...and now we give $2,000,000,000 to Egypt?

[Genx87]

Makes sense. Egypt turned into a military dictatorship. Why wouldnt we fund them?

 

[ElFenix]

Because what you're talking about is godless socialism. When we give it to other countries, it's christian charity.

fixed

 

[Thump553]

In theory, this might be one of those situations where the future costs of not doing anything today (which could include Egypt becoming another terror breeding ground or radical islam area) are much higher than the cost of the money today.

Investing some money now to help ensure a stable Egypt could be a good investment, but that remains to be seen. I'll give the president the benefit of the doubt on this.

I agree. A central failure of George HW Bush and Reagan's administrations was the failure to launch a Marshall type plan in Russia. If we did so then we would have a close ally in a capitalistic and thriving Russia and US business would be far better off. Ands we would have made our investment back many times over.

We know have the possibility of actually bringing the arab Mid-East and North Africa into the modern world where they will participate with us instead of spawning Middle Ages jihad-ism.

 

[werepossum]

I support ending all foreign aid until we get our economic house in order. But since neither part is down with that, I'd guess a couple billion more for Egypt and Tunisia might well have a better return than does most of our foreign aid. If we must play this game of buying favor, let's play it smart and get in on the bottom floor of the new regimes. Otherwise let's stop playing it.

 

[OCGuy]

Print away, print away....

 

[BeauJangles]

It's not like spending $50. That can buy you a single trip to a fast food place. 24 billion is not $50 , that amount of money can make a real impact in this country if you look at it on a smaller scale and kick it at a small problem. There are many cities suffering, kick that amount of money for example at Buffalo one year and then the next year at Boston etc.
Just because it's a small percentage of a large budget doesn’t mean it's meaningless. What have places that received it done with it? what do they have to show for it? Just look what the $3 billion a year had accomplished in Pakistan $3 billion over 10 years = $30 billion payed to harbour America's #1 enemy.
Once the foreign aid money is given away there is no control over it you might as well burn it. If you burn it you will at least know that some corrupt politician or your enemy won't get it.

Holy god you are missing the point.

The country is up against the debt ceiling, spending needs to be reigned in, and there are hundreds of programs that are significantly larger, more wasteful, and more imperative to control / modify / reduce in order to get our fiscal budget in order.

You misunderstood my analogy because you're caught up in the emotional end of things. That money could be spent domestically and theoretically could help some of the issues you point out, but that doesn't make it any more significant to our overall budget. Right now, our entire nation's concern should be on reducing spending by trillions, not billions, and the best way to tackle that is to go after the biggest programs, not to fight over money that will trigger nothing but emotionally-charged responses, political games, and divisive rhetoric.

Again, we need to be thinking about reducing spending by trillions, not billions, and when it comes to budgetary issues like that, foreign aid shouldn't (and isn't) a concern.

Maybe this will drive the point home:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fy2010_spending_by_category.jpg

Mandatory spending: $2.173 trillion (+14.9&#37
$695 billion (+4.9%) – Social Security
$571 billion (+58.6%) – Other mandatory programs
$453 billion (+6.6%) – Medicare
$290 billion (+12.0%) – Medicaid
$164 billion (+18.0%) – Interest on National Debt

US receipt and expenditure estimates for fiscal year 2010.

Discretionary spending: $1.378 trillion (+13.8%)
$663.7 billion (+12.7%) – Department of Defense (including Overseas Contingency Operations)
$78.7 billion (−1.7%) – Department of Health and Human Services
$72.5 billion (+2.8%) – Department of Transportation
$52.5 billion (+10.3%) – Department of Veterans Affairs
$51.7 billion (+40.9%) – Department of State and Other International Programs
$47.5 billion (+18.5%) – Department of Housing and Urban Development
$46.7 billion (+12.8%) – Department of Education
$42.7 billion (+1.2%) – Department of Homeland Security
$26.3 billion (−0.4%) – Department of Energy
$26.0 billion (+8.8%) – Department of Agriculture
$23.9 billion (−6.3%) – Department of Justice
$18.7 billion (+5.1%) – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$13.8 billion (+48.4%) – Department of Commerce
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of Labor
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of the Treasury
$12.0 billion (+6.2%) – Department of the Interior
$10.5 billion (+34.6%) – Environmental Protection Agency
$9.7 billion (+10.2%) – Social Security Administration
$7.0 billion (+1.4%) – National Science Foundation
$5.1 billion (−3.8%) – Corps of Engineers
$5.0 billion (+100%-NA) – National Infrastructure Bank
$1.1 billion (+22.2%) – Corporation for National and Community Service
$0.7 billion (0.0%) – Small Business Administration
$0.6 billion (−14.3%) – General Services Administration
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Financial stabilization efforts
$11 billion (+275%-NA) – Potential disaster costs
$19.8 billion (+3.7%) – Other Agencies
$105 billion – Other

Regardless of your opinion on foreign aid, can't we all agree that there are a lot of other items in this budget that need to be brought under control first?

 

[woolfe9999]

Foreign aid money is chicken feed for us. We have serious fiscal issues here and they're called Mediare, Medicaid and defense spending. IMO foreign aid money is often a high return on investment for the cost, and sometimes the return is even direct and economic, while in other situations it is long term and political. I 100% agree with aid to Egypt and Tunisia in this circumstance. Our aid comes with strings attached and it should. We have an opportunity to step in and help shape what emerges from the aftermath of political strife in the Islamic world right now. This is how we should be doing it, not by starting trillion dollar wars.

 

[OlafSicky]

Regardless of your opinion on foreign aid, can't we all agree that there are a lot of other items in this budget that need to be brought under control first?

Where would you cut?

 

[Vic Vega]

All aid to Egypt should stop until their Muslim populous stops murdering the native Coptic Christians.

 

[werepossum]

All aid to Egypt should stop until their Muslim populous stops murdering the native Coptic Christians.

Which will be never.

Sorry, which will be when they run out of Coptic Christians.

 

[Smoove910]

Again, we need to be thinking about reducing spending by trillions, not billions, and when it comes to budgetary issues like that, foreign aid shouldn't (and isn't) a concern.

That's like saying 'Hey, I cannot afford my $1000 house payment, but I'll keep my cable bill since it's only $20/month".

You all need to realize EVERY dollar counts. Billions of dollars go out for foreign aid. Well, those billions add up to trillions quickly. With the methodology you are exhibiting how the hell are we supposed to get the spending under control if we don't start somewhere?!? Spending is spending, regardless of if it's $10 or $10,000,000,000.

 

[irishScott]

Which will be never.

Sorry, which will be when they run out of Coptic Christians.

And then they'll start murdering each other. Again.

 

[Ponce]

Rudeguy? we have been given Egypt 2 billions now for a long time, but longer to the state of Israel.....anywhere between 3 to 7 billions a year.......right now the "loans" to the state of Israel comes to about 136 billions.

 

[Zebo]

We give money to Israel so they don't have to nuke their neighbors and oil keeps moving.

We give money to Egypt same reason and to keep their fundis under lock and key.

It all has good reasons.

Never-mind both countries combined is half a days spending in Washington DC. Chump change compared to what we get in return.. Our whole economy is a derivative of oil. w/o oil we live like 1870s again. Everything around you is oil, your computer you are looking at is 2 barrels of oil.

The fifth fleet just to secure gulf costs 30 billion a year.

 

[lupi]

at least he didn't campaign on some whacky system where to increase spending in one area would require cuts in another....

 

[rudeguy]

Rudeguy? we have been given Egypt 2 billions now for a long time, but longer to the state of Israel.....anywhere between 3 to 7 billions a year.......right now the "loans" to the state of Israel comes to about 136 billions.

this thread is about Egypt, not Israel.

Is that so hard to understand?

 

[Lemon law]

this thread is about Egypt, not Israel.

Is that so hard to understand?

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No this thread is about the wisdom of the US giving foreign aid when its such economic trouble itself. And because we give far more foreign aid to Israel, yes it becomes part of the discussion also.

And there are two reasons the USA should stay in the good graces of a new Egypt. (1) OF all the countries affected by the Arab Spring, Egypt seems most likely to become a true democracy. (2) Egypt may become a rising economic power, and as importantly, the Egyptians
control the Suez canal. Should that Canal close even temporarily due to any reason, the world economic consequences would be disastrous.

 

[IGBT]

you can't get a raise or retire. You have crap medical/dental coverage. And your public schools are a long standing joke. But your obama has money to shower on the middle east under the guise of "aid". So what will you have to give up for this??

 

[Nebor]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No this thread is about the wisdom of the US giving foreign aid when its such economic trouble itself. And because we give far more foreign aid to Israel, yes it becomes part of the discussion also.

And there are two reasons the USA should stay in the good graces of a new Egypt. (1) OF all the countries affected by the Arab Spring, Egypt seems most likely to become a true democracy. (2) Egypt may become a rising economic power, and as importantly, the Egyptians
control the Suez canal. Should that Canal close even temporarily due to any reason, the world economic consequences would be disastrous.

Lemon Law is right, Israel needs to seize control of the Suez Canal immediately to protect the world economy from instability in Egypt.

 

[rudeguy]

Lemon Law is right, Israel needs to seize control of the Suez Canal immediately to protect the world economy from instability in Egypt.

Good idea.

Then Coke and Pepsi can buy banner ads on the side.

Its win/win

 

[Gintaras]

Egypt seems most likely to become a true democracy.

What is "true democracy"?

 

[Gintaras]

most likely to become a true democracy

What is true democracy?

No one knows?

 

[Nintendesert]

Just give me the 2Billion dollars and I can promise never to be a terrorist with more success than Egypt and their military regime can.

 

[finglobes]

Obama, Hillary, Soros, Center for American Progress etc is openly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood:

U.S. open to a role for Islamists in new Egypt government

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/31/world/la-fg-us-egypt-20110201

They are also supporting Al Qaeda types and others who cheered 9-11 in Libya, the release of Lockerbie bomber etc. The excuse was preventing bloodshed but Obama ignored Syria, Iran and other places. View these things with the Obama/Clinton/Soros contempt for Israel and the situation becomes very clear. The more hostile a country is to Israel the more Obama admin looks the other way. The more a country hinders the Islamics and/or gets along with Israel the more likely Obama crew is to create problems for them. These people are functional lunatics creating a war in ME.