Posted on 07/02/2005 9:46:50 AM PDT by wagglebee
On the eve of the G-8 Summit, ex-president Bill Clinton is telling European audiences that the U.S. is stingy with its foreign aid dollars - and that Americans think they contribute more than they actually do.
"In America, for example, we have always been hampered in getting adequate budgets for international assistance by the fact that the American people believe we give much more than we do," he told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday. "They think we give about 3 percent of GDP," the ex-president continued. "They think we give 10-15 percent of the budget. They think we ought to give about 5 percent."
But Clinton claimed: "We don't give anywhere near that. We don't give anywhere near 3 percent but they think we do."
Clinton blamed the GOP Congress and the Bush administration, which pledged $15 billion in aid to Africa in 2003, for being shortsighted when it came to foreign assistance.
"President Bush and the Republicans, when I was president, 100 members of the new Republican Congress after the 94 election did not have passports," he recalled. "They thought all foreign aid was wasted. They did not believe in anything."
He took credit for fostering a different attitude towards foreign aid while he was president.
"By the time I left, we had dramatic consensus across parties for the massive debt relief we did for the Millennium in 2000," he told the BBC.
Clinton said that if the U.S. contributed its fair share, "we can have a whole new paradigm for development assistance from the rich to the poor."
seems like clinton is the one who has something to be ashamed of, not to dangle my preposition.
Isn't Clinton just the PERFECT A**-hole????
Isn't Bill Clinton the one who only gives used underwear to charity and then talkes a tax deduction on it? Mr. Generous.
Yes, the tradition does exist. A tradition is not the same as an inviolate law. It is not adhered to at all times by all men, but ti is by and large been practiced, as it would be by most men of good manners. Bubba is not one of those.
Cuck Flinton!
I saw it on a thread yesterday, but the perfect definition of foreign aid is "Poor people from rich countries giving money to rich people from poor countries."
For the record, I think Bubba is a scumbag. Having said this, why should presidents give up their first amendment rights when they leave office? Frankly, it would have been a good thing had Reagan, Ford, Carter, and GHWB denounced Clinton big time. Their "good manners" helped to give the Rapist and Chief in Office.
That is denounce him when he was prez.
Or our military...they can put up their own money to fight or be over run by muslims....Oh well...I guess that would mean no more welfare goodies?????
Don't hold back, just tell us what you really think. LOL!!
And how much did Willy give to Africa? Lots of sweet words of sympathy. Bush promises $15 bil, and finds it is hard to give it to countries that have such corrupt government.
Giving money to Africa is simply throwing money into a pit. The amount of corruption makes any effort wasted. If you flew into Nigeria today, with $1 million in cash...and attempted to do good with that...at least $300k would be thrown to corruption. All of this effort to help Africa...is wasted unless you halt the corruption machine. And Bill Clinton, of all people, ought to know that...if he had only studied more in college rather than play the prediator act with local Arkansas girls.
This from a president whose entire charitable contribution for one year consisted of used underwear...
Excerpt:
"Clinton played a key role in boy Clinton's life. His Uncle ran a store front dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where Clinton spent hours hanging around with the big boys. Behind the facade was a thriving full fledge gambling operation, complete with slot machines. Hot Springs became a resort Mecca for many mob leaders at the time, including Al Capone. Gambling in Bill Clinton's hometown had flourished openly for decades because of the corruption of the local political establishment and the complicity of the state police. Uncle Raymond's operation was backed by the Marcello Mafia crime syndicate out of New Orleans."
Lol. Sugar-coatin' ain't my thing.
PRIVATE American citizens donated almost 15 times more to the developing world than their European counterparts, research reveals this weekend ahead of the G8 summit. Private US donors also handed over far more aid than the federal government in Washington...Church collections, philanthropists and company-giving amounted to $22bn a year, according to a study by the Hudson Institute think-tank, easily more than the $16.3bn in overseas development sent by the US government...
In stark contrast, in separate exploratory work for the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Adelman found that the maximum EU figure was a mere $1.5bn in private sector donations, 14.6 times less than the comparable US figure...
The US is the largest overall donor with its $16.3bn in 2003. But this works out as 0.15% of its GNI - the lowest of any G8 member and less than half the 0.35% EU average...
But this model ignores the private donations made possible by the lower tax burden in the US... Figures for philanthropic donations have been collected for the first time by the Hudson Institute.
The 2003 figure counted money pledged by the Clinton administration, Adelman said. Since then President Bush has pledged to take aid to Africa from $1.2bn-a-year to $8.7bn a year by 2010.
Adelman added: "We're already world number one in absolute aid assistance. By the time the additional pledges are delivered, we will probably be number one in relative terms in about two years' time."
Wow, that's some great data. Perfect for correcting liberals who love to think of America as a great big stingy bastard.
However, I get an error message when I click the link. Do you have a working link?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1435600/posts
Also, here's the study reported on:
| U.S. Private International Giving to Developing World Exceeds $62 Billion (Hudson Institute) ^ |
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| Posted by Stultis On News/Activism ^ 07/03/2005 10:57:59 AM CDT · 9 replies · 191+ views The Hudson Institute ^ | 29 June 2005 | Carol Adelman June 29, 2005 U.S. Private International Giving to Developing World Exceeds $62 Billion Hudson study shows American generosity to poor nations over 3 1/2 times U.S. Government aid by Carol Adelman Hudson Institute released new private international giving numbers today in a white paper, "America's Total Economic Engagement with the Developing World," by Dr. Carol Adelman, Mr. Jeremiah Norris and Ms. Jeanne Weicher. Updating their research on American generosity, the authors found at least $62.1 billion in U.S. private donations to developing countries in 2003, the last year numbers are available. This philanthropy, from U.S. foundations, corporations, non-profits and volunteerism,... |
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let him donate the increase in his net worth from the time he entered the White House till now.
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