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contiunous inflation of the US money supply since WW2 a problem that's eventually gonna bite us on the ass and a Very Bad Thing

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Originally posted by Omega:
I don't have time to take you through economics 101 Ommey.

Good, 'cause it'd be a waste of my time. 'A'.

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Bill Gates could give $1 million to a charity, but it's a relative pittance to him

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Originally posted by Harry:
There has to be some Bigger Plan behind this, though.

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There is.

Actually, there's more than one, but only two which are important in the short term.

#1. Global politics. It 'makes up' for actions in the Middle East (well, you know, besides removing two oppressive governemnts and dragging Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiating table) by making a big contribution to Africa. It makes international critics of American Foreign policy Look Bad (what have YOU donated, Jacques?), while it makes the people who were behind the plan Look Good. And it does it in a compassionate, yet not painfully expensive, way.


#2. National Politics: It steals Democratic thunder (You wore the ribbons, but WE spent the money.) Anybody (Read: "Any Democrat") who dares to vote against the appropriation can be tarred and feathered as a heartless bastard who probably has KKK affiliations and wants to sit back and watch dark-skinned folks die. May bring enough black voters to the Republican side to swing the next few elections.

Of course, in order to believe in any of these plans, you have to give the current White House occupants credit for cleverness. They'll revoke your Democratic Party membership, if you do.

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"The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword

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Originally posted by First of Two:
(Which, in fact, was what was wrong with your LAST little chart in the last $ argument we had, you didn't accound for the far greater amounts that US charities and NGO's provide, beyond what the US government does on its own.

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In an era of declining aid budgets, USAID's official Web site proclaims that "the principal beneficiary of America's foreign assistance program has always been the United States." The site notes that nearly 80 percent of USAID contracts and grants go "directly to American firms." It adds that USAID programs, which cost about $7.5 billion last year, have helped create new markets for American goods and "hundreds of thousands of jobs" for U.S. citizens.

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Other critics fault the buy-American approach. Research by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) showed that 53 cents of every dollar spent by the United States on tackling the AIDS crisis in Africa never left the Washington, D.C., area. "Much of the aid is very ineffective," he said. "It is in the hands of various consultants who fly over to Africa for a week and then come back."

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Under the Helms proposal, the Agency for International Development would be eliminated and its humanitarian and relief budget of roughly $7 billion a year would be given to a quasi-government foundation that would then make grants to private and religious groups.

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Americans privately give at least $34 billion overseas -- more than three times U.S. official foreign aid of $10 billion

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