Newell-Fonda
High School
Newell,
Iowa
Teacher:
Mrs. Doonan
Can
We Afford It?
By Aaron Gerdes
12th Grade
“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money,” Everett Dirksen states it well when he comments on how the United States just throws its money around. The United States thinks that it can just take its money and give, give, give. It never seemed like a problem until the debt reached the trillions. The national debt today is $6.4 trillion and rising. “In fact, the debt increases an average of $1.3 billion a day.” With this kind of debt, the United States should be in no hurry to give money to other countries. However, if the government insists on foreign aid, the Millennium Challenge Account is definitely a step in the right direction. The Millennium Challenge Account promotes growth and reduces poverty in developing nations. Through this plan, the United States government would give money to developing nations only if they would meet the standard requirements. In addition to the requirements, those countries would also have to show results. However, because of the increasing debt, the United States cannot afford to give any more money to these developing nations.
Some people, including many people involved in the government, feel that the United States should give more money to the underdeveloped countries of the world. They argue that the United States has the money to help, so it should give to those who are less fortunate. Foreign aid can provide many countries with the money to rid their countries of many of their problems. The foreign aid is used to help with poverty situations in many countries. With the foreign aid, the United States can help many countries with their agriculture, education, and technology. Foreign aid is also targeted toward the fight against AIDS and other diseases in many of the third world countries. Also, by giving more money, the United States is able to prevent problems that arise in other countries that may lead to terrorism.
Although the United States should help the third world countries and give foreign aid, these countries are getting too dependent on the United States. They expect everything to be handed to them without them doing anything. It seems that the United States cares more about the economy of these countries than the leaders of those countries do. The United States is doing more than enough to help these countries. The United States is the largest donor to the developing countries. “In fact, they gave $17.1 billion dollars in 2002 to these countries.” However, the United States knows that it will not get paid back by most of the countries, but it continues to give anyway. The United States has helped these countries get started and overcome some of their problems. Now, it is their turn.
Although the United States wants to help the situations in other countries, it needs to fix its own problems first. The United States has a half of a million people on the streets every night. Also, parts of the United States have schools that are not able to teach the required material correctly because of a lack of resources. In addition, thousands of people in the United States are infected with deadly diseases. The United States government has the potential to help all of these problems. They need to concentrate more on their own country instead of trying to figure out how to give more of their money away to other countries.
Terrorism is not a result of lack of funding. Terrorism lies within the hands of the government of that country. Foreign aid cannot make a government stronger so that it cannot be taken over. Foreign aid can only help the economy. If the governments of those countries are not strong enough to control [their] own people, then maybe those countries need other countries, such as the United States, to control them.
Although the United States has always been a leader in foreign aid donations, it cannot afford to increase the money given to the third world countries. Those countries are [no] longer appreciating the money that they receive. Rather, they are expecting the money to be handed to them. Also, the United States has far too many problems within its own borders. They need to think of themselves first before even thinking about helping other countries. In addition, giving money to other countries will not stop terrorism. The only thing that can stop terrorism is the strengthening of the government in that country. Money cannot change the way the government works. Furthermore, although the Millennium Challenge Account is definitely a good idea, the United States does not have the money to provide for such a cause.
“U.S. National Debt Clock.” 8 Jan 2003. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
“Millennium Challenge Account Update.” 3 June 2003.
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2002/fs_mca.html
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?
-Domestic capital, foreign investment, and 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
Q3- When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?
-It is counterproductive when nations refuse to enact sound policies because it subsidizes bad policies, delays reforms, and crowds out private investment.
Q4- Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description what is anticipated from donors and recipients.
-The goal of the MCA is to provide people in developing nations the tools they need to seize the opportunities of the global economy. The nations are expected to adopt the reforms and policies that make development effective and lasting.
Q5- What are the three broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of the developing nations to adopt?
-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.
-Bush challenged development banks to provide up to half of the funds devoted to poor nations in the form of grants, rather than loans.
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 commits 4% to foreign aid. The United States actually commits one-tenth of one percent to foreign aid.
Q8- Describe and defend a “Me First” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)
-A “Me First” attitude would be the same as “Do my things first, then I can help everyone else out afterwards.” It natural for people to look after themselves before worrying about anyone else, especially worrying about the rest of the world.
Q9- Describe and defend a “Mutual Benefit” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)
-This attitude carries the idea that both parties derive some benefit from a particular agreement. One party is willing to reach into their own pocket to help others in need.
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 United States has given money to Africa, Asia, and Latin America to help their agriculture. However, these countries used to money for different purposes other than for agriculture. In Indonesia, the government confiscated subsistence farmers' meager plots for AID-financed irrigation canals. In Mali, farmers were forced to sell their crops at giveaway prices to a joint project of AID and the Mali government.
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 United States gave over $13 billion to Europe through the Marshall plan. This money helped these countries to recover after the war. South Vietnam received a bulk of U.S. aid in the mid-sixties and early seventies and helped with their social services. In 1985, the United States provided over $10 billion in non-military aid abroad, ranging from free food to balance-of-payments support to project-assistance and population-planning programs.
Q12- Steve Radelet, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, believes we can do both 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 do not believe that we can offer aid to both because we still are having problems in our own country and that should be the primary concern. There is a number of Americans that live on the streets, and they are all cursed with poverty. Once we are able to get all the Americans off the streets and out of poverty, we can then begin to 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.”?
-The proposal idea is a good one. Making them write a proposal to receive our money is much better than just giving money to them. Still, after they receive our money, they are free to do whatever they want with it, and we have no say in it.
Q14- Which of Mr. Radelet’s three concerns regarding the MCA concerns you and why?
-The one that concerns me the most is as more countries in this range become eligible, there will be fewer MCA funds available for the poorest countries that are implementing sound development strategies. This concerns me because the countries get assistance by their score on the corruption indicator. Countries that really need the money and are willing to implement development strategies may not get the money because their score may not be high enough. However, another country may get the funding, and they could spend the money on useless things.
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.
-We should not even care about helping other countries with their weapons. We need to concentrate our money on our own weapons and make sure that we are always ready for war. The United States is the dominant country in the world, and we can keep it that way by not helping other countries become powerful enough to overpower us.
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 just and appropriate share would be approximately $10-$15 billion annually. I do not believe that we could afford that, and if we could, we should use it for the betterment of our own economy.
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”?
-Taxes are paid for the purpose of improving roads, cities, schools, and overall living in the United States. Our money should not go to other countries when we could still improve our lives.
Q18- How many countries would be affected positively y health-related investments according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH)?
-83 countries
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?
-$360 billion would be gained annually
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.
-Smith and LaFalce introduced the bill. It was presented to ensure the substantial increase of resources available for human development and poverty reduction in poor countries. Back