Bush offers $770m for food crisis

reply to post by Rockpuck

True. I wouldnt expect any less. I dont suppose it matters as long as the "world" at large think we are in a position to lend.


Because we have it.

From the sale of government issued bonds and even the whole sale of American corporate stocks..

I see Middle East countries buying more and more American debt and EQUITY then anyone else...

Which is ironic that we get attacked by them, our economy sinks, we invade two ME nations and the rest who sell oil buy out the weakened American economy.

Hilariously pathetic.

reply to post by dgtempe


Well of the $770 more then half will go to paying US Contractors to deliver the food. So we can tax the corporate profits, then we can tax individual profits, then we can tax every dollar they spend through sales tax then tax the corporations they spent their money on.

All in all.. Poor people somewhere will still get the # end of the deal.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
From the sale of government issued bonds and even the whole sale of American corporate stocks..

I see Middle East countries buying more and more American debt and EQUITY then anyone else...

Which is ironic that we get attacked by them, our economy sinks, we invade two ME nations and the rest who sell oil buy out the weakened American economy.

Hilariously pathetic.

Yea over the past 3 years they have been really buying debt but Japan and China by far owns the most debt besides our federal reserve of course..
www.treas.gov...
check that out its an eye opener...

Originally posted by Rockpuck
From the sale of government issued bonds and even the whole sale of American corporate stocks..

I see Middle East countries buying more and more American debt and EQUITY then anyone else...

Which is ironic that we get attacked by them, our economy sinks, we invade two ME nations and the rest who sell oil buy out the weakened American economy.

Hilariously pathetic.

Mabey true at one time, but I think now the money that was going to pay the national debt is now going in someone else's pocket , and part of the reason we are seeing things collapse. Just my hunch.

Ama

Well actually with all the things going on between China and the US, you know the accusation about stealing technology and the problems with the Satellite on top of the poison in food and toys, China didn't show up for the last auction of US debt, so you can see that if China may stop finance US debt another country will have to take Chinas place.

Wow, not very objective. I'm talking about people's reactions not the President's proposal.

Yes it brings us more debt. Thats going to keep happeing. At least we can have some productive debt unlike the massive amount of money we sink into education. We spend more than the rest of the planet, yet were not even in the top 20 education systems.

This money will most likely go to the UN World Food Programme who need just about that much right now to insure there isn't massive famine across the Third World due to greedy and paranoid market speculators.

Yes we have problems at home, but our poor live like kings compared to the Third World. We still have plenty of resources. We are not having food riots, starvation, and civil unrest.

The Third World on the other hand is. If something is not done there will be a global meltdown in the Third World. That meltdown will produce extremism and radicalism on a level undreamed of.

So we have choice A, make sure our people live better than people in the Third World while the Third World collapses and possibly millions die.

Then we have choice B, try to ensure stability and reduce suffering in the Third World. Making sure there is not some global socio-economic collapse across most of the planet.

I like B.

reply to post by 4thefight


Oh my god. I am struggling to pay my bills while I work 40+ hours a week, I am stretched to the limit, I borrowed money today to pay bills I could not pay last payday, with all the bills continuing to go up it is leaving less and less to pay for gas and food, I couldn't be out of work sick if I were near death right now, I cannot afford to be out, not one hour, and there is absolutley no help for me from any organization other than the food pantry at the Baptist association. Granted I am not about to die from starvation, if I lost my job at this point I would be homeless in a matter of weeks, then what? My situation is not unique, it is reality for too many Americans, and the stress of it is getting to be more than we can take. I am so frustrated at this article.

So if the US economy goes bust and there are food and gas shortage riots in the States, who's going to send money to the USA to sort it out?
Europe? Canada?

And what will we get in return? The chance for the world to say: "Yeah we told you Bush would screw your country up..."

I'm not sure if it's worth it.

Originally posted by 4thefight


I have read this article over and over and I am a bit confussed. Where exactly are we sending this money to?

news.bbc.co.uk

i saw in the 1st section heading..
Silent tsunami

($770M...to begin on October...)

$620Million - Direct food shipments (mainly to Africa)
$150Million - In farm aid, to farmers in Developing countries.


the direct food shipments, could be like millions of 100lb sacks of rice
and crates of evaporated milk, shipped by cargo vessels who will need to pay the port & dock fees to the receipient country.
the US govt still has to contract to buy, store, package, ship these 100s of tons of goods/food stuff...which makes a lot of American businesses and its workers happy.

"Aid to farmers in developing countries"(3rd world countries?)...
that is just another code word for 'pork $$'...
envision groups of food production experts from say Con-Agra or Monsanto (or any number of food specialists) going on teaching junkets to some exotic asian nations where subsistance farming is a way of life.
The lectures or seminars will be designed in such a way to attract or otherwise require groups of these farmers
(in a very loose sense of the term 'farmer') to hear a 1/2 hour slide presentation on the no-no of doing number 2 in the rice patty...
after which the representatives of US aid to farmers could go to the big cities, like Bangkok, and amuse themselves for the remainder of the junkett.





could this be one of the ways GWBush&Co pays back a goodly number of political contributers? ... $150million of no stress teaching farming techniques junketts at taxpayer expense

[edit on 2-5-2008 by St Udio]

Originally posted by malganis
So if the US economy goes bust and there are food and gas shortage riots in the States, who's going to send money to the USA to sort it out?
Europe? Canada?

And what will we get in return? The chance for the world to say: "Yeah we told you Bush would screw your country up..."

I'm not sure if it's worth it.

$770 million is a drop or moisture vapor in the bucket of the US economy.

If our economy for some reason collapses, it will be like Dominoes. It will create an economic tsunami that will destroy every economy on the face of the earth. It will look like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have arrived. Violence and Famine of biblical proportions.

If we get to the point of food and fuel shoratges were in a much better position than Europe or many other nations. Sure there would be rationing, but we have resources(coal, tar sand, oil shale) we can tap to make synthetic fuels. We have enough farmland to feed our people and make biofuels if need be. If it ever gets to that point we'll have to cut off food exports like numerous countries have already done with Rice.

You can't blame this whole mess on one man. This is something we have known about since the 1970's and no one had really tried to make preparations or repairs.

Originally posted by West Coast

The dollar is low against the Euro (which is killing the EU economys), the dollar still is very much so superior to third world currency's.

Unfortunately, international trade is NEVER conducted in "third world currencies," as you put it.

Also that "superiority" will be dubious at best once China finishes dumping it's dollars, and OPEC refuses to sell oil in dollar amounts.

Sending $770M anywhere is at best a stop gap and at worst another mess for the next administration to be blamed for.

Seems like a plan.

If someone wanted to take a few dozen countries out, they make the US money worthless, huh?

With all of the $$$ that the US gives for aid around the world, don't you think that the people that are suppose to be getting the money or food, actually receive it? It's the biggest scam in the world.
Between the warlords that need to be greased and the ones who just keep the money to buy more arms, the food (or the money to buy food) never gets to where it's needed.
This has been going on forever. $770 million dollars!!! Are you kidding me? For a country that is some 10 trillion in debt, why in the hell is this government continue to do this crap. President after President sings the same old tune. We need to help the hungry, help the poor. Hell, with all of the money sent to aid programs during the past decade alone, the whole world should have been fed ten times over!!
The $770 million needs to be used here in the states instead of overseas. There is plenty of poverty right here that, in my opinion, should be a first priority item for funds rather than problems overseas.

reply to post by St Udio


No only that but must of the money for farmers in developing countries is going to produce crops for ethanol, one of the problems of shortage with the rice, in many countries is because the governments of those countries are no producing crops to feed the people but to sell for bio fuel.

Because is more profitable for their governments, but not for the hungry poor.

I don't know maybe spend this money to help with the foreclosures happening all over the country, let China or the Middle East feed the rest of the world.

Why does it always fall on our shoulders? Let the rest of the world do something for a change. Let the EU do something about a world problem!

No wonder this guy has the lowest approval ratings in history! We are in serious trouble here in the US, but no we are going to feed people that refuse to feed themselves because of constant war.

WHATEVER!

Originally posted by LDragonFire
I don't know maybe spend this money to help with the foreclosures happening all over the country, let China or the Middle East feed the rest of the world.

Why does it always fall on our shoulders? Let the rest of the world do something for a change. Let the EU do something about a world problem!

No wonder this guy has the lowest approval ratings in history! We are in serious trouble here in the US, but no we are going to feed people that refuse to feed themselves because of constant war.

WHATEVER!

Yup I totally agree this policy of being policeman of the world and feeding the world needs to end until we get our own crap together. There was a report that most of our hospitals have technology from the 70s and 80s and the buildings are getting older and in disrepair...team that up with the roads, bridges, and education I mean we have plenty of problems here that need to be addressed.

Oh and hot off the press www.foxnews.com...
the UN food org has been crying poverty while sitting on 1.2 billion in cash..

[edit on 2-5-2008 by mybigunit]

Just to put that into perspective - 770 million dollars - if applied to the US - would offer $2.25 per person.

Can you say Dollar Menu?

Ok here's the deal:

Yes it's great to help starving suffering people in other countries around the world. Hell If I had the money to do so, I would to. But, when your own country is in a financial crisis/debt, not stabilized why not get it back in shape, then do something like this? Doesn't make any sense.

So now what happens to that extra $600 rebate check us tax payers are going to get back in the mail?

Originally posted by TruthWithin
Just to put that into perspective - 770 million dollars - if applied to the US - would offer $2.25 per person.

Can you say Dollar Menu?

Dragon its not a lot of money but its 770 million then add the interest that we have to pay to borrow that money to give it away...interest at 3% your looking at 23 million in interest we will have to pay...catch my drift? Not cool considering our situation...but in the scope of things your right its not a lot of money but 770 here and 770 there with interest adds up...