If we spent some of the magical Bail-Out money feeding the hungry peeps of the planet, would making a better world buy us any street cred?
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Thursday, October 8, 2009 03:41
VIEWED: 7088
PAGE 5 of 13
Quote:I would accept that as an axiom.
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Maybe I'm tad jaded
Yeah, to some out there nothing we do or don't do matters regarding their hatred of us, but I expect they are in the minority.
The laughing Chrisisall
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So lets do nothing.
Take the money we would have sent to these countries, and spend it on our own people....
WOW!
Instead of funding some warlord over there... we could fix a lot of stuff here!!
(Crickets chirping)
Yeah. Crazy idea.
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Hello Wulf,
Actually, that is a valid and fair point of view. You won't find me chastising you for it.
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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Quote:Silly silly British man. Without well-funded warloards, internationl conflict itself would be impossible.
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
Instead of funding some warlord over there... we could fix a lot of stuff here!!
(Crickets chirping)
Yeah. Crazy idea.
The laughing Chrisisall
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"Actually, that is a valid and fair point of view. You won't find me chastising you for it."
Too bad. I should have learned that "HOW you say things is as important as WHAT you say" before.
Could have made more headway here.
ETA: And you damn well know Im not British.
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BTW Chris,IsAll
I just wanted to splain' a little. You may have noticed that the context of every defense of capitalism is: well, if they weren't motivated by starvation they wouldn't work (for us).
That's what it comes down to, sick as it is. Given that, why would ANYONE want to waste money on the poor ? It would cause the global economy to collapse. B/c while greed and the nostril-flaring spirit of COMpeTItion is sufficient motivation for the capitalist, only starvation is powerful enough for the worker. Take that away, and then where would we be ?
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Silence is consent.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
So lets do nothing.
Take the money we would have sent to these countries, and spend it on our own people....
WOW!
Instead of funding some warlord over there... we could fix a lot of stuff here!!
(Crickets chirping)
Yeah. Crazy idea.
Most of the programs I was talking about were private based,
perhaps governments should get out of donating aid, or at least be put to limits... such as only being able to match donations made publicly.
Perhaps that way, when times are tough the gov doesn't spend as much... and the gov can no longer choose where the money goes but can only send it where the people choose to send their own money.
" I don't believe in hypothetical situations - it's kinda like lying to your brain "
" They don't hate America, they hate Americans " Homer Simpson
Lets party like its 1939
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“(Americans) are regularly told by politicians and the media, that America is the world's most generous nation. This is one of the most conventional pieces of 'knowledgeable ignorance'. According to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US gave between $6 and $15 billion in foreign aid in the period between 1995 and 1999. In absolute terms, Japan gives more than the US, between $9 and $15 billion in the same period. But the absolute figures are less significant than the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP, or national wealth) that a country devotes to foreign aid. On that league table, the US ranks twenty-second of the 22 most developed nations. As former President Jimmy Carter commented: 'We are the stingiest nation of all'. Denmark is top of the table, giving 1.01% of GDP, while the US manages just 0.1%. The United Nations has long established the target of 0.7% GDP for development assistance, although only four countries actually achieve this: Denmark, 1.01%; Norway, 0.91%; the Netherlands, 0.79%; Sweden, 0.7%. Apart from being the least generous nation, the US is highly selective in who receives its aid. Over 50% of its aid budget is spent on middle-income countries in the Middle East, with Israel being the recipient of the largest single share.
Not only that, but according to one source cited by Sarder & Davies, 80% of that aid itself actually goes to American companies in those foreign countries.
The stingiest countries also ... force countries to buy their own services and products with the aid they give; which reduces free trade and commerce and harms the countries economy, as well as being simply selfish and conceited. Thankfully, many countries do not tie their aid. Countries that tie less than 10% of aid include Ireland, Norway and the UK, then Belgium, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. The USA is the worst, and ties nearly 90% of its aid to developing countries.”
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Business, as usual.
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Yeah, foreign aid is one huge racket - it generally just contributes to corrupt economies. People don't generally starve en masse because there is no food - it's because they've been displaced from their farms and villages by war and tyranny.
Irritating as it may be for us outsiders, it's pretty safe to conclude that the world needs the US economy to be sound - because if you guys go down the gurgler, you're taking the rest of us with you.
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Quote:"Gurgler"? That's so Aussie.
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
if you guys go down the gurgler, you're taking the rest of us with you.
The laughing Chrisisall
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