Medicine
Lodge High School
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Teachers: Devra
Parker and Steve Germes
Foreign
Aid : Playing with Money
By Carissa Holmes
12th Grade
After school my friends and I discuss
our day as we fulfill our mouth-watering desires. As we choose our
beverages, we reminisce upon the days
events. This normal occurrence of spending time with my friends brings
about the wondering of how these delightful beverages came about.
After researching I learned that our favorite drinks were made by accident.
A morphine addict by the name of John Styth
Pemberton wanted to make the ultimate medicine; instead, he made a popular
drink that everyone has grown to love. Coca-Cola is known as one of
the most delicious drinks. John Pemberton was trying to create a bad
drug, but instead he ended up delighting the world with his creation.
Foreign aid is somewhat like that. The United States is attempting to
do a good deed when it is really a bad one. They are trying to help
other countries in poverty, but most foreign aid programs end up as failures
in the eyes of fellow Americans.
The government gives money to other
countries in order to help them; however, our Americans in the United States
are starving and some even living out on the streets. Should not we
worry about our own country? Governments should give money to their
own nations instead of other nations that may not deserve the generosity as
much. Our country is so far in debt that we really cannot afford to be
giving away money to other countries. Until the United States gets
back on its feet and starts paying off some of our debt, we should keep our
money and not give it away.
In addition, the United States should
not give money to corrupt nations. However, supporters of foreign aid
say we are helping the nations that may become good, honest nations.
But, is that true? Do we really want our money to go to untrustworthy
nations or nations that do not treat their
citizens fairly? As a tax payer, I know I do not want to fund nations
that are corrupt. Some believe that the more corrupt a government is,
the more money they will receive. Therefore, are we paying them
for what they are doing wrong as governments and as individuals.
Supporters of foreign aid suggest that
giving more money to corrupt nations will help reduce poverty and reward
good governments. Some in the United States starve everyday, and we
already have a good government. So, why are we not rewarded for that?
America sends money to different
nations all the time, but where does all the money really go? A big
chunk of the money we send out for foreign aid is never accounted for and
pretty much just disappears. Some United States agencies only
accounted for 40 percent of the total $56.2 billion for foreign assistance
in 2000. Not much money is accounted for at the end of the year; we
send it to help but then we never hear about it again.
Our country is almost $7 trillion in
debt, but yet they still give out more assets. Where is
the funds going to start coming from? Currency we earn
ourselves or the rights we get like our retirement money. There are 22
countries who receive foreign aid. We only give one percent of our
money to foreign aid. It still seems like a big chunk because we are
so far in debt. We are the 22nd country within foreign aid giving.
We are giving Iraq billions of dollars to rebuild their cities when we are
the ones that destroyed them in the first place. If we should have to
pay for the damage after a war, then why do we even fight? It should
not be our responsibility.
We have purposes for giving foreign aid,
but are we really achieving them? We gain respect and support by
giving foreign aid, but we are going in debt and it is ruining our
respectful nation. By helping other countries, we feel good about
ourselves but it is really like a band-aid. It does good
for a while, however, after a few months it starts to get worse and our
country goes deeper in poverty along with the nations we are trying to help.
How are we supposed to give money to other nations when there is really no
money to give? We cannot and that is what some people do not
understand. We are playing with money that is not available.
The Millennium Challenge Account is
trying to do good for all the nations involved. How are we to know if
they really make their education better, or they really make their nation
stronger? They could just say they are making it better and that they
still need the money. They could still have many of their people in
poverty. I think it would be a good idea if it would work, but I
honestly do not think it will work in the long run.
Foreign
aid and the Millennium Challenge Account are trying to do good.
Nations would appreciate the funds that we give them, but we cannot afford
to give out assets. We are in debt, and we have innocent people
starving in our own country. Why do we need to help in a different
country? We could just keep our money with in our own nation?
Many people think foreign aid in an excellent idea, and I think it is good
for us to help people. It would make the United States look good in
the eyes of all the other nations. However, I also think if we did
have the money to give out, we should help our own people in our country
before we go to a different country that we do not even live in and help
them.
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 Bushs
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 Ύ you wont
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 Ύ you wont
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 has to change how it gives Indonesia aid. We strengthened
their ruling classes and hurt the farmers. AID contributions to
foreign aid between a 20-year period disappeared
without a trace. US Food for Peace Program tried to help Guatemala
after a devastating earthquake. The food aid stood in the way for
development.
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 gave $697,000 in
humanitarian assistance to seven nations struck by natural disasters.
Ethiopian Aid has provided 6 million people with better education and health
services. India Aid has cut adult illiteracy in half.
Q12- Steve Radelet,
Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development,
believes we can do both Ύ 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 arent
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. Radelets
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. Radelets
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 States 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 Policys
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.