Medicine Lodge High School
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Teachers:  Devra Parker and Steve Germes

 

America’s Non-Foreign Aid
By Brett Hubka
12^th Grade

 

Each year American’s tax dollars are simply thrown away in an effort to cure the world’s little problems.  America needs to pull itself out of debt.  Once that has happened, we can worry about the world’s problems.  We shall also worry about our own problems here in America.  There are people in America that are homeless, starving, and poverty stricken, who are receiving no aid at all.  I am all for limiting America’s foreign aid efforts, and I believe that the Millenium Challenge Account is not a wise plan for the USA to adopt. 

Recently President Bush has announced that he plans to boost American foreign aid by 50 percent!  That number would not be so staggering, but America already gives more than $10 billion in foreign aid each year to foreign governments and international programs.  In President Bush’s new plan, the USA would give more than $15 billion a year to foreign aid!  Can one really understand how much money $15 billion is?  I thought about what I could buy for myself if I had $15 billion.  I could not even come close to fully understanding what I could have for myself with all of that money, and America is just giving it away.

Does all of America’s aid actually go to the right places?  That is a question many Americans are asking.  America will give more than $120 million this year alone to Uzbekistan.  Uzbekistan is a convenient ally in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.  Human rights officials have complained about the foreign aid to Uzbekistan because of the Uzbek government officials.  The Uzbek government officials seek to enlighten dissidents with methods such as beatings, electric shock, temporary suffocation, hanging by the ankles or wrists, removal of fingernails, and punctures with sharp objects.  This sounds to me like a radical form of punishment is going on underneath the microscope.  I personally to do not want my tax dollars going to aid a country such as Uzbekistan where all of this mayhem goes on.

There are many situations where foreign aid money just falls through the cracks.  Our government provides more than a billion dollars to aid Columbia in financing its war on coca growers and leftist guerillas.  Human rights officials have stated that the “human-rights situation in Columbia has deteriorated markedly” since the Clinton administration passed a package increasing our aid to Columbia in 2000. 

The President recently visited Colombia, touting a $1.3 billion military aid package for the South American region.  Congress authorized the package by passing an "emergency supplemental" spending bill previously this summer during eleventh-hour voting.  The spending package called "Plan Colombia," authorizes nearly half a billion dollars for Colombia alone.  Not surprisingly, the administration used convenient "war on drugs" theme to convince Congress and the American people that this massive spending on foreign military interdiction was justified.  The President promised that America would never be dragged into Colombia's civil war, yet virtually all of the aid dollars were spent on weapons of war and military training.

There are plenty of reasons for some of the failures of foreign aid.  There has been a widespread record of waste, fraud, and abuse involving U.S. foreign aid.  Our foreign aid programs have built tennis courts in Rwanda, sent sewing machines to areas without electricity, and built hospitals in places where a dozen similar facilities already lie half-empty.

Our government has learned that in failed past foreign aid programs have given a rise to a new way to make foreign aid effective.  This new approach includes giving the money to poor countries that have good policies.  This new approach promotes good policy.  President Bush’s Millenium Challenge Account is based on foreign assistance; the World Bank’s calls to double foreign aid flows worldwide.

The question may be now is if Americans support increasing foreign aid.  That answer is yes.  A recent poll was taken at the University of Maryland, which said that 81 percent support foreign aid to fight terrorism.  According to the poll’s findings, a typical American would like to spend $1 on foreign aid for every $3 spent on defense.  The actual ratio is for every $1 spent on foreign aid, $19 are spent on defense.

I think that we as a country do spend too much on our foreign aid.  I do not think that we should get rid of all of our foreign aid programs, just limit those that don’t seem just.  The Millenium Challenge Account is an idea that will take time for America to know whether or not it is right.  I will have to see how our economy goes in these next few years to really judge the MCA.  Our government should rethink what it has done in the past, and learn from it.  I also believe that we should work on solving our own problems and get ourselves out of our massive debt, then work on the world’s problems.

 

Questions

Q1- President Bush claimed that most funds for development do not come from international aid. He mentions three things that do fund development. What are they?

The three items that President Bush mentioned that do fund development are domestic capital, foreign investment, and especially from trade.

 

Q2- President Bush reminded his audience that successful development in a third world country requires more than funds. What two items did he mention in this regard?

Successful development requires citizens who are literate, who are healthy, and prepared and able to work.  Education and health care needs are very important to successful development.

 

Q3- When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?

Nations that refuse to enact sound policies, where as progress against poverty is nearly impossible.  When this happens, more aid money can be counterproductive.

 

Q4- Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description what is anticipated from donors and recipients?

The Millennium challenge will be devoted to projects and nations that rule justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom.  This pledge would lead the United States by example and increase its core development by 50% by the next three years, resulting in yearly increase of $5 billion by 2006.

 

Q5- What are the three broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of the developing nations to adopt?

Three broad standards the President Bush expects the leaders to adopt are ruling justly, investing in their people, and encouraging economic freedom.

 

Q6- Describe President Bush’s challenge to development banks and explain why or why not you favor it.

President Bush challenged development banks to adopt a growth agenda, which increases their support for private sector enterprises, and focuses more on education.  He also challenges development banks to use grants instead of loans and to use all of these to increase the support of the World Bank by almost 20 percent and this will all be a step to remove debt.  Whether or not I favor it is not the issue, focusing more on education is top priority in my opinion.  President Bush is willing to give money to other nations to help them, but we do not even have very much money in our school systems to supply us with decent technology.  I do not agree with his challenge due to the fact anyone can say they need money, or they could deliberately spend money because they know they can get grants and not have to pay them back.  I think this could eventually put our country further into debt than it will bring us out of it.

 

Q7- What percentage of our national income (GNP) do you think the United States government committed to foreign aid in 2002? First answer this question and then use the Internet to find the answer.

I think that the United States government used around 20% of our GNP to send as foreign aid in 2002.  I found out that the United States government used around 12% of our GNP as foreign aid in 2002.

 

Q8- Describe and defend a “Me First” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)

Foreign aid takes away money that we could be giving to our own people in the United States.  Giving billions of dollars to a different country to help them, when our home is in debt is pointless.  They are trying to help but they are just putting us further in debt.  We should worry about our own people that we have to see suffer rather than people from other countries who are suffering.  Why is it our problem their government can not take care of their own citizens?  It should not be our problem.  United States first is how we should think about it not the United States last.

 

Q9- Describe and defend a “Mutual Benefit” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)

Foreign aid benefits everyone involved.  The United States benefits by helping the different countries receiving the money and the other countries benefit by the help of the United States.  Foreign aid gives money to countries that are in desperate need of it.  Mutual benefit means that it benefits everyone involved in foreign aid, the receivers and the givers.  By the United States giving out money, they help people in need and they gain respect by the other countries as well as support.

 

Q10- Describe three unsuccessful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens. (Do not use the programs discussed in the testimony of Faith Action for People-Centered Development Policy included in your required reading. Conduct research using the Internet. Duplicate examples from the same class will not be accepted.)

There are quite a few unsuccessful foreign aid programs that I will describe to you in this paragraph.  The USDA must change how it gives Indonesia aid.  We have strengthened their ruling classes and hurt their farmers.  AID's contributions to foreign aid between a 20-year period have disappeared without a trace.  US Food for Peace Program tried to help Guatemala after a devastating earthquake.  The food aid stood in the way of Guatemalan farmers trying to sell their crops.

 

Q11- Describe three successful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens. (Do not use the programs discussed in the testimony of Faith Action for People-Centered Development Policy included in your required reading. Conduct research using the Internet. Duplicate examples from the same class will not be accepted.)

There are many successful foreign aid programs as I will describe some to you in the next few sentences.  The International Cooperation and Development Program has given $697,000 in humanitarian aid to seven nations struck by natural disasters.  Ethiopian Aid has provided 6 million people with better education and health services.  India Aid has cut the illiteracy of adults in half. 

 

Q12- Steve Radelet, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, believes we can do both ¾ take care of our own people and lend a helping hand to citizens of less developed countries. Explain why you think we can or cannot offer aid to both.

I think that we cannot take care of our own people and lend a helping hand to citizens of less developed countries because I just have to look around to see that we aren’t doing so.  I mean there are so many homeless and people that cannot afford to send their kids to school.  There are so many debt problems here in the United States.  If we cannot help our own people, how can we help other countries.

 

Q13- What do you think about Mr. Radelet’s assertion that “the administration is leaning towards a system in which eligible countries would write proposals (or business plans) describing their objectives and strategy, how they would use the money, the benchmarks used for evaluation. Giving recipient countries this responsibility is a revolutionary change in US foreign assistance.”?

This assertion allows countries to write down their strong points along with their weaknesses.  Then the U.S. government decides whether or not foreign aid is needed in the situation.  Letting the countries write their own proposals (business plans) allows the government to choose those that are the most in need and who deserves the money we do not have as foreign aid money.

 

Q14- Which of Mr. Radelet’s three concerns regarding the MCA concerns you and why?

1.      as more countries in this income range become eligible, there will be fewer MCA funds available for the poorest countries that are implementing sound development strategies.

2.      the make-or-break requirement may unnecessarily eliminate some countries.

3.      the separation of US foreign assistance into two agencies could lead to a lack of coordination and overlapping functions.

The number two concern regarding the MCA concerns me.  The make-or-break requirement could cause a war because it may unnecessarily eliminate some countries.  If our allies need foreign aid yet they do not meet the U.S. government requirements they may turn against us for not helping them out when they need us most.  This could cause disagreement or possibly even war.  This concerns me because I know people fighting for our country and they could be killed over some money issue that should not have even been argued over in the first place.

 

Q15- There is evidence of an increase in negative world opinion towards U.S. foreign policy, not necessarily the American people. To counter this negative perception of the U.S. some people want the U.S. to concentrate more on weapons of mass assistance (WMA) and less on weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Please comment.

I think that we should focus more on weapons of mass assistance yet still continue some work on weapons of mass destruction.  It is nice to have the weapons of mass destruction incase we need to end a war fast, but it is better to have weapons of mass assistance when other countries are deciding whether or not the United States produces a threat to their country.

 

Q16- What does the World Bank recommend as the United State’s “just and appropriate share” to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015? Do you think our citizens can afford that kind of increase? Defend your views.

The factors needed to reach MDG by 2015 are as follows:  to cut the proportion of people that obtain less than a dollar a day and those that suffer from hunger in half, make sure that all children at least get a primary education, promote equality among genders (especially in education), reduce the rate of deaths of children under 5 years, to lower the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, to sustain the environmental problems, and to develop a development global partnership.  I do not think that we can afford it because we are in debt so far now that we should focus on getting out of debt so we do not spend money we do not have.  I think it is a good idea and it needs to be done, but unless we go further in debt, we cannot go through with this program.

 

Q17- What do you think about the request of Faith Action for People Centered Development Policy’s request that tax dollars be used to fund, not only government-sponsored foreign aid programs, but “that funds also go to NGOs and grassroots organizations.”?

I think it would be nice to have these organizations funded, but we cannot even afford foreign aid, let alone these other organizations.  We are in debt enough as it is.  We do not need to spend more money.

 

Q18- How many countries would be affected positively by health-related investments according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH)?

There would be 83 countries that would be affected in a positive way by health-related investments.

 

Q19- According to the CMH, how much would be gained annually between 2015-2020 due to saved lives and increased economic growth, if an increased investment were made in global AIDS and other health services?

From 2015-2020, 360 billion dollars will be saved lives and increased economic growth.  The loss now in the foreign aid, will eventually pay for itself over time.

 

Q20- Use the Internet for your research and name the two congressmen who introduced H.R. 4524. Give a 2-line synopsis of that bill.

Two representatives that introduced H.R. 4524 in April of 2002 are Chris Smith and John LaFalce.

This bill was passed in order to help third world countries with their debt relief.  The cost of this bill for 2003 will be less than an estimated 50 million dollars.     Back