Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge, Illinois
Teacher: Mrs. Downey
The Millennium Challenge Account
By
Kate Beckwith
12th
Grade
Can
the United States afford to increase its commitment to foreign aid?
Is the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) a step in the right
direction? These types of
questions have become the source of much controversy in recent years, with
everyone seeming to take a different side.
The fact is that each year, the United States contributes .01% of its
budget to foreign aid. Although
to many this may not seem like a lot, we have to remember that since the
United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, .01% is roughly equal to
$67,370,000 dollars. It might
seem like the United States gives the least amount to foreign aid, but in
reality, it is actually the world’s largest contributor.
The
Millennium Challenge Account, proposed by President George W. Bush in March of
2002, would increase our contributions to underdeveloped countries by five
billion dollars by the year 2006. These
funds would be put into the Millennium Challenge Account and would then be
distributed to countries that have shown they could govern justly and would
encourage economic freedom. If
the countries chose not to comply with these standards, then they would no
longer have access to the Millennium Challenge Account’s funds.
This program, however, seems to have several problems.
Even
with the guidelines and rules to become and remain eligible for the Millennium
Challenge Account funds, there is really no way to make sure that the
countries that qualify are following the rules.
Unless the United States sends personnel over to these countries to
monitor them, how can we be sure that the countries are being honest?
And even if the countries do remain eligible, there is no way
that the Untied States could handle the tax increase that this program would
require.
The
United States cannot afford to contribute more dollars to foreign aid at the
present time. In President George
W. Bush’s State of the Union Address last January he proposed several new
programs such as drug rehabilitation centers, mentoring programs, and cancer
research. These programs would be
great for the citizens of the United States but would require an additional
cost to the taxpayer. If the
government were to increase its contribution to foreign aid, then these
helpful government programs would experience, at the very least, a sizeable
budget cut.
Another
reason the government cannot afford to increase its commitment to foreign aid
is because the United States might very well be going to war in the near
future. Rather than focusing on
increasing the amount of aid America is giving to other countries, we need to
worry about protecting our own country and preparing for our country’s
insecure future. If the United
States were to give more to foreign aid and then face a terrible war, it would
be a disaster. Not only would our
country be suffering, but others that we had once helped financially would
suffer as well. Everyone would be
affected.
In
addition, our country’s economy is struggling right now, and our citizens
are greatly lacking in faith in our government’s ability to stabilize.
As a survey taken this past January shows, three out of five Americans
feel that the rising prices in today’s economy are only temporary.
However, two out of five Americans say that the rising prices are
causing them hardships. Since
many people are discouraged, then how could we possibly expect them to
willingly contribute more money that would help others in situations similar
to their own? The answer is
simple. We cannot.
To put it simply, the Millennium Challenge Account is
not a step in the right direction. Without
the sufficient funds to back this proposed plan, or the support of the
citizens of the United States, how could this program possibly work?
It could not. If we were
to put this plan into action, especially with so many unstable countries right
now in the world, my fear is that only bad things would come of it.
Bibliography
Millennium Challenge Questions
1. 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?
Most of the funding for development comes from domestic capital, from foreign investment, and especially from trade.
2. 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 that citizens be educated and healthy.
3. When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?
When nations refuse to enact sound policies, progress against poverty is nearly impossible. In these situations, more money can actually be counterproductive because it subsidizes bad policies, delays reform, and crowds out private investment.
4. Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description what is anticipated from donors and recipients.
The Millennium Challenge Account is a program designed to aid and develop third world nations. This program calls for a five billion dollar increase to be given to foreign aid, and would be distributed among countries that showed potential in the areas of developing health care and education facilities. Recipients would be asked to monitor their progress, and donors would be expected to invest in these countries in order to encourage economic freedom.
5. What are the three broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of the developing nations to adopt?
The
three broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of the
developing nations to adopt are: ruling justly, investing in their people, and
encouraging economic freedom.
6. Describe President Bush’s challenge to development banks and explain why or why not you favor it.
President
Bush is challenging development banks to provide up to half of the funds
devoted to poor nations in the form of grants, rather than loans.
This way, the countries receiving this aid will not have to worry about
paying it back. I think that this
is an excellent idea, because if we give unstable nations aid, we should not
expect it back. If we do expect this money to be repaid, it will only hurt the
struggling country financially, and continue the cycle of poverty.
7. 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 committed 20% of its national income to foreign
aid in 2002. However, I
discovered on the Internet that the United States committed only .01% of its
national income to foreign aid in 2002.
8.
Describe and defend a “Me First” attitude.
A
“Me First” attitude means that you simply worry about yourself and your
own personal needs before you worry about anyone else’s.
By doing this, we can ensure that everyone will be taken care of, and
that no one will be left out.
9.
Describe and defend a “Mutual Benefit” attitude.
A
“Mutual Benefit” attitude means that you worry about your own personal
needs as well as those needs of others. By
doing this, we can most definitely be assured that nobody’s needs will be
left unmet.
10. Describe three unsuccessful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens.
Formerly
known as the American-Soviet Film Initiative, the Afghan Women’s Mission was
founded in 1987, and failed to meet four standards of the CBB Charitable
Solicitations. The purpose of
this program was to encourage economic and humanitarian activism and education
in order to allow everyone to live more harmoniously.
Refugees
International was founded in 1984 and wished to teach lifesaving humanitarian
skills to people all around the world in hopes of decreasing the violence.
However, it also failed to meet standards and regulations put on it by
the CBB Charitable Solicitations.
World
Villages for Children provided food, water, clothing, and shelter for more
than 20,000 children around the world to help them break the cycle of poverty.
However, like many others, this organization failed to meet the
regulations put on it by the CBB Charitable Solicitations.
11. Describe three successful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens.
The
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America was founded in 1912, and sends
missionaries overseas to struggling countries to preach the word of God to
others in hopes that they might learn to be a more peaceful nation.
It contributes close to $100,000 a year.
Bread
for the world was founded in 1974, and rallies Christians from several
different denominations to advocate policies to help combat hunger and poverty
in other nations.
Compassion
International was founded in 1956, and strives to relive children all over the
world from poverty, hunger and disease. Their
hope is that by eliminating these problems, the children will grow up to be
Christian adults.
12. 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 think that the United States can afford to offer aid effectively to
both people suffering within our country and people suffering outside of it.
America’s economy is becoming increasingly unstable as the days pass
by, and I believe that we need to move our focus to those suffering within our
own country.
13. 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 U.S. foreign assistance.”?
Requiring
countries to write proposals describing their objectives and strategy as to
how they would use the money that the MCA would provide is a good idea, but
not a very realistic one. Any
country can write many great ideas and proposals for the use of their
potential aid, but when it comes to actually implementing the ideas and
proposals, I believe the countries would fall short.
14. Which of Mr. Radelet’s three concerns regarding the MCA concerns you and why?
The
concern of Mr.Radelet’s that worries me the most, is the fact that the
separation of U.S. foreign assistance into two agencies could lead to a lack
of coordination and overlapping functions.
This concerns me, because I feel that if the two agencies were to
overlap, then some suffering nations would receive more aid than they needed,
while other third world countries would be left with nothing.
15. There is evidence of an increase in negative world opinion towards U.S. foreign policy, not necessarily 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
agree with the view of the American people when it comes to concentrating more
on weapons of mass assistance and less on weapons of mass destruction.
There are already so many weapons of mass destruction available to the
United States, and to help ease the negative world opinion of our country, I
think we need to shift our focus a little bit to something with less
devastating results.
16. What does the World Bank recommend as the United States “just and appropriate share” to reach the Millennium Challenge Goals by 2015? Do you think our citizens can afford that kind of increase? Defend your views.
The
World Bank recommends the just and appropriate share that the U.S. should
contribute is an additional $10-$15 billion dollars annually.
I do not feel that the citizens of the United States can afford this
kind of increase
because
of the unstable economy. To expect them to be able to increase their payment
in taxes when they can barely afford the current standard is ridiculous.
17. 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 that the request made by the Faith Action for People Centered
Development Policy that tax dollars be used for more than just
government-sponsored foreign aid programs should be granted.
NGOs and grassroots organizations do a lot for people in regards to
helping them turn their lives around and become healthy, educated people.
I don’t think that there would be any harm in using tax dollars to
help fund these programs.
18. How many countries would be affected positively by health-related investments according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH)?
Eighty-three
countries would be affected positively by health-related investments,
according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health.
19. 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?
If
an increased investment were made in global AIDS and other health services,
$360 billion would be saved annually due to lives saved and increased economic
growth.
20. Use the Internet for your research and name the two congressmen who introduced H.R. 4524. Give a 2-line synopsis of that bill.
Representatives
Christopher Smith and John LaFalce introduced H.R. 4524 to Congress.
If passed, H.R. 4524 would allow more funds to be distributed to aid in
the AIDS/debt crisis in third world countries.
The bill is similar to others, but it treats AIDS and debt as the same
battle.