The Myth of America's Spending on International Aid

By Sarah Snebold on November 5, 2016

Not surprisingly, foreign aid has not been a hot topic in the 2016 presidential election, or the media in general. However, considering the current state of the world, I will argue that this is a very important policy to discuss.

Research dating from before 2010 through 2015 has indicated that the American public believes we are giving too much to foreign aid. Specifically, over half of the public thinks the U.S. is giving away too much in foreign aid. The average American believes we are spending 25 percent of our federal budget on foreign aid, and should be spending 10 percent.

However, in reality the U.S. only spends 1 percent on foreign aid. Right now, $30 billion goes towards programs assisting the world’s needy. In comparison to other foreign policy priorities, $664 billion is spent on the military. Expanding this to the global front, “in 1970, the world’s richest countries agreed to give 0.7 percent of their gross national income as official international development aid.”

Yet, only five countries have exceeded this mark, and another six have exceeded the average country effort of 0.4 percent. The United States has fallen short on both marks, providing only 0.19 percent to international development.

pexels.com

Foreign Aid is crucial to an effective national defense policy. It is notable that the 10 most dangerous countries in the world are also among the poorest.

1. Syria
2. Iraq
3. Afghanistan
4. South Sudan
5. Central African Republic
6. Somalia
7. Sudan
8. Democratic Republic of the Congo
9. Pakistan
10. North Korea

Some argue that this showcases a direct link between poverty and terrorism. As stated by the Bush Administration’s National Security Strategy:

“The events of September 11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan, can pose as great a danger to our national interests as strong states. Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.”

By Peter van der Sluijs (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This ties into a remark made by Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC): “The worst nightmare for a Qaeda is to come into a community that feels supported and has hope.”

Although it is arguable if poverty is the one root of terrorism, many would agree it plays a significant factor. The other indicator for both terrorism and poverty is a weak infrastructure. Typically, countries with a strong infrastructure do not have extreme poverty, as this solid foundation works to alleviate poverty. So, we see the link between poverty and poor infrastructure, and that both play into terrorism. Thus, by fighting poverty we can combat other roots of terrorism, and it as a whole.

Now, some of you may be saying that beyond terrorism, fighting poverty has no benefit to us Americans. However, bringing people out of poverty and into the world of consumerism opens new markets for U.S. companies, thus creating more American jobs. This would help our current economic state, as 1 out of 5 American jobs are export-based with 50 percent of our exports going to developing nations. By bringing the world’s poor out of the shadows, we can then grow our own economy by generating more jobs and more markets to export goods to.

This is exemplified by remarks from the Center for Global Development.

“Today, 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside our borders. Already, the poorest two-thirds of the world’s population accounts for $5 trillion in purchasing power, and there is every indication that the economic power of low- and middle-income countries will only increase in the coming years – developing countries’ economies are growing three times faster than our own, and six out of the 13 fastest growing economies in the world are located in Africa.”

This speaks to the magnitude of a market that has yet to be tapped. One that America can be on the forefront of and reap exponential gains. The Center for Global Development also commented the following:

“Over the past 40 years, trade has tripled as a share of our economy, with half of U.S. exports now going to developing countries. Foreign aid has laid the groundwork for mutually beneficial trading relationships; 11 of America’s top 15 trading partners were once recipients of U.S. foreign aid.”

To create a long-term, stable and thriving economy, the more markets we can export to, the better. Currently, the new consumers of U.S. Products are within the fastest growing economies.

1. Ethiopia
2. Turkmenistan
3. Democratic Republic of the Congo
4. Myanmar
5. Uzbekistan
6. Cote d’Ivoire
7. Papua New Guinea
8. India
9. Bhutan
10. Mozambique

This exemplifies how our efforts in international aid have benefitted our economy, so why not expand and continue the trend?

I argue that we need to spend more of our budget on international aid, as it aids our national security and economy. It is unacceptable that we are not keeping our word with the UN to donate 0.7 percent, yet other countries, who arguably do not have as strong of an economy as the U.S, are able to donate more than our current 0.19 percent.

As a leader in the world, we should be on the forefront of this initiative, instead of letting others take the lead. Increase foreign aid to support our national security and strengthen our economy.

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