This was pointless, because
(1) most of the money actually went to rich countries like Japan, Germany, and Israel;
(2) the money that did wind up in poor places (Africa) mostly went into the pockets of genocidal dictators like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, who killed/exiled 500,000 whites;
(3) there are 500,000+ homeless Americans, and 50,000 of those are veterans, who deserve the money more.
Rather simple point, but one that's not made nearly often enough.
FOREIGN AID: Money taken from poor people in rich countries and given to rich people in poor countries.
The important thing is bribery at this scale doesn’t work.
Trump is the first POTUS since WWII who has pointed out they take our money and then spit in our face. The money DOESN’T convince other countries to do what we want or even go along with what we want.
Close the whole pipeline down.
Whats the common thread between the members in 1)? Germany, Japan, Israel? What you are calling “rich” countries.
The monies given to them were based on a need to rebuild after WW2.
The “poor nations” that you cite, the turd world s-oles have no hope. It doesn’t matter how much you throw at them, Islam is islam. It could never develop the infrastructure to CREATE meaningful, successful societies.
Until they create the infrastructure like the White of Great Britain did, they will continue to mire in their own s-ole circumstances.
That includes their number one export, their misery manifested in global terror.
Trump should be pounding on this EVERY DAY.
Exactly - forcing “aid” very rarely truly HELPS those in genuine need.
I can almost see a case for limited “military” aid to strategic partners... so long as it is clear this is what it is and specifically named as such aid, not hidden in dark corners of the non-existent budget. Transparency - the enemy of despotic government entities.
But anything else supposedly labeled as “humanitarian” generally does more harm than good for the very reason you listed in (2) above - the poor it is earmarked to help almost never see a penny of it in any form - but they do see the enrichment of the hellish dictators and other leaders who are the real recipients of what ultimately is a form of bribe money.
But of course - so long as we have homeless veterans, or veterans who still can’t get the health care they desperately need in a time frame that actually helps... then we shouldn’t send a dime out of this nation in any kind of aid.
Just like we shouldn’t allow a single “guest worker” in until every able-bodied US Citizen is doing some kind of work (which brings up “benevolent” aid from the government for Americans... If you are physically able to do work - then you should be doing work if you receive a penny from taxpayers.
In a saner society it's called kickbacks... and nice people DON'T DO IT.
Well, for one thing, the total lifetime tax payments of somewhere close to 700,000 Americans will go to one year of foreign aid.
Work your whole life for foreigners. And next year, another 700,000 American volunteers will be tapped. And so on, and so on.
"America Sends $200 Billion Abroad Every Year: the Case Against Foreign Aid"
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponents Argument
Unsurprisingly, the history of US Foreign Aid evidently began after the 17th Amendment was ratified, corrections, insights welcome.
US Foreign Aid HistoryRegardless of the constitutional power of the feds to make treaties, and regardless that there are times when foreign aid is arguably a good idea, it remains that the states have never expressly constitutionally delegated to the feds the specific power to tax and spend for foreign aid purposes. This is evidenced by the following clarification of the limits of the General Welfare Clause by Justice Joseph Story.
If the tax be not proposed for the common defence, or general welfare, but for other objects, wholly extraneous, (as for instance, for propagating Mahometanism among the Turks, or giving aids and subsidies to a foreign nation, to build palaces for its kings, or erect monuments to its heroes,) it would be wholly indefensible upon constitutional principles [emphases added]. Justice Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution 2
"From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added]. United States v. Butler, 1936.
As mentioned in related threads, all roads of corruption in both federal and state governments lead to Congress imo, but ultimately to the ill-conceived 17th Amendment.
"Article IV, Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government [emphasis added], and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence."
We need to repeal 16th and 17th Amendments.
Cut off ALL aid to everyone. If they fail, too bad. If they succeed on their own, then they never needed aid. Either way, we win.
then again, i'm not against stopping it altogether