#14: Foreign Aid

In theory, foreign aid sounds like a good thing. But is it our place? Sometimes when we try to help out other countries, we end up doing damage to our own country (like spending too much money on a war in Iraq, thus causing a huge deficit for the U.S.) And sometimes we actually cause more harm to the country we're trying to help (like how the U.S. has killed more innocent Iraqi citizens in the Iraq war than Suddam Hussein did in his entire reign over Iraq.) I know intentions are always good when it comes to foreign aid. But is it necessary? Or should we just leave other countries alone? People also say that foreign aid doesn't help, that it's just a way for poor people in first world countries to give money to rich people in third world countries. If that's true, then that's no good. And, of course, there's the argument that foreign aid just makes other countries dependent upon us and will not help in the long run. I'm going to discuss all of these ideas in depth.

Some people say it's none of our business. We should stay out of other people's business, because what if they don't want our help? And what if we make things worse for them and/or for ourselves?
Some people say we should always work on our own country before trying to work on someone else's. I tend to agree with that. But what if we are a country's only hope? Let alone everything that's going on in Iraq. What about what's going on in Darfur, Sudan? The Janjaweed are going psycho and killing innocent people, because of their own issues with the government. Should we help? It seems like Darfur could use all the help it can get. Well, think about this. What if US were to help Darfur, and then it turned into something bigger than it was previously? What if it turned into a war between Darfur and America? What if it progressed and turned into another World War? Yikes. I bet you guys never thought of that.

But let alone that worry. Can we really afford to help another country (or region, in Darfur's case?) This goes with what I was saying earlier. We may want to help as much as possible, but is it a good idea? We don't want to drain ourselves of money. That wouldn't be good for our own country. Is that selfish? Afterall, what good can the U.S. do if the blind is leading the blind? That's what I meant earlier when I said maybe we need to help oursleves before we can help someone else.
And, of course, there's the argument that foreign aid does no good, because first world countries take money away from the poor people in their countries via taxes, just to give it to the government of third world countries. The government in third world countries make up the rich portion of the countries, so some people think foreign aid is just taking money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries. Obviously, if this is true, then this system is no good. I don't know how true it is, though. Hopefully, the governments of first and third world countries are doing what they're supposed to do with the money and helping who they need to help.

And there's yet another argument. Some people say that providing a country with foreign aid makes them dependent upon the country helping them. But there's an alternative to simply delivering food to another country. I just read an article by Robert Paarlberg called "Attention Whole Foods Shoppers," and in it, Paarlberg brought up the idea that, instead of simply delivering food to third world countries, we should teach them how to produce their own food in a more efficient manner and deliver them goods that will help them acheive this goal. I think this guy has the right idea, if this is the only issue you have with foreign aid, of course. And, on that note, I'm going to leave you guys with a very related quote: "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime." - Unknown

You decide what's right...Because I'm at a loss for a decision here. Again, this is another one of those "You're damned if you do; you're damned if you don't" situations.

It doesn't say what year this is. It might not even be up-to-date, but it gives us an idea.