Medicine Lodge High School
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Teachers: Devra Parker and Steve Germes
American Foreign Aid
By Josh Hutfles
There are many evils in our world that need vanquishing. Some of the greatest of the world’s problems are in countries other than the United States. As such, there is a need that only the richer countries can fill, foreign aid. Any item given to another country defines foreign aid. Food stuffs, sexual protection items and even weapons of war make up the “gifts” bestowed on those nations we deem “in need.” Who decides which countries receive this aid? What kinds of aid is given to each country? How is this aid watched over after it leaves our country? Is the Millenium Challenge Account a waste of American dollars or is it a program that deserves more money then it asks for?
American
foreign aid is controlled by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID). Andrew S.
Natsios heads up the United States Agency for International Development. Natsios is quoted as saying, “I believe America's foreign
assistance both serves to accomplish our foreign policy objectives, and
expresses the deep humanitarian instincts of the American people."
In principle their goals are economic growth, agriculture and trade;
global health; democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance The
U.S.A.I.D. divides the world into sections. Sub Sahara Africa; Asia and the far
east; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the final group Europe and Eurasia.
These areas get various types of aid.
The
U.S.A.I.D. teaches farmers how to
farm in a sustainable manner on their own land.
With many of the methods taught, the output of grain goes up, allowing
them a surplus. Why does the United
States then dump grain into their markets in the name of foreign aid?
This so-called aid in the form of grain is now a curse.
Why should the farmers work harder to grow more grain to sell when the
price is so low due to the aid they receive?
Programs are
funded that advance free elections in lands previously governed by tyrants and
other poor leaders. Free elections
empower the people. The U.S.A.I.D.
promotes programs that educated people on how to be politically active.
On an
economic level U.S.A.I.D. encourages governments to make and enforce laws that
help businesses grow. The U.S.A.I.D.
helps design laws to govern fair energy usage in countries with very little
energy. This enables a country to
help remove itself from aid. At
some point personal property rights and the people’s future are protected by
law. The right to own property
encourages farmers to farm in sustainable manners, builders can build without
fear that after their building is done it will not by taken from them.
Ideally, a sustainable capitalist system emerges.
900 million
adults are illiterate primarily in developing countries. Also, there are in developing countries 125 million school
age children that should be receiving an education are taught no knowledge of
the world outside of their land. A
competitive world market requires educated workers to work in factories and to
design the objects the factories are to build.
Thus, the U.S.A.I.D supports a wide variety of training programs to teach
men and women, young and old, the skills required to do quality jobs.
In many
developing countries there are little natural resources.
Water is being used far faster then it is replenished or even worse
polluted. Forests are being
cut down quicker then they are regenerating.
The U.S.A.I.D. takes a integrated approach to managing resources.
Methods of using less water and leaving it cleaner as well as less
destructive ways to harvest timber are taught.
In
developing countries, 11.1 million children died in the year 2000 alone. Most
children's deaths were due to diseases that cures have been available in America
for years. By the year 2010,
it is estimated that 44 million or more children in 34 developing countries will
have lost either one or both parents, mostly due to AIDS. This is of great concern to the U.S.A.I.D., a challenge they
will have to meet. If the
developing countries are to prosper.
The
U.S.A.I.D. helps in disaster relief by providing food to the needy. Hopefully preventing the already poor from becoming much
poorer. The U.S.A.I.D also funds
shipping on private donations to needy countries which encourages additional
giving. This also allows the
U.S.A.I.D. to move far more goods than previously possible.
For all the good the U.S.A.I.D. can do, there is much that is beyond their help.
America once was a poor country yet she had a backyard full of natural
resources. The lack of resources hinders growth in developing countries
and limits exports. Foreign aid is
often a tool to make mighty men feel like they are helping. Sometimes, financial aid is embezzled by members in corrupted
governments. As such, it is hard to
see why financial aid is given at all.
The
Millennium Challenge Account is a Band Aid fix to a very large problem.
Sometimes cuts do not heal as pretty when they are open to the world but
lessons are learned from the scrapes, thus creating a stronger country.
Foreign aid is very important, yet it should be used sparingly so that
through struggles countries will pull themselves up by the boot straps.
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
things that President Bush mentions are 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?
Education
and health care are the two items that President Bush mentions.
Q3-
When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?
When nations
refuse to enact sound policies, progress against poverty is nearly impossible
because it subsidizes bad policies, delays reform, and crowds out private
investment.
Q4-
Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description
what is anticipated from donors and recipients.
The
Millennium Challenge Account will put their efforts in fighting AIDS; bring
computer instruction to young professionals in developing nations; assist
African businesses and their people to sell goods abroad; we will provide
textbooks and training to students in Islamic and African countries; will apply
the power of science and technology to increase harvests where hunger is
greatest.
Q5-
What are the three broad standards that President Bush expects the
leaders of the developing nations to adopt?
President
Bush expects the leaders of the developing nations to adopt these three broad
standards in order to receive aid from America—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 is trying to get rich nations to help out poor nations with their politics, legal and economic reform. I don’t think this well work because there is no consequences if they don’t do it after they get the money.
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 its
15% and the actual answer is .7%.
Q8- Describe
and defend a “Me First” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the
answer in the required reading.)
I think its great to help out other nations with their poor people. However I believe we should take care of our people before theirs. Why help out people over 100,000 miles away when we got people here in the United States that need just as much help.
Q9- Describe
and defend a “Mutual Benefit” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find
the answer in the required reading.)
We put money into helping other nations out and we could receive an alliance with that country. We help them out now and we could get help from them later on.
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.)
The WHO
program was not successful because United States withheld money from the United
Nations. In the early 70's when we
sent huge vaporized milk to Africa. When
the nations take aid from us you have to buy from us although it will probably
cost more.
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.)
The Marshall
Plan was successful in some ways. The
Peace Core was also a good problem. Bill
Gates gives 300 million dollars to foreign aid in over a three year period.
A third of our foreign aid goes to Egypt and Israel.
Two thirds of our foreign aid program goes to fighting drug problems and
U.S. trade.
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 we
very well help out both but I believe that we should focus more on our own
nation before others.
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.”?
I like the
idea of Mr. Radelet's. I think the
nations that are getting money should be hold accountable for their actions.
Q14- Which
of Mr. Radelet’s three concerns regarding the MCA concerns you and why?
Just
because they are eligible doesn't make them have to get money.
The poorest nations obviously need the most money but other nations need
to catch up with their needs. The
MCA needs to have really tough criteria to become eligibility.
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 disagree
with this because WMD will do more damage that WMA, I think.
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.
This means
to share the wealth in the United States in the economy. I agree with this plan because the U.S. needs to focus a
little more on our country before another’s.
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 don’t
think that the U.S. government should do this because the money might not go to
the organizations that need it the most.
Q18- How
many countries would be affected positively by health-related investments
according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH)?
There would
be eighteen countries that would be affected be the CMH.
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?
15.5 billion
dollars will be used to save people in the years 2015-2020 due to the economic
growth.
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.
Congressmen
LaFalce and Smith introduced the bill to the House of Representatives and the
Senate named it “Debt Relief Enhancement Act of 2002.” This bill is to amend the existing Heavily Indebted Poor
Country (HIPC) debt initiative of the IMF and the World Bank.