Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge, Illinois
Teacher: Barbara Downey
A Step in
the Wrong Direction
By Lauren Pile
12th Grade
Foreign aid sounds like a good idea when it is on paper or on TV, but unfortunately it does not work. Foreign aid is the old-fashioned idea of taking from the rich and powerful (the United States) and giving to the poor (third world countries.) If it were that easy, it would be done more often. Ideally, foreign aid should be handled by non-government organizations (NGOs) that are able to
ensure funds get to the right place. USAID is the governments-funded organization through which most of the US foreign aid is handled. Several types of funding are available through USAID, the most popular, a Title I sale, which is used for lending food and supplies to third world countries with relaxed and easy payment options. Another type of food aid is called a Title III, where the third world countries are given the supplies and the loans are overlooked. The problem is that the Title III sales are only one-eighth of the supplies given through USAID. Everything else is merely a loan and must be re-paid. Even of government funded foreign aid helped, the US still cannot afford to increase its funding, and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a step in the wrong direction.
The MCA is a different from most of the USAID programs of the past because it will not be loans to be re-paid, and that is a noble quality of the program. The problem lies in getting that money and aid where it belongs. Often aid can be misdirected and although it might make it to the proper country, we can not guarantee that it will make it to the right people. For example, USAID in Guatemala tried to help farmers begin to harvest Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports (NTAEs). That sounds like a good plan, but switching from one crop to another takes money. Only the rich, powerful landowners could afford to do this. The poor farmers were in even worse condition, making the powerful landowners even better off.
If the rich landowners are the ones keeping the farmers from making money, giving aid in this way could actually cause or increase corruption within a capitalist country. Why would anyone want to have money given to a program that could have these types of results? It seems that the MCA would only lead to more situations like the one in Guatemala.
Another problem with the MCA is that the requirements to qualify for aid are too relaxed, and the direction of the aid too vague. While this could be a good thing in order to change, if something goes wrong or if something devastating happens to a country, the plan would need to be more concrete and directed. For example, one of the requirements is civil liberties, there should be requirements based on numbers and facts, not ideas. This leaves too much room for biases and favoritism.
Most importantly, there is something wrong with a set of guidelines that tells other countries what to do in order to receive money from the U.S. For example, one of the requirements is that a country must “govern justly.” As stated before, that is rather vague, so there are indicators used to decide what is considered to be governing justly. Some may say, “political rights,” “voice and accountability”, etc. But who is to say what is considered “Political rights?” The Freedom House is the group in charge of deciding, but the Freedom House is run by the United States. That means that these countries are going to feel as though they might have to change how their political system is run in order to receive aid.
It is a well known fact that President Bush is a big fan of democracy. He actually said this in his speech, “The advances of free markets and trade and democracy and rule of law have brought prosperity to an ever-widening circle of people in this world.” It seems clear that the President favors a government that would be similar to ours. With the MCA’s loosely declared set of regulations, together with the fact that it is being run by President Bush and other U.S. agencies, countries may feel the need to copy what they see in the U.S. and give up whatever system of government they have and become what we are. Standing back and looking at it from a world perspective, it appears as though the U.S. is, in essence, paying other countries to become more like the U.S. and, therefore, limiting world diversification.
The U.S. has better things to spend its money on now, and the MCA is not a good way to manage the budget. The MCA was planned with the best of intentions and lots of thought, but there is just too much standing in the way right now. Americans do not want their tax dollars taken away from them and given to a program that has little direction. Nor do they want their money going towards something that could contribute to the widening gap between the upper and lower classes of the third world countries.
On-line. Internet. 1 Nov
2002. Available
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp
http://golbalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/FoodDumping/FoodFirst/Consequence7.asp
On-line. Internet. 1 Nov
2002. Available
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/FoodDumping?FoodFirst?Consequence3.asp
Questions:
1. Q: 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?
A: Domestic capital and foreign investment, especially, from trade
2. Q: 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?
A: Citizens who are literate, healthy, and prepared to work
3. Q: When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?
A: Money that is not accompanied by legal and economic reform is often wasted
4. Q: Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description what is anticipated from donors and recipients.
A: From recipients: ruling justly, investing in their people, and encouraging economic freedom
5. Q: What are the broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of developing nations to adopt?
A: Govern justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom
6. Q: Describe President Bush’s challenge t development banks explain why or why not you favor it.
A: I do not favor it because it eliminates political diversity, causes dependence from other nations, and its qualifications are too relaxed.
7. Q: What percentage of our national income (GNP) do you think the United States government committed to foreign aid in 2002?
A: I think about 10% but it is actually one tenth of a percent
8.Q: Describe and defend a “me first” attitude
A: Capitalism is a good example
of a “me first” attitude within the United States. It is a one man for
himself type of idea.
9. Q: Describe a defend a “mutual benefit” attitude
A: “Mutual Benefit” would be more of the socialist aspect of our economy. It benefits everyone.
10. Q: Describe three unsuccessful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens.
A: USAID to Guatemala, USAID to South Africa, and USAID to Liberia, they failed because of corrupt governments
11. Q: Describe three successful foreign aid programs operated by the U.S. government or private American citizens.
A: Compassion International, Christian Children Foundation, and UN economic and Developments for Development, re three programs that have helped many individuals as well as entire communities out of poverty.
12. Q: Steve Radelete, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, believes we can do both – take care of out 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
A: Every penny that we send to other countries is just one more penny that is not being spent to better out conditions at home. I think it is important to deal the task at hand first and our security here at home.
13.Q; 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 the US foreign assistance.”?
A: I think that this would be a better plan than what the MCA has to offer because it would give a greater number of countries an opportunity for the money.
14.Q: Which of Mr. Radelet’s three concerns regarding the MCA concerns you and why?
A: I think that “the make-or-break requirement may unnecessarily eliminate some countries,” concerns me the most.
15.Q: There is evidence of an increase in negative world opinion towards the 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 WMA and less of WMD. Please comment
A: I think that although assistance is good, right now the most important thing is our security and in order to obtain this, we need to have weapons
16. Q: What does the World Bank recommend as the U.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.
A: $10-15 billion annually, at the present time. I think that we can afford even less than this because there are more important issues that we need to focus on.
17.Q: What do you think about the request of Faith Action of People Centered Development Policy’s request that tax dollars be used to funs, not only government-sponsored foreign aid programs, but that “funds also go to NGOs and grassroots organizations.”?
A: I think that foreign aid could be better dealt with by NGOs, because they are more specialized
18.Q: How many countries would be affected positively health-related investments according to the Commission on Macro economics and Health (CMH)?
A: 83 countries
19. Q: According to the CMH, how much would be gained annually between 2015-2020 dues to saved lives and increased economic growth, if an increased investment were made in global AIDs and other health services?
A: 360 billion dollars
20. Q: Use the Internet for your research and name the two congressmen who introduced H.R.4524
A: Smith and LaFalse Back