Does anyone know how much we spend annually on foreign aid? Does anyone know how much we spent or will on Katrina?
How about how much foreign money has been donated to victims of Katrina? How about how much we give to American agribusiness on an annual basis?
And I guess the thing I really don't understand is how Katrina is linked to foreign aid.
Do you guys really believe we give aid without expecting anything in return? Just giving aid for the glory of it. I think not my friends. We give aid because we expect alot of return. Whether it be power, control, places to be strategic on bases or minerals. Goes to show most don't have the stomach to really know what happens in the real world. Maybe its best that they are kept in the dark. I am very sure it ain't pretty alot of times. I have been all over this world, from Asia, to Europe to South America, and I know one thing. We have it very good. And it ain't cause we didn't position ourselves nicely in a few conflicts.
Are you guys who like this idea really able to deal with the reprecussions from this statement? Are you guys really able to give up being in control of the world? Maybe you would like to live like some Euopean countries with very little control and are paying 6 dollar/gal in gas and 12% unemployment. A leader of a country either watches things happen around them and tries to deal with them, or he makes things happen. Then there are those who wondered what happened at all.
I used to believe like alot of you just 10 years ago. I then actually went around the world for work traveling full time and changed my mind a bit. And kiss the ground when i return to this great country.
Do you really believe our president wants us to do bad?Do you honestly think helikesgas prices the way they are? Or likes looking into peoples face who are downtrodden? A president hasvery complicated decisions with very uncertain outcomes.I am sure they try to take calculated risks and we all know they mess up from time to time. Maybe more times than not.There can be secondary or even longer out reprecussion's that noone can predict.Or impossible to predict.
You hit the mark, Bigcountry. Foreign aid is primarily designed to serve our strategic and economic interests first and benefit the recipients secondarily. Unfortunately, sometimes paybacks to political donors and supporters are beneficiaries as well. When this happens it often erodes the benefits to our nation and to the intended recipients as well.
In general not enough aid goes to the countries that really need it and all too often it is wasted on overpriced goods and services from American companies. Most Americans think we spend more than we do. As a percentage of GNI, we spend the least of any industrialized nation. About $19 billion in 2004.
Lots of waste in Washington on both sides of the aisle and it was going on long before Bush arrived. Katrina will cost several times what Congress approved last week, but in the context of how our representives, not the president, spend money, it won't bankrupt us. If we can give wealthy landowners and agribusiness $185 billion in the Farm Bill and oil companies with record profits $32 billion in the Energy Bill, we can rebuild the Gulf Coast.
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 24,186
RE: What if Bush made this statement.....
Quote:
How about how much we give to American agribusiness on an annual basis?
Biggest bunch of welfare on the planet. I guess we love keeping the Agribusiness "free market"messed up and never truly meet supply and demand. How many other personal buisness get bailed out every year?
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kaafir mushrik
Unintended consequences and God have one thing in common: Liberals don’t believe in either of them.
i dont think we should take away from foreign aid. i also dont think it is up to the government to rebuild N.O. help people get back on their feet, sure. but rebuild?
What if Bush made this statement.....
