We spend billions of U.S. dollars annually to aid other countries. The question is–is this our responsibility? Of course, someone needs to help them get food and supplies, but this shouldn’t come out of America’s budget.
When natural disasters occur, spending government money on countries in need is common. However, politicians must remember that their top priority should be their own country. When you look around, veterans and children are living on the streets because they have nowhere to go. We need to focus on supporting American citizens before we can spend billions of dollars on other countries.
With more than 200 people dead from Hurricane Helene, the White House confirmed that survivors can apply for an initial $750 after applying for Serious Needs Assistance. Although this isn’t their only support, the initial $750 should be more. America spent $175 BILLION in Ukraine with a population of +38 million, which equals a bit more than $4,600 per person in Ukraine, but American survivors have to apply online for only and additional $750?
The fact that they have to apply online is also troubling. Most people affected by the hurricane don’t have the internet; the streets have been destroyed, along with their internet. If we can’t afford to match the $4,600 per person in Ukraine, we shouldn’t send it to Ukraine at all–we should use it to save American lives.
In 2022, the Biden Administration provided African countries $2 billion in “life-saving assistance.” Well, Americans all over need “life-saving assistance.” There are single parents who are struggling to feed their families, and people struggling to get life-saving medical help because they don’t have enough money.
While we do need to do our best to support other countries, especially our allies, it is wrong to spend American money on other countries before we help the people out on the streets.
We can’t ignore these countries that don’t have access to water and have been destroyed by natural disasters or wars, but the government should not be funding it as much as they are. I think private organizations should be responsible for raising money and spending it on countries that need it. If we put more focus and time into non-profit organizations, people will want to donate more and get a sense of pride for helping people in need.
People who donate money feel more passionate about the issue and might encourage others to donate. This could raise a lot of money, without using government money.
In fact, according to a 2014 report, Africa is losing money when the American government sends money to them. The more money we give them, the deeper they go into debt. An Article titled “Why It’s Time To Abolish Aid To Africa” explains that we need to focus on increasing economic cooperation with Africa. This will provide the countries with longer-lasting wealth, instead of a loan they will need more of in a few years.
Another article titled How useful is aid to Africa? breaks down the main reasons why aid doesn’t work, but the one that stood out to me said that it is because donors think they know best, and are only interested in the short-term impact.
So yes, these countries need support, but the government isn’t doing it right. They need to figure out a way to support our country first, and then how to send aid that will make a true impact.
