Why are we giving 3rd world countries supplies

[Xylitol]

Why are we giving to foreign countries for starvation and other things if we (USA) have domestic problems similar to 3rd world countries in some areas. We have people starving and right after Katrina, we were still donating a lot to out-of-country places while we still had to rebuild New Orleans and help the ex-inhabitants.
What are we thinking?

 

[CPA]

We have no one starving like they do in Africa. That said, I still think we give way too much in foreign aid for what we get in return.

 

[Xylitol]

Originally posted by: CPA
We have no one starving like they do in Africa. That said, I still think we give way too much in foreign aid for what we get in return.

i mean its definitely nothing in comparison percentage-wise, but we still have kids who don't get enough to eat due to parents not knowing about foodstamps and other things. Some awareness to help our domestic problems would help

 

[Kur]

It's to make our image look better, more aid we give the better everyone will like us. If we were to to stop giving AID the rest of the world would give us a cold stare and ask us why.

I do agree, we do give out too much, I don't really care if we get anything in return but most of the time the AID we send to corrupt country's does not reach the people we want it to.

 

[Colt45]

A better question might be why does the US give more to israel than a lot of worse off countries combined?

 

[ballmode]

P & N

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Our domestic problems really aren't much compared to what other countries have to deal with... when Katrina hit, yeah, people were homeless, but that's for only a period of time in their life, however in a place like India, there are probably more people that spend their whole life on the streets than the people who spent a few months or even a year or two homeless from Katrina.

Basically, the issues here, while they might be big, they're not as big as what other countries deal with.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: CPA
We have no one starving like they do in Africa. That said, I still think we give way too much in foreign aid for what we get in return.

Just a hint, aid isn't about making a profit

That's a bit like saying 'why does Bill Gates fund research into malaria, when he'd get much higher returns on the stock market?'

Somewhat obviously, it's about making the world a better place when you've clearly got more than you need, rather than turning a profit, or even getting anything in return.

I'd be interested in seeing something that backs up your claim that the US is giving too much aid, and perhaps some examples of countries that you think are getting an appropriate 'rate of return' on their overseas aid?

 

[PokerGuy]

While it may not be politically correct, the truth is that real poverty in the US is very rare. Poverty in the US is usually related to stupidity or bad choices. Yes, of course there are those that through no fault of their own end up in poverty, but with welfare, food stamps, shelters etc, nobody in the US should be in the kind of poverty and hunger they experience in other places in the world. How many places in the US does a whole village literally die of thirst some year because of drought??

 

[ultimatebob]

Doesn't most of the "aid" that we give to Africa end up in the hands of the warlords anyway?

If you really want to help Africa, maybe we should start a charity that kills the warlords!

 

[nageov3t]

dead people in africa can't buy our goods/services.

 

[eakers]

they "lend" the money and then force them to buy over priced American products

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
Why are we giving to foreign countries for starvation and other things if we (USA) have domestic problems similar to 3rd world countries in some areas. We have people starving and right after Katrina, we were still donating a lot to out-of-country places while we still had to rebuild New Orleans and help the ex-inhabitants.
What are we thinking?

No oil in New Orleans or off the coast anymore.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Xylitol
Why are we giving to foreign countries for starvation and other things if we (USA) have domestic problems similar to 3rd world countries in some areas. We have people starving and right after Katrina, we were still donating a lot to out-of-country places while we still had to rebuild New Orleans and help the ex-inhabitants.
What are we thinking?

No oil in New Orleans or off the coast anymore.

Good 'ol Crazy Dave. :thumbsup:

 

[91TTZ]

It's not in society's best interest to help the bottom of the barrel to procreate. They're poor for a reason, and they're just going to pass those traits on.

 

[Sid59]

because if we gave them food stamps, they'd have to fly here to buy it?

 

[NanoStuff]

Because dumbshits like the rest of you give money to the door-to-door and telemarketing scammers that 'give' to poor african children. Not only are you causing inflation and instability in Africa, you're also making at least one person very very rich with your hard earned money.

 

[Darwin333]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
Why are we giving to foreign countries for starvation and other things if we (USA) have domestic problems similar to 3rd world countries in some areas. We have people starving and right after Katrina, we were still donating a lot to out-of-country places while we still had to rebuild New Orleans and help the ex-inhabitants.
What are we thinking?

People starving in 3rd world countries would kill to be a dirt poor person citizen in the US.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
It's not in society's best interest to help the bottom of the barrel to procreate. They're poor for a reason, and they're just going to pass those traits on.

Sig Heil! :roll:

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
i mean its definitely nothing in comparison percentage-wise, but we still have kids who don't get enough to eat due to parents not knowing about foodstamps and other things. Some awareness to help our domestic problems would help

As you say, the aid is there, some slack-jawed yokels are just too stupid to realize it.

No adult starves in the US unless they are too mentally derranged to find their local soup kitchen, church, or dumpster.

No child starves in the US unless their parents are mentally unbalanced, abusive or cretins.

 

[FoBoT]

no, there are no rotting bodies of starved kids around here (Kansas City area), they must all be in California

thanks for the warning

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
Why are we giving to foreign countries for starvation and other things if we (USA) have domestic problems similar to 3rd world countries in some areas. We have people starving and right after Katrina, we were still donating a lot to out-of-country places while we still had to rebuild New Orleans and help the ex-inhabitants.
What are we thinking?

There is no place in the US that even comes close to a true 3rd world country. What you are talking about is an age old argument and you are making assumptions about things that you have no experience with.

The short answer to your question is that we have a lot and they have very little so we try to help them. Granted, this sometimes involves greedy intentions for the future. It's a lot like individual people and their relations with one another. People often do favors for others hoping to get something in return. People also do favors to establish relations with a person to either look good in that person's eyes or look good in the eyes of someone else who is watching. Again, they are hoping to somehow be rewarded in the future. America's involvement in other countries when it comes to "giving to the poor" is very similar, but complicated at the same time.

Good relations between countries is a cornerstone behind America's power and all other countries with great power. No one should forget that.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
It's not in society's best interest to help the bottom of the barrel to procreate. They're poor for a reason, and they're just going to pass those traits on.

Sig Heil! :roll:

Jawol, Mein Fuehrer!

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: CPA
We have no one starving like they do in Africa. That said, I still think we give way too much in foreign aid for what we get in return.

We get contempt and hatred in return for our help at lot of times. Sure...they will take all the handouts they can get their hands on, but then when it comes down to it they express hatred and contempt towards our country. We aren't perfect, but we sure as hell try to help people and that's a hell of a lot more than a lot of countries do.

Reminds me of that thing that the Canadian wrote about the US donating all sorts of stuff to other countries struck by disaster but when things like Katrina hit us, nobody does much. We end up doing it all ourselves. For the most part - there are those who do send us aid but it's nothing like what we do.

 

[piasabird]

Where was the governor of louisiana while all this was happening? Probably sitting in a comforable hotel room. What did the people in Louisiana do with all that reconstruction money? They probably stole it from the people that needed it.