“U.S. Foreign Aid Has Always Been Too Easy of a Target”
“Surveys find that the public generally desires a reduction in foreign aid, but this is largely due to a misperception about how much, or more precisely how little, the U.S. spends on aid. Less than 1 percent of the federal budget is dedicated to foreign aid. The USAID budget itself is just under $50 billion, which pales in comparison to the most recent defense budget of more than $800 billion. Stated differently, if the goal is to cut government waste and improve government efficiency, there are other areas more suitable for reduction than aid.”
“But focusing on Trump’s actions against foreign aid misses a larger point. Arguments for giving humanitarian and development aid, whether based on realpolitik considerations of prestige or idealpolitik considerations of values, have never held much sway in U.S. foreign policy. If they had, the U.S. would likely have long given more than a relative pittance to humanitarian causes. The only difference is that even the little amount that was given is now gone.”
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-foreign-aid-trump-musk/
Connie
npub146…tvgjn
2025-02-09 19:39:01
Author Public Key
npub1468024mrwz6uhywjvt8s6vw4e604egnv8tfd2m2utrmqyd3nu3fsutvgjnPublished at
2025-02-09 19:39:01Event JSON
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"content": "“U.S. Foreign Aid Has Always Been Too Easy of a Target”\n\n“Surveys find that the public generally desires a reduction in foreign aid, but this is largely due to a misperception about how much, or more precisely how little, the U.S. spends on aid. Less than 1 percent of the federal budget is dedicated to foreign aid. The USAID budget itself is just under $50 billion, which pales in comparison to the most recent defense budget of more than $800 billion. Stated differently, if the goal is to cut government waste and improve government efficiency, there are other areas more suitable for reduction than aid.”\n\n“But focusing on Trump’s actions against foreign aid misses a larger point. Arguments for giving humanitarian and development aid, whether based on realpolitik considerations of prestige or idealpolitik considerations of values, have never held much sway in U.S. foreign policy. If they had, the U.S. would likely have long given more than a relative pittance to humanitarian causes. The only difference is that even the little amount that was given is now gone.”\n\nhttps://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-foreign-aid-trump-musk/",
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