I am in fact interested in discussion, but if people do not know how foreign aid works, or the part the US has played in it, and the supposed burden it puts on US taxpayers, then of course I try to inform them of the facts. In this case, someone seemed to have a wildly exaggerated view of the US munificence, as opposed to other countries, and a not very clear understanding of how aid, and soft power, works.
As US taxpayer, USAID was not a true burden. Not any more than the US government providing subsidies to billion dollar industries such as our auto manufacturers, and Tesla, and aa long list of industrial giants. Did USAID waste money on foolish things here and there? Yes. But USAID paid for itself in
Soft Power.
See, US taxpayers pay the same rate each year no matter what USAID spent, or what the Pentagon spent, or what the Department of the Interior spent, or what the Department of Energy spent, or what any of the US government agencies or bureaus spent. When USAID showed up people got fed, people vaccines, medicine, agricultural assistance, maybe a school, or a well. USAID gave us access to the third world in a way that the CIA could never do on its best day. We made friends we've never met. Compare that with our current adventure in Iran. What is that costing the average American? My gasoline bill for 2026 will be more than triple my IRS bill. And thanks to our current POTUS, and the gutting of USAID, amongst a long list if asshattery, the world is not rushing to help us out this time.
Somewhere in the late 1980s public schools stopped teaching civics classes, which were once a prerequisite for high school graduation, and the result is a voting population that has little-to-no knowledge of how the US government is supposed to work. Worse still, we now have congressional representatives, senators, and an entire White House that is clueless of the contents of the US Constitution beyond the Bill of Rights (and even there they lack). The President cannot rule by decree. Period. Congress, when it does its job, is supposed to keep the POTUS in check, and the SCOTUS is supposed to keep both parties in check. Unfortunately congress and the senate are filled with some of the biggest morons in US history since before the Civil War. And in world history they compare to Stalin's Politburo in levels of incompetence, cowardice, ineptitude, and general buffoonery.
In short: We get what we voted for.
And that's the problem. We're told we're powerless in a country where we could, if we got our crap together, vote out all the idiots, and vote in some people with brains and direction in life. Obama didn't storm D.C., he was elected in spite of the DNC's master plan. The Tea Party didn't shoot their way into power, they ran better campaigns, and were elected into congress, and state houses across the country. There are endless examples of momentum shifts that generated excitement at the polls, yet Americans currently believe they are somehow powerless, and their votes do not count, etc. If USAID was out of control, and let's face it, it kind of was, then where was Congress? More to the point, where was the pressure on Congress by the US Taxpayer? Short answer there is the average American didn't know USAID existed...because they are lazy, and or stupid.
So if gutting USAID is victory for the US Taxpayer it should be a lot easier to pat ourselves on the back, what with our wallets being so very much lighter these days.
