Posted on 03/11/2007 7:38:16 PM PDT by NRA2BFree
Mr Bush said "terrible want" still exists in Latin America
US President George W Bush has unveiled a social aid programme to alleviate the plight of the region's poor, two days before a tour of Latin America.
Millions of dollars will be spent on education, housing and health care.
In a speech, Mr Bush described poverty in the region as "a scandal" that had caused some people to question the value of democracy.
The Bush administration has been criticised by opposition Democrats for neglecting Latin America.
Correspondents say Washington is adjusting to the election of increasing numbers of left-wing administrations in Latin America, including some that are openly critical of the US.
'Terrible want'
Speaking at the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Mr Bush vowed to boost aid to Latin America, saying "helping our neighbours build a better and productive life" was a US priority.
In an age of growing prosperity and abundance [the terrible want] is a scandal and it is a challenge
US President George W Bush
The region has "made great strides toward freedom and prosperity but despite the advances tens of millions in our hemisphere remain stuck in poverty," he said.
Despite the progress Mr Bush said "terrible want" still existed, adding that nearly one in four people in the region live on less than $2 a day.
"Many children never finish grade school, many mothers never see a doctor. In an age of growing prosperity and abundance, it's a scandal and it's a challenge," he said.
The president said the US initiatives include an additional $75m for Latin Americans to learn English in their countries or in the United States, $385m dollars for housing, and funding for medical assistance via military teams.
Mr Bush will start his trip in Brazil on Thursday. His week-long tour will also take in Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.
I'd wish that fate on them if it would protect our country, but I think in this case, they'd rather the dregs keep on pouring out of their country and into ours.
I'm of the same sentiment. We shouldn't just give aid to a foreign nation while there are citizens in our county who are in need. I'm generally against government handouts, but if they are going to do it, it may as well go to people here.
"Mr Bush said "terrible want" still exists in Latin America"
There's a whole bunch of places that exist in "terrible want", are we supposed to bankroll them all? ..lots of want right here, how bout fixin that first.
Amen and Bump!!!!
Amen to your tag line.
But first, comes globle warming. First scams first, ya know. Pony up Algore!
Me too, but the harsh reality is that part of taking care of our own people is preventing the Third World hell-holes from breeding out of control, producing terrorists, environmental destruction, and swarms of illegal immigrants. Just ignoring the problem doesn't work. We've sent huge amounts of "aid" to Mexico over the decades, and all it's gotten us is lots of illegal immigrants, many of them violent gang members. The scary thing is, Mexico has one of the most comprehensive birth control programs in the underdeveloped world, and STILL they have a seemingly endless number of people desperate for any kind of work under horrible conditions, swarming over here so they can feed their 4, 5, 6, 7 children -- sometimes the kids stay back in Mexico for a while, but many eventually end up here too, for the same reasons.
There was an experiment completed a year or so ago, in either Ethiopia or Somalia (can't recall which), that drovw home the dangers of "helping" without curtailing birth rates. There was a village where adults and children alike were chronically malnourished, and there was no water source in the village, so the women spent many hours and many scarce calories every day, walking several miles to fetch water, and carrying back in pails and such, partly to water their struggling little food crops. The do-gooders figured that if they arranged to install a water source in the town, this would raise the standard of living. Crops could get more water, and women would be spending less of their time and energy walking miles to get water. So some sort of piped water system was installed, and everybody had ready access to water right in the village. So did the standard of living increase? Nope. The average nutritional status actually went DOWN, and the birth rate went UP. It just scares me how so may "conservatives" don't get that restricting births is the only way to help third world countries achieve any lasting improvement, and the only way to help ourselves from being overrun by their desperate and ignorant masses.
The government has no business taking our money and giving it to a foreign government that hates us.This should never happen,especially when we're fighting a war and carrying a huge amount of debt.Imagine what would happen if the participants of the Boston Tea Party were around to witness what our government is doing today.I'm pretty sure there would have been several uprisings over the years.
I really don't give a crap if they breed til the cows come home. If we would stop feeding them all and they couldn't feed them all they would eventually figure it out.
Let em stay where they are and breed, breed, breed.
Just keep em out of MY country and quit using MY money to take care of them.
Here's a weird concept, a moratorium on foreign aid to anybody until we win these two wars we're currently mired in. Let's start bringing some troops home from places like Europe and for God's sake Korea.
Ooops. Sorry, I just forgot.
Hey, it ain't HIS money. He don't have to give a rat's....
They are so dam generous with MY money."
Start a movement to withhold your taxes.
If millions did it, the govt. would be helpless.
If they didn't tax us to death, we'd have more money and there probably wouldn't be as many *poor* to worry about.
I am not an illegal alien. If I don't pay my taxes I go to jail.
Prolly one of the reasons I am a little cranky lately. I am waiting to send a check to the state and to the IRS.
What's up with this guy? He gets maligned in South America and turns around and tries to buy their goodwill with money. He resembles the politician who still claims that Islam is a ROP. I feel dirty for having voted for him.
Your screen name says a lot about your view on this issue.
Like it or not it really does.
Kinda like Gonzales targeting the southern Border Agents.
it isn't my problem.....
So you know nothing about the subject?
I am not surprised, it will be all of our problems soon enough.
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