Let’s end the charade of US foreign aid

According to Forbes magazine, the United States allocates upwards of $58 billion (with a B!) to foreign aid each year. Proponents of foreign aid argue that the $58 billion is but a drop in the bucket of the entire budget which stands at $3.8 trillion (with a T!) for 2011. Actually it is more than just a drop in the bucket; it is 2% of the budget.

Who gets this foreign aid? In the Western Hemisphere it is every country except Canada and French Guiana. That’s right – even Cuba and Venezuela get money from the United States! In the rest of the world about the only countries not taking money from us currently are in Europe. Other countries scattered throughout the world not on the United State dole include Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Japan – the latter two have more money than God. We do send money to most African continent nations, China (from whom we borrow money), and all Muslim countries of Southeast Asia.

Looking at the countries that get our money and those that don’t we can draw one basic broad conclusion: those countries that are our allies and that actually LIKE us (Canada, Australia, most of Europe) don’t take our money; countries who are actively trying to destroy us (China, Venezuela, Muslim nations) are on the receiving end of our generosity.

Meanwhile, here in the United States we have experienced several natural disasters within the past few years that have created economic hardships for local governments and the residents of those devastated areas. What if we took that $58 billion that has been earmarked for foreign aid and, say, used it to help rebuild communities hit hard by first flooding and then tornadoes this spring? I’m sure residents of Missouri would much more appreciative of funds to help rebuild than a country like Venezuela that hates us now and will continue to hate us no matter how much money we throw at them.

Regardless of whether it is a drop in the bucket, 2%, or 10%, or even if it were just one-tenth of 1%, the point here is that we need to spend our money carefully and wisely. Currently we have a government budget crisis and are spending much more than what we receive in revenues and our national debt continues to rise. While 2% may seem like a ‘drop in the bucket,’ save a billion here and a billion there and eventually we can be talking about real dollars.

~ Patty