After decades of giving ever increasing sums to various countries and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the world, American
taxpayers should see return benefits on their contributions, including
the successful development of third-world countries and a decrease in
anti-Americanism. Yet it seems that the opposite occurs. More people
accuse us of not doing enough to help the poor and the less fortunate;
more demand greater sums of money; more hate us, in part through envy;
and more seem ungrateful for the benefits they do receive. In addition,
few if any countries or organizations ever declare that they have
reached the point of self-sufficiency and no longer need to receive
monies from the United States. In spite of USAID's lofty rhetoric, it
seems that most of the Federal Government's foreign aid creates
dependency and enables some foreign bureaucrats and NGOs to enrich
themselves at the expense of those they purport to serve and help.
As a new administration prepares to take office, it would be wise for
our newly elected officials to consider reforming and reducing the
amount of foreign aid. The Brookings Institution noted two years ago
that the current system of U.S. foreign assistance is "an incongruent
structure that includes 50 separate offices which address a dizzying
array of more than 50 objectives ranging from narcotics eradication to
refugee assistance. Different agencies pursue these overlapping
objectives with shockingly poor communication and even worse
coordination between them. At best, the lack of integration means that
the United States fails to take advantage of potential synergies; at
worst, these disparate efforts work at cross purposes. As a result,
America punches well below its throw weight in the international arena
as the quality of its aid strategy compromises the quantity of its
absolute aid dollars." In order to improve the strategic and
humanitarian effectiveness of our foreign aid, we would do well to trim
and streamline the bureaucracy which handles it and to demand results
from those who receive it.
I should note that in addition to taxpayer-funded foreign aid, Americans
are more generous with private donations to charities than other peoples
in the world. According to the annual Index of Global Philanthropy and
the Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs,
in 2005 (the most current data available) $95.5 billion in American
foreign aid came from private foundations, corporations, voluntary
organizations, universities, religious organizations and individuals.
And the dollar amounts do not indicate how much time Americans spend
volunteering overseas.
Many American families are making sacrifices this fall and winter,
reining in their spending and setting reasonable budgets for themselves.
Perhaps the Federal Government can learn from them and do likewise.