitution?

[themadscientist]

If the dems are in power long enough it will be.

We need to quit trying to buy the worlds love and put that money to work right here. America needs reinvestment in the future. Schools, public works, health care; the rest of the world can mouth off about America as soon as they take our tit out of their mouth.

[Armelius]

The problem is that the aid might be US goods. Create an artificial demand when there was none and they might need more as their population increases or that demand will disappear when their government turns ugly.

[themadscientist]

No doubt there is some good to be done but I think the wasteful spending far outweighs the effective. America is hemmoraging money and it would be a good idea to take care of the golden goose to ensure it lives.We know who our friends are and who is never going to be, time to start cutting some people off.

[Armelius]

That's not the nature of their business.

[themadscientist]

no doubt there unfortunatly.

[Armelius]

The world is a big place, lets grow some government to fit in it.

[infinitiandbeyond]

Hey Arm...I think this belongs in the political forum.

[themadscientist]

Our country is held together with duct tape and half-hearted intentions. I wouldn't take a high mileage motor with low compression and fire a 200 shot of nitrous at it.

America needs some "me time" to get itself healthy before we try to go back to being the world's big brother otherwise we will soon be out of money, in debt we can't get out of and no longer relevent. We will be the third world country, picked clean and forgotten like Detroit on a national scale.

If I had a friend who had huge credit card debt but still bought things left and right and loaned people money he didn't have in the first place the last thing I would suggest he do is keep doing the same thing.

[infinitiandbeyond]

Oops! Nevermind.

[Armelius]

That is what they are trying to grow.

Same goes for all these corporations. They don't like to be in the black. But there we are for all it's worth.

[themadscientist]

You mean in the red right?

[Armelius]

To us it's red. To them it's black.

[HashiriyaS14]

Sounds like during the time of Jefferson, you would be on the pirates side and we would continue to pay them off for safe passage.

How do you feel paying for the world to just lay around and wait for another welfare check?

I will clarify. The U.S. has ONLY two choices in regards to the developing world:

1.) subsidize it partially, "buy" goodwill, and bring them up as democracies in the US mold.

2.) Ignore them to tend to our own problems while they become havens for Islamic or other extremism and eventually confront the problem militarily.

This is why we give foreign aid. It isn't altruism.

$22 mil a year is cheap insurance. What do you think it costs to deploy a CBG?

Isolationism doesn't work anymore, the world is too interconnected. Everyone else's problems are our problems. We created problems for people in Afghanistan when we abandoned them in the 80's, and we saw how that came back to bite us when those same disenfranchised people allowed Al Qaeda to use their nation as a training camp. Nations that get lots of US aid aren't going to allow terrorists to train on their soil. Get with the f**king program and stop oversimplifying things.

It doesn't matter if subsidizing these nations is right or wrong as per your or any other ideology. It works. Pragmatism trumps idealism.

[Armelius]

So if we continue to supply Pakistan with money and war materiel we won't have to fight a nuclear war with them?

[HashiriyaS14]

So if we continue to supply Pakistan with money and war materiel we won't have to fight a nuclear war with them?

Honestly, yes. Our relationship with Pakistan is a PERFECT example.

Pakistan could very well be on course to become the next Afghanistan or Iraq, but it isn't at the moment, and that's because we've gone out of our way to demonstrate that we have interests in the region and that we're willing to help.

Of course, Pakistan has the unique roadblock of having a government totally at odds with certain parts of it's population, but if we can befriend the government and the majority, we can work towards marginalizing the violent minority (i.e. the extremists to the west, on the Afghan border).

The Palestinians are another example. The sooner we can start flowing international aid to Fatah, the less clout Hamas will have with the Palestinian people. Hamas works because they build schools and hospitals, but if we build more schools and hospitals, the Palestinian people will begin to see two potential benefactors (The US and Hamas), but only one (Hamas) is asking them to put up with a violent revolution that claims their children.

[Cold_Zero]

Hey, if 22 million dollars to Madagascar keeps Eastern Africa from having another Rwanda, Somalia or Zimbabwe, I think it is money well spent. Why is it that we think that billions of dollars spent in Iraq or Pakistan is an investment in our security and yet 22 million dollars in a small French speaking East African country is a waste. I would prefer that we engage Africa (Saharan and Sub-Saharan) actively to combat some of their problems.

[WDRacing]

Hey, if 22 million dollars to Madagascar keeps Eastern Africa from having another Rwanda, Somalia or Zimbabwe, I think it is money well spent. Why is it that we think that billions of dollars spent in Iraq or Pakistan is an investment in our security and yet 22 million dollars in a small French speaking East African country is a waste. I would prefer that we engage Africa (Saharan and Sub-Saharan) actively to combat some of their problems.

Exactly...

We need to worry about how much we're spending everywhere else before we even think about Africa. That place needs as much help as we can give it. I've been there and I have seen how ugly so many of the area's are. They just don't have any oil...so they rank basically no where.

[HashiriyaS14]

Yeah, the cost/benefit ratio of our foreign aid is SO much higher in Africa than in any other part of the world, generally speaking.

The Chinese are starting to make major capital investments on the continent, to the point that while the major source of foreign currency in Africa in recent memory has been aid, in 2008 actual investment finally surpassed aid, thanks to the Chinese.

We need to start investing there too, not just aid, but real investment. Can't go letting all of Africa become a de facto Chinese colony just because they're finding opportunities there that we choose to ignore.

[Cold_Zero]

They just don't have any oil...so they rank basically no where.

Actually, I believe that our main sources of oil come from Venezuela, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico. There are a few oil producing nations in Africa. They just dont have the reserves and capability that the Middle East and Russia have.

Yeah, the cost/benefit ratio of our foreign aid is SO much higher in Africa than in any other part of the world, generally speaking.

The Chinese are starting to make major capital investments on the continent, to the point that while the major source of foreign currency in Africa in recent memory has been aid, in 2008 actual investment finally surpassed aid, thanks to the Chinese.

We need to start investing there too, not just aid, but real investment. Can't go letting all of Africa become a de facto Chinese colony just because they're finding opportunities there that we choose to ignore.

Good point.

[Armelius]

Hey, if 22 million dollars to Madagascar keeps Eastern Africa from having another Rwanda, Somalia or Zimbabwe, I think it is money well spent. Why is it that we think that billions of dollars spent in Iraq or Pakistan is an investment in our security and yet 22 million dollars in a small French speaking East African country is a waste. I would prefer that we engage Africa (Saharan and Sub-Saharan) actively to combat some of their problems.

I could go buy a rope and have some realistic human ornaments for my trees. That is money well spent. It's what they are going to do anyways.

[Cold_Zero]

What is the line from the movie, 'They are savages anyways, let them loose their soul.' It appears you are virtually saying the same thing. Lets not be naïve, you know this country is going to step in to help ease the suffering of other nations around the world. The money is going to be spent. So, you do realize that it is cheaper for us and the World Community to engage countries like this early instead of at the point of catastrophe? I would rather have my Sailors, Marines and Soldiers deployed for protection of shipping (POS/MOS), drug/counter terrorism interdiction and keeping our country safe, than deployed to quell civil unrest (peace keeping) and delivering food aid. If 22 million dollars spent upfront can save us more money spent deploying troops later, I think that is a wise investment.

[Armelius]

I think you might be naive in thinking that the money we spend will not be used against us or be the reason for making enemies.

Kermit Roosevelt made terrible errors. Crap happened in Chile and Congo with Lumumba.