Guess who is putting up the largest share of aid to Haiti? I know, it's a big surprise. Here's a chart based on UN figures.
What are the odds that a large portion of that $106 million from private donors & organizations also comes from the U.S.? And note what's missing from the chart. Where's economic powerhouse China? They've put up a whole $4.4 million. I hope they can afford it. How about India? $5 million. At least they managed more than China.
The U.S. numbers will go far higher, especially with the major military deployment. According to the administration,
Haiti will require "substantial assistance" from the U.S. and international governments for years to comeYou might ask, why is it our job to rebuild Haiti and take care of Haitians? Or you could wonder, what gives the U.S. government the right to give away huge amounts of U.S. taxpayer money, especially during a recession with the deficit & debt spiraling out of control, and major problems here at home? If you ask those questions you might also notice that you are in a fairly small minority. There's no outcry over aid to Haiti -- pretty much the opposite. For the most part, Americans expect to spend large sums of money doing everything possible to help whenever there is any sort of major disaster. It's something worth remembering the next time some anti-American type starts screeching about the evil U.S.
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ReplyDeleteI am in full support of private aid to Haiti. Great, have at it. But the U.S. government has no right to give one cent of taxpayer money to ANY country, no matter how noble the cause. Davy Crockett gave a speech in the 1800's about giving taxpayer money to victims of a fire in D.C. You may have read it, "Not Yours To Give".
ReplyDeleteThey simply do not have the authority to give this money away.
I am certain that if government would let us keep our own money private donations and help to Haiti would be greater and much more effective.
My favorite quote (from among many funny things said in the past couple of weeks)is Chavez accusing us of causing the earthquake and of using it as a pretext to take over that glittering gem of the Caribbean, Haiti.
ReplyDeletejjmurph, I'm with you to a certain extent. I think there are times when our national interests are served through foreign aid, and I don't think we want to let Haiti fester too much given its location. Although I'm afraid aid to Haiti might be just poured down a rathole unless we're extremely vigilant, it doesn't make any less sense than all the money we give to the Egyptians, who hate our guts. :-/