Foreign Aid: USA is stingiest of the 22 most developed countries</a>
The USA claims to be, in absolute terms, the world's biggest giver and this is true. However, as a proportion of it's wealth the USA gives least when compared to all 22 of the worlds' most developed countries.
"[Americans] are regularly told by politicians and the media, that America is the world's most generous nation. This is one of the most conventional pieces of 'knowledgable ignorance'. [...For example Japan gives more even in absolute terms...]
Absolute figures are less significant than the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP, or national wealth) that a country devotes to foreign aid. On that league table, the US ranks twenty-second of the 22 most developed nations. As former President Jimmy Carter commented: 'We are the stingiest nation of all'. Denmark is top of the table, giving 1.01% of GDP, while the US manages just 0.1%. The United Nations has long established the target of 0.7% GDP for development assistance, although only four countries actually achieve this: Denmark, 1.01%; Norway, 0.91%; the Netherlands, 0.79%; Sweden, 0.7%. Apart from being the least generous nation, the US is highly selective in who receives its aid. Over 50% of its aid budget is spent on middle-income countries in the Middle East, with Israel being the recipient of the largest single share."
"Why do people hate America?" by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies, 2002. p79
Not only that, but according to one source cited by Sarder & Davies, 80% of that aid itself actually goes to American companies in those foreign countries.
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Question
I have a cousin who comes to my door a lot always wanting money. He seems to think that because I have it I somehow owe it to him. I have a big heart, just like most Americans, but it gets VERY old, People always wanting more and more and resentful when it isnt enough...in their eyes.
America has problems of her own its time the rest of the world realizes that and stop coming to its doorstep for a handout
Careful
Hatemonger
Amazon Affiliate
Bitterness
We give the MOST money to all different countries than ANY OTHER country has EVER given... EVER....
Maybe we should stop carrying the weight of the jealous world on our shoulders huh?
You can always count on others to covet what you have. The funny thing about all of this is that less then 5% of the US pop. pays over 80% of the taxes and therefore pays a more then significant amount of the donations made by the US to the rest of the world....
I could care less if we never gave a cent to any other country. Maybe then they would see how the world would turn without our help.
USA Foreign Aid
Americans value property rights as God-given. We relish competition and wish to live our lives unencumbered by our Government. We wish to take care of our families, first. Our government cannot give you anything that it has not first taken away from us by threat of force. Much of the Euro community gave away the freedoms we will fight our own government, and one another, to preserve. We do not wish to be like you, and many of us do not wish to feed you, or clothe you, or to protect you. We view you as pathetic when you complain. The very freedom and personal liberties we cherish, have made us a wealthy nation. It is amusing to us that the poorest countries do not have freedom, do not value it, and continue to turn to people with views such as yours, to be their advocate. Or, to turn to one tyrant or the next, and all the while wonder what just happened. We are absolutely selfish. If you and yours, and those for whom you are concerned, were more so, perhaps you would not need to beg for aid. But then, what would you do? I have to go now, there is wealth to be created. Life is good!
Re: USA Foreign Aid
"We are absolutely selfish. If you and yours, and those for whom you are concerned, were more so, perhaps you would not need to beg for aid. But then, what would you do? I have to go now, there is wealth to be created. Life is good!"
Although helping your fellow man is good, it is not a moral duty or a primary virtue. No one individual or group of individuals has a moral claim to another man's wealth. The very fact that our own government feels it has a right to take the wealth of it's own citizens enrages most Americans. Most human beings that use 'reason' as the primary means of deciphering most of the crap we see in this world (such as this post) would label what our government does as pure and simple robbery.
The very fact that you would imply that the amount of money a nation of individuals give is the moral measuring stick by which to judge a nation only places you in the proper company you belong--a company of thieves.
Our nation is founded on the principle of individual freedom, a concept you should spend time understanding. Once you understand it then you will be able to comprehend why, in such a short period of time, the United States of America is the greatest nation that has ever existed.
I leave you with the following quote; hopefully, you can learn from it:
"rational selfishness—which means: the values required for man’s survival qua man—which means: the values required for human survival—not the values produced by the desires, the emotions, the “aspirations,” the feelings, the whims or the needs of irrational brutes, who have never outgrown the primordial practice of human sacrifices, have never discovered an industrial society and can conceive of no self-interest but that of grabbing the loot of the moment." ~ Ayn Rand
God Bless America
It's totally immoral to rob the rich to feed the poor, not to mention unconstitutional.
Foreign Aid is just a euphemism for forced charity.
Re: God Bless America
Foreign Aid
US Foreign Aid
money for nothing
Actually Americans Are the Most Generous
Wrong
How you even could believe that others are justified to hate America is ridiculous and detrimental to America because it spreads horrible lies and--just by the name of your so-called book--hatred. I would never buy such a piece of deceit. I hope you change your mind on this matter, and I hope people realize just how wrong you are.
Some lady above mentioned your intelligence, but intelligence is quite different from being correct. And you are definitely wrong. By the way, you have a lot of grammar mistakes on your site, and you mentioned yourself how many of your pages are wrong and old. Well, enough said. For the future, you should stick to your daytime job.
US Foreign Aid
I firmly believe that it is the responsbility of individuals to give time, money and labor to help the people of all the world. I get great satisfaction when I have contributed personally to a cause to help others or if I have went out and workded for free to bring relief to the needy. I do not get any satisfaction when my government gives away money that we citizens entrusted to them to use for running our country. I love America and it's citizen's but I have a lesser opinion about those currently in office and their ability to wisely choose who needs help because they are politically driven.
David H - Florida U.S.A
Re: US Foreign Aid
The money used for foreign aid is used to make our country safer, richer, and in a better position worldwide. It has nothing to do with altruism.
We didn't entrust our money to our government to do shit. We wouldn;t give them a dime if they didn't make us do it and we have now and have always had absolutely no control over how they spend it. If we did they would change that immediately.
You must be one of those 'good old day' people. You know slavery, world war, well water, radio programs. Ahh the good old days.