Questions To Be Answered And Emailed To The Foundation With Your Essay
(Please copy question and then answer it)  

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?

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?

Q3- When is money sometimes counterproductive, according to President Bush?

Q4- Describe the Millennium Challenge Account and include in your description what is anticipated from donors and recipients.

Q5- What are the three broad standards that President Bush expects the leaders of the developing nations to adopt?

Q6- Describe President Bush’s challenge to development banks and explain why or why not you favor 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.

Q8- Describe and defend a “Me First” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)

Q9- Describe and defend a “Mutual Benefit” attitude. (Use your head ¾ you won’t find the answer in the required reading.)

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.)

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.)

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.

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.”?

Q14- Which of Mr. Radelet’s 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.
  1. the separation of US foreign assistance into two agencies could lead to a lack of coordination and overlapping functions. 

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.

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.

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.”?

Q18- How many countries would be affected positively by health-related investments according to the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (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?

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.

Bonus Question

This may take some serious collaborative research to substantiate the answer to the following question. Although the Singer Foundation is not a grant making foundation, it can agree to provide something substantial your school or community could use (if you can show us how it would promote youth development, education or community spirit) if your class feels up to answering the bonus question below. The teacher should call the director at 831-625-4223 to discuss this possibility before having the class tackle the following question. (Examples of possible sponsorships by the Foundation: team uniforms, art or computer supplies, class trips, school publications, prom or a community center project.)

Q- The one-tenth of one percent of our Gross national product (GNP) which is claimed to be America’s contribution to foreign aid is misleading. The American people, the most generous in the world, give billions of dollars via private (non-government) philanthropy annually.

Taking the large national deficit of the United States into account and the demand of American citizens for increased domestic funding for better education, health care etc. do you think it is possible to raise America’s commitment to foreign aid enough to influence world opinion through private initiatives without using tax dollars? 

Do not submit any answer that does not include a detailed analysis of American dollars destined for philanthropy outside the USA in 2000, 2001 and 2002. (Cite only non-government programs and state each program’s effectiveness as evaluated by some entity.) Compare that amount to government dollars destined for foreign aid.  Explain why certain government programs were or were not included in your comparison or why only a fraction of the funds were included.  Use the Internet and give citations and urls for all the information gathered.

Click here as a jump-start for research on the bonus question.
Click To Preview

  [Back] [Home] [Main Menu] [Another Way] [Pilot Projects] [Essay Contests] [ [Archives]