Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cigar_Guy]

Well color me tickled pink:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4756363.stm

[AbbeFaria]

Yeah, that's awesome. I got in to an argument one night with an Irish girl who tried to tell me America was stingy. That Norway gives more per capita or something. I'm not sure if that's true, but I have trouble believing it without looking at the numbers.

I went to the Army right after highschool and I remember one day sitting outside the barracks, all of us, and the D.I.'s handing everyone a packet. It was a list of charities that the military was associated with. They said flat-out we were giving money, whether we liked it or not. I probably could have refused, but...well you tell a D.I. no and see what happens. I picked some kind of dolphin relief fund because my girlfriend at the time was huge in to dolphins.

But yeah, we give money hand over fist. As an American, I don't want any kind of special recognition, it just embarrasses us anyway. Like many others, I was just raised that it's our responsibility to help out. There's really no other option. Still, the occasional "thanks" is always appreciated.

�S�

[Cigar_Guy]

The problem you'll find with a lot of European statist-types is that they only end up counting government aid, rather than private donations. Personally I'm inclined to measure the opposite way.

[bignate]

The problem with aid coming from the US, is that it is never without its conditions, aid is usually "tied" to conditions that both dramatically reduce its true value, or leverage a desired response from the nation recieving the aid...

Tied Aid from the United States often reduces the effectiveness of the aid to half, since the majority of aid, wether it be food, materials, or other essentials, must be purchased from American suppliers or from American Allies, it is noted that up to 80 cents on the dollar is reintroduced into the US economy...

If the aid was allowed to be used to purchase these things from neighbouring countries, it would not only increase the amount of aid, but help the area as a whole with the influx of money...US aid is effectively cut in half by these policies....

Thus by donating money, the US is doing more to help its own economy than to help the one which it is donating to..The European Nations tend to have moved away from tieing their donations, so that just over 10% of their aid is tied, making them infact, more generous, because less of the aid actually returns to them.

Canada up until recently was also one of the worst offenders in this area, but along with nations such as Australia, has begun to reduce the percentage of tied aid in its relief packages.

The US and Foreign Aid Assistance
Tied Aid Strangling Nations, Says U.N.
Buying food aid locally cuts costs in half, says report
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

[Gopher]

[deleted]

[bignate]

You removed your previous post about US aid to Darfur before I could post that is all...

Anti-American Agenda??? <yawn> so what is your agenda an Anti-Anti-American crusader? Please... Don't put a label on me, just try to prove me wrong....

No, just noting how the international community, professes to support aid to other countries, yet the aid that is given usually does very little to help, and just pointing out the US is usually one of those nations.

As for unspecified European nations.....the ones specified in the resources are specifically, though not inclusively - Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom - which have the best record for un-tied aid...

[Tiger Beer]

[Gopher]

[deleted]

[bignate]

[bignate]

[AbbeFaria]

Unless I'm mistaken, the article wasn't about the government's aid contributions via our tax dollars etc. but in private donations from the wealthiest of our citizens down to the local P.T.A.

As a private citizen, I gave money routinely, and I'm one of the most selfish and egocentric persons I know. Still, when it was time to give to the United Way or the Salvation Army or whoever had their hand out (except for the telemarketers who called wanting money for the fireman's fund or the policeman's fund) then it was never a question of will I or won't I, but of how much do I have to spare. And my previous post was also in that same vein.

The American people, toss the government, are the most generous in any nation. And that's just the private citizens. You also have to factor in private corporations. The company I used to work for routinely gave hundreds of thousands a year to charities and if you visit my home town, you will find landmarks all over the city bearing their name going back nearly a hundred years. Some of the most beautiful and educational buildings in St. Louis wouldn't be there without the help of the corporations in that town, May and Anheuser-Busch just being two of the biggest.

As much of a pessimist as I am, it is still in my nature to help when I'm able. That's what the article was pointing out. It was not meant to bring up the things that could or couldn't be done to make the government a little more charitible, it was talking about the average folks who live paycheck to paycheck who, when the chips are down, still ante up to help someone in need.

bignate, instead of focusing on what the article was actually about, you use it as a talking point to set up your soap box and hate America a little more. If this were a thread discussing or critiquing the aid-giving policies of the States and Europe then your comments would be perfectly in tune with the spirit of the thread. Instead you point out that "Yeah, sure they give money, but they still suck." And then go on to start your own little hippy hate-fest about the Evils of America. That, more then what might be some very real concerns over what the US Government does with it's aid money, shows that you do in fact have a large anti-American agenda. You even drop in a line about how Canada does it better 'fer chrissakes.

�S�

[Gopher]

[deleted]

[bignate]

[bignate]

Perhaps a Mod could split the thread????

[bignate]