Britain blames US for failing world's poor

The Times (U.K.) ^ | 08/26/2002 | Anthony Browne

[Malesherbes]

Every crime-ridden city should - like Johannesburg - have a Police chief named Happy Shutter.

[Paleo Conservative]

UN want a tax on America

I prefer American attacks on the UN.

[moteineye]

I suppose there is no correlation between the type of govt. these poor countries have and their poverty level?

[stainlessbanner]

Seems to me that for the cost of this fiasco they could feed a lot of hungry Africans

So true - I sit in meetings sometimes and add up all the hourly rates of the attendees. Often, I think that money would be better spent on actually fixing the problem than talking about it!

[pray4liberty]

Britain to U.S.: "C'mon you blokes, give us some more money, you still haven't reimbursed us for the cost of the Revolutionary War!"

[denydenydeny]

Once again I point out that a Democrat president--any Democrat president--would have had representatives there with bells on.

[Axenolith]

Exactly...

Got Representative Democracy?

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

From: A World Free of Wealth

Actually, if they want to help the poor, Bank officials should focus less on "inclusion" and more on freedom - because that's the real antidote to poverty. This is confirmed by the "Index of Economic Freedom," published annually by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation. This guidebook ranks nations by how economically free they are. It consistently shows that people who live in countries with the fewest economic restraints are wealthier than those in economically repressed countries.

Take Haiti and the Dominican Republic, two developing countries with a common border. The 2001 Index shows that of the 155 countries graded, Haiti ranks 137^th, while the Dominican Republic is 59^th. So what? Well, the answer to that question is this: Thanks to a more market-oriented economy that features low tax rates, Dominicans earn nearly five times as much as Haitians: an average of $1,799, compared to Haiti's $370.

Examples like these abound. So why the Bank's misdiagnosis? Partly because of what it sees in the former Soviet Union. We've poured billions into many of these countries, and they're worse off today than under Soviet rule, Bank officials say. So capitalism obviously doesn't work.

But as the United States and other democracies have shown, capitalism isn't just the absence of socialist-style economics.

The reason should be clear: All the loans in the world are no substitute for economic reform - for freedom. Countries that want to be rich don't need charity; they need to unshackle their people's economic potential. Perhaps then the Bank can adopt a new slogan: "Our Dream is a World That's Really Rich."

[bok]

Britain to U.S.: "C'mon you blokes, give us some more money, you still haven't reimbursed us for the cost of the Revolutionary War!"

I think the united states paid their war debt(s) off with WWI and WWII.

Lafayette, We are Here!

[pray4liberty]

How bout install capitalism in those crappy countries and maybe something will get done.

Hehehe. That's the best advice I've heard all evening.

[Torie]

Why not a chicken in every pot and a Mercedes in every garage? What exactly is the Earth Summit anyway? And whatever it decides the goal is, how does it round up the money? I am not sure just why foreign aid has to be multinational anyway. That sounds like just another level of beaurocracy to me. What's wrong with letting each nation which actually has some bucks spend it on those projects that it deems worthy?

[pray4liberty]

U.S. to Britain: "[expletive deleted] off!"

[Eva]

Why in the world should we help third world countries who hate us? Everyone knows that you can't buy love.

Maybe we should cut all aid to countries who side with the terrorists, or whose Muslim citizens consider us the enemy, instead of Iraq.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Cute for a country that just LOVED Imperialism...

Yeah. There are LOT of Britons who reminisce about the old days of the empire.

[GaryMontana]

Britain and the rest of the world are blaming the US for failing the world's poor. Tensions are emerging between those who want our money (Britain and most of the world) and the US even before the latest Earth Summit (which is meant to blame the USA and Israel for everything, as well as, take as much money from us as possible) in Johannesburg. See August 26th London Times.

Hmmm, now how many colonies did the USA have around the world? How many people did we enslave in Africa, Asia, and the rest of the world? Didn't the British Empire empirically control 1/3 of the world, what about France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain etc… Yet the world is blaming the USA because the world is poor. .

Let those wonderful nations that put these people in poverty, used their cheap labor, and stole their minerals pay for the mess they created.

THE USA IS NOT TO BLAME. Perhaps Europe should look









themselves in the mirror for most of the problems of the world. The third world is also to blame for their problems. They often created their mess through their corrupted leaders. The USA has no share in the blame, and we should refuse to accept any guilt. Perhaps the rest of the world should learn to fix their problems, instead
of using the USA, Christians, Jews or Israel as whipping boys to blame all their own failings on.

[wallcrawlr]

Hey Queen!!

[ARA]

you beat me to it.... bump...

[evolved_rage]

Really. How did that phrase go "The sun never sets on the BRITISH Empire". Just like the liberal thieves in this country, going after the only wallet left in town with a couple bucks in it. George I best line "Watch your wallet".

[moteineye]

Well, it is just a scam.The public will buy it because of how the media will portray the evil United States. The money we send ends up in the hands of the dictators.The leaders of these countries won't share the wealth.Saddam has just built some 30 odd new palaces,the Saudi's are extremely wealthy,yet look at the poor in their country.We have given more money to the Palestinians than the Saudi's have given. Many times we have sent hugh amounts of food to Africa which has rotted in port because it is not allowed to be delivered to the starving or will go to the armies of the dictators .The problem is the leaders of these countries but you will never here it on our tv,or in the press in Europe or anywhere else.These leaders and the UN want our money,period.

[dougherty]

The world's poor should exercise a little self-control and stop having children they cannot take care of.