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Originally Posted by samcol
I think this is a horrible idea. When are we going to stop with foreign aid. It's not our job to bail out every country. We already give out more money than any other country if I remember correctly.
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It's not all charity, samcol, think of it like this:
1) What is the likelihood we would see that money in our lifetimes anyway? Much of this debt was written off a long time ago. It becomes a game of politics. - That doesn't make it right, just reality.
2) By helping build a little bit of infrastructure (roads, bridges, schools) we give them the tools to become a productive trading partner of products or food that can be cheaper or possibly bartered with excess food (wheat, grains) we would have destroyed anyway.
3) This is classic "teach a man to fish vs. give a man a fish" A little today could avoid a much worse situation tomorrow.
I know that the people who we can't even sell on the need for basic healthcare in the US are laughing at the idea of this right now. But the economy and free trade requires that you feed it a bit to open new markets that will in turn feed you.
Why do we require the military to spread the ideas of democracy and capitalism?
This is something we could do for $1 or $2 billion and help just as many people as we did in the Middle East!