Rand Paul says eliminate all foreign aid

[Puppycow]

And for some reason, the media only focuses on Israel.

As if Israel is the only country in the world that matters. It's not just Politico either. Other stories about this have also focused on the Israel angle.

No foreign aid would also mean no aid for countries like Haiti after an earthquake or a tsunami like in 2004. In other words, this is an extremely unserious proposal, playing to the tea-party crowd. He knows it will never get serious consideration by congress, but it will allow him to pose as a real fiscal conservative.

Eliminating foreign aid is always very popular in opinion polls, but in fact it only accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. People think it accounts for 24% of the budget though.

So most people are ignorant and/or mean-spirited about foreign aid. Eliminating all foreign aid would do very little to balance the budget, but it would make us look like a nation of ********.

 

[Tricky]

"We give them money, but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them
Let's drop the big one and pulverize them."

---Randy Newman
​

 

[dvictr]

its a transfer payment for the military complex.. well send you 5B and you buy 50 Apache Helicopters/ F22s.

after the haiti earthquake there was more than enough private donations, i have read about how most of the money hasnt even been allocated or lost specifically in haiti.

 

[Cain]

The media focused on Israel because it's a starving African country plagued by poverty and malnutrition. We need to help the descendants of European colonists fight back against their Palestinian overlords or we might see another Holocaust.

I liked it when that story came out a few days ago and Republicans and Democrats scrambled to show unquestioning support.

 

[Lowpro]

I think our government should focus less of foreign aid and rely on nonprofits to cover it.

Personally.

 

[Puppycow]

its a transfer payment for the military complex.. well send you 5B and you buy 50 Apache Helicopters/ F22s.

There is some aid like that, mostly in the case of Israel and Egypt I think, but certainly not all aid is like that. Humanitarian aid is only like 0.2% of the budget.

after the haiti earthquake there was more than enough private donations, i have read about how most of the money hasnt even been allocated or lost specifically in haiti.

Haiti kind of shows the limitations of what NGOs can do. Money alone can be fairly useless. The government sent a hospital ship down to Haiti after the earthquake, which is something the private sector couldn't do.

I think our government should focus less of foreign aid and rely on nonprofits to cover it.

Personally.

For pity's sake, the government spends less than 0.2% on humanitarian foreign aid, and you really think that "our government should focus less on foreign aid"?

 

[KingMerv00]

Eliminating foreign aid is always very popular in opinion polls, but in fact it only accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. People think it accounts for 24% of the budget though.

The people also want foreign aid "reduced" to 13% of the budget. The fact that that is a 26 fold increase in current spending doesn't seem to matter.

 

[dudalb]

I think our government should focus less of foreign aid and rely on nonprofits to cover it.

Personally.

Nonprofits don't have the heavy lifting..quite literally....it takes when you have major disasters.

 

[dudalb]

This fits in well with Rand's general isolationist philosophy.The apple sure don't fall far from the tree........

 

[A Laughing Baby]

I'm trying to picture the comedy/tragedy potential of a Paul/Paul ticket.

 

[Ladewig]

I'm trying to picture the comedy/tragedy potential of a Paul/Paul ticket.

Double the flavor, double the fun.

Or is it double the craziness? No that can't be right. It is a multiplier effect, not an additive effect. Craziness squared.

 

[Kestrel]

Eliminating foreign aid is always very popular in opinion polls, but in fact it only accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. People think it accounts for 24% of the budget though.

Public perception of how federal, state and local governments spend money has been divorced from reality for decades. It's almost impossible to have a rational public discussion on budget issues when you spend most of your time debunking myths.

 

[eeyore1954]

The people also want foreign aid "reduced" to 13% of the budget. The fact that that is a 26 fold increase in current spending doesn't seem to matter.

In 2010 about 50 billion was budgeted for foreign aid. Probably closer to a ten fold increase either way though there is a great disparity.
But 50,000,000,000 is a lot of money.


Does anyone know how aid is given by American charities?

 

[lomiller]

In 2010 about 50 billion was budgeted for foreign aid. Probably closer to a ten fold increase either way though there is a great disparity.
But 50,000,000,000 is a lot of money.

That doesn’t sound right. The entire budget for the department of state in the 2010 budget was only $50 billion and apparently less than $30 billion was actually spent

 

[NWO Sentryman]

This fits in well with Rand's general isolationist philosophy.The apple sure don't fall far from the tree........

Yeah, Rand is the sort of guy that wouldn't have minded if Eurasia became a Charnel house under the Axis.

 

[gnome]

Quiet, Rand Paul, the adults are talking.

 

[Thunder]

Foreign aid to Israel= fiscal conservatism and fiscal self-reliance.

 

[gnome]

Foreign aid to Israel is a direct pursuit of US interests in the area. I don't really see it as needing to be controversial that we have strong ties to the most democratic nation there.

 

[Thunder]

Foreign aid to Israel is a direct pursuit of US interests in the area.

excuse me...as I just vomited a little bit in my mouth.

foreign aid to Israel & Egypt after 1981 was a BRIBE...pure and simple.

 

[dudalb]

If the bribe kept Another full scale Arab Israeli war from erupting, it was money well spent.