Probably going to take some heat over this, but it is what it is. Recently President Trump put the kibosh on spending and foreign aid. I won’t name names, but some of the aid the USA funds goes to countries that in my humble opinion don’t deserve the handout.
Let me clarify. Billions of dollars are sent overseas to assist, help and prop up countries that are in “dire” need. Be it medical, nutritional, economic or educational – this is where such aid is supposed to go, right? However, when you dig a little deeper, salaries of high ranking officials are ridiculously exorbitant, totally skewed, and in most instances higher than local USA counterparts. Does the money trickle back into the economy? Maybe to some degree, yes. But these chefs buy luxurious cars, lavish properties, wine and dine on only the finest, and live the high-life like there’s no tomorrow.
A quick search on where the USA gets the funds to pour into these nations; US taxpayers and other revenue sources through the annual appropriations process by Congress.
In other words, we the people of these United States of America, fund foreign aid on the backs of our hard working citizens, facing our own miseries of a failing economy, rising interest rates, out of reach cost of living, and basic survival. Small business (defined as those with 500 employees or fewer) makes up a 99.9% of the American economy, and contribute 43.5% – these are huge numbers, and yet in today’s economy multitudes of small business and mom & pop ventures are closing down. Let’s do a 180 turn on foreign aid focus focus on fixing our economy FIRST.
What is sad is that foreign donor recipients actually budget for such aid, and that is a copout. What happened to teaching a man to fish so that he may eat for a lifetime? I for that reason, am in favor of scrutinizing, cutting, reducing and qualifying true aid to legitimate needs that are urgent and failing to be addressed by local governments.
Stop assuming that the USA will continue to write blank checks meant for goodwill and the betterment of those in need, when it boils down to the chefs living high on the hog – despicable. Stop the madness!