What’s Foreign Aid? Why Does the U.S. Provide It?
Jordan
Consider briefly Jordan’s successful but precarious political history — beginning with King Hussein, a “pragmatic leader,” as the CIA Factbook has it, who
successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 war and barely managed to defeat Palestinian rebels who attempted to overthrow the monarchy in 1970. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank. In 1989, he reinstituted parliamentary elections and initiated a gradual political liberalization; political parties were legalized in 1992. In 1994, he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father’s death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. In 2003, Jordan staunchly supported the Coalition ouster of Saddam in Iraq and following the outbreak of insurgent violence in Iraq, absorbed thousands of displaced Iraqis. Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary elections were held in November 2010 and saw independent pro-government candidates win the vast majority of seats.
Jordan’s economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources, underlying the government’s heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of poverty, unemployment, inflation, and a large budget deficit [...]. King ABDALLAH has implemented significant economic reforms, such as opening the trade regime, privatizing state-owned companies, and eliminating most fuel subsidies, which in the past few years have spurred economic growth by attracting foreign investment and creating some jobs. The global economic slowdown, however, has depressed Jordan’s GDP growth [...]. The budget deficit is likely to remain high, at 5-6% of GDP, and Amman likely will continue to depend heavily on foreign assistance to finance the deficit in 2011. Jordan’s financial sector has been relatively isolated from the international financial crisis because of its limited exposure to overseas capital markets. Jordan is currently exploring nuclear power generation to forestall energy shortfalls.
This suggests that America’s $682,700,000 in aid for Jordan may be highly beneficial to the United States — at the least, to a greater extent than foreign aid expenditures elsewhere.
Somalia
Somalia, receiving $84,958,000 in U.S. assistance, is a true basket case that hardly merits the designation “country.” Ostensibly it is governed by a transitional form of government — PC-speak for virtually none. It nevertheless is said to have “maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications.” No information is provided on the growing piracy sector of the Somalian economy. Without it, perhaps the rest of the economy would do far better. But without serious efforts to eliminate piracy, nearly eighty-five million dollars seems a high price to pay for any present or likely future good it may do for the people of Somalia or for the United States. Those funds could be used instead to diminish piracy by hitting it where it breeds and grows — as well as offshore, in a big ocean where successes have been few.
Russia and China
Russia ($68,700,000 in U.S. assistance) and China ($12,800,000 in U.S. assistance) most likely do not need the assistance the United States seeks to provide. Russia is establishing a ten billion dollar fund to attract foreign capital and wants to become a center of international finance; it is also testing a fifth generation stealth fighter aircraft while China is trying to establish dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. These efforts cost money.
China’s military has been on a spending spree at a time that the debt-ridden U.S. government is looking to cut defense costs. On Friday, China announced a 12.7 percent hike for this year, the latest in a string of double-digit increases.
That trend has triggered worries in Congress and among security analysts about whether the United States can maintain its decades-long military predominance in the economically crucial Asia-Pacific.
China continues to be up to mischief with Iran and reports say a multimillion dollar military base in Zimbabwe is on the way. “Touted as an intelligence academy, the new facility is the largest investment in a military base here in a decade.” Zimbabwe, for which the Obama administration has requested $99.1 million in U.S. foreign aid in 2011, slightly more than last year, plans to sell yellowcake uranium to Iran.
The economies of China and Russia are doing fairly well, although China’s is doing better than Russia’s. Beijing is not only our principal foreign creditor, but is spending money hand over fist throughout the world. Significant sums are being spent in South and Central America to gain influence and boost the Chinese economy. China badly needs to sell products in foreign countries.
Already, China has substantial investments in Venezuela. As a further step to expand its lending and other economic ties with South and Central America, China is pursuing the construction with Colombia of a 134-mile long railway system, a “dry canal” linking Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The rail system would be built, at a cost of about $7.6 billion, south of Cartagena, the major Colombian port, necessarily close to Colombia’s border with the Darien Province of Panamá. A later phase of the development would include the construction of a new industrial area to the south of Cartagena “to assemble part-finished Chinese exports.” It has been cited as a potential rival to the Panamá Canal that would crown China’s economic push into Latin America. Trade between China and Colombia amounted to five billion dollars in 2010, making China Colombia’s second biggest trade partner after the United States. It has been suggested that one reason Colombia is working on this deal with China is to apply pressure to the United States to approve the free trade agreement (FTA), signed four years ago but not yet approved by the Senate. In January of this year, Colombia urged approval of the long-delayed agreement. It’s probably now too late for approval of the FTA to scuttle the Chinese canal.
Both China and Russia have stable governments, historically aligned against United States interests, and they haven’t done the United States much good lately. Both are increasing their military strength and the United States and her legitimate allies are potential targets. There seems to be no significant justification for aid from the United States to either country.
Interesting data, yet I see no mention of funds provided to the UN. Example: GHI: 63 billion “and more on it’s way”. (Hillary Clinton)
How can anybody take foreign aid? I mean unless it’s an emergency type situation. Don’t they have any sense of pride?
There is so much wrong with our foreign aid only the most poignant note can be entered. The most effective aspects of foreign aid are those that promote self-help and sustainability…in other words create capitalism within those societies. This is the hand up not the hand out concept whereby the initiate is assisted with technology, design and manufacturing capability all suited to local needs.
“Design Revolution” is an American Not For Profit that designs and assists with production in countries where the target population live on less than $2 per day. These target problems such as Neonatal Jaundice, Amputees, Milk Spoilage, Power Generation etc with solutions that can be manufactured at low cost locally. For example, the Remotion Knee is manufactured for less than $25 and has been fitted to over 2500 children missing a leg or two.
http://www.d-rev.org is their website. This is where our aid should be going.
“Russia ($68,700,000 in U.S. assistance) and China ($12,800,000 in U.S. assistance) most likely do not need the assistance the United States seeks to provide. Russia is establishing a ten billion dollar fund to attract foreign capital and wants to become a center of international finance.”
I thought we were giving money to the Russians to help secure and destroy some of their nuclear stockpiles left over from the Cold War? So now the money is being used for commercial purposes? Russia is now able to spend literally billions of dollars on re-building its military capabilities. So if they have money for that, why do they need a dime from us? We are such SAPS when it comes to doling out cash to people.
It’s waaaay past time to end ALL foreign aid. Not only is it unconstitutional, it’s stupid at a basic level, by the time kid’s get to Jr. High they know you can’t “buy” friends worth having. And never mind the fact that crooked politicians want to raise our taxes, so we can pay the interest, on money they borrow, from communist China, so they can look important around the world.
Absolutely.
And what’s more, giving money to our Muslim enemies (and ALL Muslim countries and organizations are, and always will be, our enemies) is treason.
I’d cut about 90% of this. The fact that we give ANY $ to Russia, China, Cuba & N. Korea is astounding. IF anything, they should be giving US money! Just end it & cut all of the Muslim nation’s aid in half. They all hate us anyway.
Woops. In the “Somalia” section, you set the aid amount at $84,958,000 and then refer to it as nearly 85 BILLION. 85 MILLION seems a lot more reasonable.
Thanks. It seems to have been fixed. $85 million is the correct figure.
In reality the money goes to subsudize the military industrial complex in the US. We issue permission and credits to buy hardware. I went to Israel in 1983 when they blew up Beirut. A government minister said that they tested our new weapons systems for us and every fallen fighter meant jobs for Boeing. So, foreign aid is not as foreign as some think.
Claire, I believe you are absolutely correct, except the US military/industrial complex is not the only beneficiary. As I understand it, US foreign aid is virtually all in the form of credits issued to a foreign country that must be spent here in the US. Of course US congressmen get to pick which US companies get to sell their products to the country getting the aid – obviously those companies in that congressman’s district.
For example, the US Gov issues a credit slip to Southern Ubangi for $100M, plus a couple more million in cash for the dictator of Southern Ubangi to stash in his Swiss bank account. Then the Southern Ubangi govt places orders with US companies to purchase the items they need at grossly inflated prices, and made only by US union labor. Thus every one is happy; the dictator gets a big bribe to allow the transaction, US factories (or US middlemen – if factories in China do the actual building) get to sell their products at prices much higher than the going rate, union labor gets a big cut of the action, and a bunch of US congressmen get a bunch of earmarks for their districts.
Everyone is happy – that is – except the US taxpayers who foot the bill
I live and minister in Honduras, Central America. I remember meeting former U. S. Ambassador Larry Palmer,(great guy) in the Tegucigalpa airport. I shook his hand and thanked him for his service to our country. When he asked why i lived in Honduras, i told him that our ministry helps the poor people in remote areas. He then thanked me, because he said that he and others know that foreign aid does not reach it’s intended victims. He said that they know that the only way the needy in Honduras and other poor countries are helped is when ministries like ours takes it to them.
I see first hand how U. S. foreign aid does more harm than good. Please no more tax payer money to any country any where.
There is a better way. My wife and i founded and direct an orphanage, Christian school, farm where we grow much of our food and teach agriculture, plant rural churches, and offer vocational training.
web site helpinghandshonduras.com
I must point out a phrase that jangles; “foreign aid does not reach it’s intended victims.” There is a sentiment wrapped in there that I agree with. That is the people trying to scratch out an existence are victimized by their governments choices, facilitated by U.S. Foreign Aid. In that respect it does reach them, maybe as an unintended consequence.
This listing is woefully incomplete. Where, for example, is the military aid to Lebanon that Sec. Clinton insists be maintained? More importantly, where are the hundreds of millions provided annually to the Palestinians – for training “Dayton’s Army”, for helping the PA close their “budget shortfall” (while ours expands), or in general assistance? And that’s not including the funding provided indirectly to them via the UN (the US is the largest funder of UNRWA, for example). And where is any reference to the tens of millions (at least) provided to rebuild mosques – not just in Afghanistan but in many places within the Islamic world – the same mosques where they preach against the US?
Let me get this straight…we are borrowing the money from China that we send back as foreign aide? We are paying interest on the almost 13 billions dollars we borrowed to send China aide…what does that interest come to? Seems to me that cutting this aide to China is a no brainer. If they can afford to loan us trillions of dollars, they do not need foreign aide from us.
11. Bettijo Let me get this straight…we are borrowing the money from China that we send back as foreign aide? We are paying interest on the almost 13 billions dollars we borrowed to send China aide…what does that interest come to? Seems to me that cutting this aide to China is a no brainer. If they can afford to loan us trillions of dollars, they do not need foreign aide from us.
Just a caution. It’s not as though we were applying to China for loans. The U.S. Treasury sells its securities at auction, and the Chinese happen to be the ones that buy a substantial percentage of them. However, I don’t mean “happen” in the sense of an utterly free choice on their part, i.e., independent of anything else. Given that they don’t buy as much of our exports as we buy of theirs, they have to invest the difference with us in one way or another, whether it be by buying Treasury securities, investing in American companies, buying property in the U.S., or investing in some country that then invests with us.
This doesn’t get rid of your argument that we shouldn’t be giving them foreign aid. I’m just pointing out – something like – that the left hand doesn’t care what the right hand is doing, or vice-versa.
China is our “drug pusher,” a source of borrowed funds to sustain our welfare state. Without those funds (which we bear as an obligation to repay, no matter how badly we squander them, to no good return), we would be forced even more quickly to put our fiscal house in order.
As it is, we are BROKE. we have less money than we spend on the myriad, ridiculous things we spend on (and which list gets longer with each legislative session, since no program seems ever to end, once initiated). We can no longer afford to spend like we have the surplus we once did. We can no longer pretend that our economy is strong enough to support global largesse to people who hate us.
Most foreign aid is folly, and it must stop, until we can support OURSELVES, again.
US aid comes with strings attached and some of them are definitely fraying. It would be best for the whole world if America simply ceased its support of terrorism, that is what you call funding insurgents in Iran or anywhere else, isn’t it? Just let it stay out of other countries’ business unless it is part of a UN mandated rescue mission or something. American money has been used to kill and destroy somewhere or other over half the planet. Enough is definitely enough!
China, Russia, Somalia, Zimbabwe – you Yanks can’t half pick ‘em.
Seriously, though, we have exactly the same problem in Britain (except that I don’t think we are paying for Grace Mugabe’s shopping-trips). Here, we have an entire government department devoted to spending taxpayers’ money abroad. Recent, savage defence cuts could have been obviated by the abolition of DfID (I think it stands for Department for Insane Dictators). Instead, of all the government departments in Whitehall, DfID has been ring-fenced against cuts. I don’t know if I am contributing to Russia’s well-being, but I do know that British taxes are giving “aid” to China, while China splurges on “defence” spending (and propping up Mugabe); I do know that the total annual sum of international aid received by New Delhi equates rather handily to the yearly cost of India’s pointless space programme; I do know that Britain, like the US, pays vast sums to Pakistan, while the Pakistani ISI is, to put it mildly, complicit in the survival of the taliban and in the export of terrorism to the US, the UK, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, Thailand etc. etc. etc..
I don’t recall who it was who described “international aid” as the transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries, but he had it about right.
America is bankrupt! We should not be giving one dollar in aid!
Giving free money to Russia and China – communist countries who see America as the enemy? What kind of people would do such a thing?
Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East have enormous oil wealth. It is these countries alone who should be aiding Muslim countries. Not America or the UK! Financing Muslim Pakistan aids and abets jihad against non-Muslims and India. Pakistan’s immediate goal is Islamic conquest of India.
SCARY……
Is this REALLY our AMERICA??????
Know the TRUTH about the Government Health Care Bill H.R.3200 – Key Points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBaSP31Be8
An inferior health care plan that no one wants and CANNOT afford to pay. The threat to jail and/or fine those who don’t purchase the government enforced plan.
Massive spending as if there is no tomorrow. Fighting wars we have NO money for. Massive borrowing. The Massive giving away of Billions of dollars every year to other countries, including the oil-wealthy Middle East, Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Palestinian Authority organization who fill their war chests, build mansions and laugh all the way to the bank with free infidel money.
Whilst in America, homeless shelters are filled to capacity; tent cities have sprung up all over the U.S. filled with desperate, jobless, homeless, NEGLECTED Americans.
Massive debt. The massive printing of paper money. There is no question that the total DESTRUCTION of America’s economy is planned. The results will be horrifying. In the once wealthy and great nation of America, millions of Americans will become destitute, hungry and homeless with no money or resources to help them.
OBAMA: DEBT UNSUSTAINABLE
Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’
By Roger Runningen and Hans Nichols
May 14 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.
“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”
Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”…
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJsSb4qtILhg&refer=worldwide
Obama admits the terrible financial destruction wrought against Americans. WHY then DOES OBAMA NOT IMMEDIATELY REVERSE THIS TRAGEDY?
A major investor states America is going to reach Zimbabwe hyperinflation.
http://economyincrisis.org/articles/show/2942
Organic, non-gmo fruit and nut trees and berries must be planted in all of our nation’s cities’ and towns’ parks and wherever there is space to help the many millions of Americans who will soon be in a desperate struggle to survive.
Watch it. And weep for our great nation and people:
FALL Of The Republic – The Presidency Of Barack H Obama – The Full Movie HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8LPNRI_6T8&feature=player_embedded
Foreign Aid is the wine of Babylon
James 5:3 piling up treasure for the last day. This one concerns Mummar Gadaffi and his great pile of currency, Keywords key words Gadaffi hidden billions. Now you may ask where did he get all of this money? Well as it happens, the US doles out money by the pallet full and calls foreign aid.
In 1980 alone the colonel received $376 million dollars, in US foreign aid.
In today’s dollars that would be more than $940 million dollars. And it’s probably sitting in some bank somewhere, drawing daily compounded interest.
But the Bible calls this Wine of Babylon that makes men drunk.
Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations/Great Men of the Earth and kings, are mad, ie insane. We have all heard how that kadaffy has been called a mad man. We all know the phrase worship the almighty dollar too. About 44,500 Google results, for that phrase in quotation marks.
Just like Nebuchadnezzar, went insane with all of his wealth power and splendor, for seven years. See Dan 4:33 and ff. Well did Jeremiah prophesy this.
To my fellow Americans(from India)
Do you really think foreign aid is your biggest problem? i think it your military budget (around trillion dollars a year) which should your biggest concern.