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Originally Posted by the head
Ok lets say we quit giving money, troops, supplies, etc to other countries (even through the UN, IMF, World Bank, whatever) who would make up that large amount of money that would no longer be donated or loaned to other countries to improve their standard of living, increase thier security or improve thier infrastructure...
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I think you fail to realize the reason for all of this aid...
Our government does not do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Foreign Aid in the Federal Budget is basically corporate welfare with an excuse. Our government never just gives money to other countries. There are always strings attached.
90% of the money we give is in the form of military aid. The money never even goes to these countries. Instead, the money goes from the State Department to the American military contractor, and the weapons are sent to the country. In the Federal Budget, this appears under "foreign aid", but it is nothing more than a bone for the military contractors.
Likewise, 90% of the money that has been designated for "rebuilding Iraq" is more of the same. The money is simply being paid to American firms like Bechtel and Haliburton, even though there are Iraqi firms (who hire Iraqi employees) that can do the same work for less money. And even though Iraq has an unemployment rate of around 50%, Bechtel and Haliburton bring in workers from the Burma and Indonesia to do the work because they will work for less money.
And the worst part about this all is that these contracts are never bargained and there is no bidding process. The State Department vastly overpays in these contracts. Because the goal here is not really to provide aid, but instead to find a way in which more of our taxpayer dollars can be given to these large corporations.
And I'm sure you have read the articles over the last few years how Haliburton has been caught overcharging the government. Do you know what the penalty was? Nothing. They did not even have to return the money. The Justice Department never prosecuted anyone, and it was simply forgotton.