Time for the US to cut off giving free money to the rest of the world and take care of itself?

I have an idea to cut the debt without hurting the American people at all. Because we are in such a fiscal crisis and creating new credit cards to pay off our old ones, metaphorically, we need to cut back.

One place we can cut back on is foreign aid.

If we cut off ALL foreign aid we might be able to pay off the debt.

If we also brought all the troops home, even from Europe, Asia and Africa, we would see an even bigger savings, all with no harm done to the American people.

In such a time of fiscal crisis giving money away to other countries is foolish and does nothing to increase our safety.

The strongly Islamic countries do not have any less animus towards the US because we send them money.

If the US tended to its own business and quit trying to impose its will on others in the world, the world would be a much better place.

So rather than “trying to inflict as much pain as possible on the American people” during this time of crisis, why not “inflict” it on the foreign countries, most of whom hate us anyway. Foreign aid is no longer a luxury we can afford. Also, if we cut out all foreign aid then the 17th can roll by and we can use that money to pay the interest on the loans.

America is no longer a beacon of freedom and justice in the world, we have to face that fact square in the face and act accordingly in our own best interest. With the dollar the reserve currency of the world, doing this would also help the rest of the world much more than foreign aid or troops in foreign countries ever could.

reply to post by grandmakdw


For example the USA provides 40% of the funding for the United Nations. US tax payers provide a significant share of the funds loaned by the World Bank (It changes) The USA even funds World Wildlife Federation! $24,589,994 in 2001 for example.

What about all the idiotic 'Research grants'? Do we really need to know the mating habits of the slug and how it is impacted by mythical global warming?

reply to post by grandmakdw


I said this 25 years ago. It's too late. The vampires have sucked us dry.

Also, stop borrowing so much money from other countries...

Not to spoil the usual victim mentality Americans love so much.

reply to post by grandmakdw


I agree with you on this but cutting of foreign aide is just a start. With 180 Nations receiving just about 55 Billion a year from the US, which is only 1.5% of the budget is just the begging.

So lets make this easy for them ( The idiots in Washington and do a budget for them)

Lets make a list and lets go on and see if we can cut the budget that we all can afford.

1. Cut foreign aide $55 billion
2. Cut Michele Obama staff from 22 to 1 savings of 1.5 Million
3. Consolidate the 215 federal programs (science education and federal job training) Savings $25 Billion
4. Make the non profit organizations such as the NFL, MLB, NHL and PGA pay there share of taxes, Example NFL made 9.5 Billion last year and did not pay one penny to taxes so how much money in taxes would this be if they did pay?

5. Make corporations pay their fair share of taxes and close those tax loop holes
6. Verify that those on Welfare (snap) really need it, example beach bum in California.

Lets add to the list folks

reply to post by 19KTankCommander


Just raising taxes isn't good enough.

Chop & Cut the binge spending and,

Stop specific imports.

Produce the goods and services right here.

That will increase jobs and bring in more revenue and reduce welfare too.

The current revenues can easily support the government.

Limit spending on revenues and stop borrowing from foreign interests.

And,

selectively *hold* some foreign debt holder payments.

The U.S. is the strongest nation.

Nobody will challenge.

Americans are going broke in favor of foreign interests getting richer.

That can't last forever.

Everything needs to turn back in *OUR* favor, not theirs.

reply to post by grandmakdw

One place we can cut back on is foreign aid.

If we cut off ALL foreign aid we might be able to pay off the debt.

If we also brought all the troops home, even from Europe, Asia and Africa, we would see an even bigger savings, all with no harm done to the American people.

In such a time of fiscal crisis giving money away to other countries is foolish and does nothing to increase our safety.

Laughable.

You really have no idea the purpose of foreign "aid" or the reason there are nearly 200 military bases around the world, do you?

1) the control of the world economy and its financial markets,

2) the taking over of all natural resources (primary resources and nonrenewable sources of energy).The latter constitute the cornerstone of US power through the activities of its multinational corporations.

Geopolitical Outreach: Network of Military Bases

The US has established its control over 191 governments which are members of the United Nations. The conquest, occupation and/or otherwise supervision of these various regions of the World is supported by an integrated network of military bases and installations which covers the entire Planet (Continents, Oceans and Outer Space). All this pertains to the workings of an extensive Empire, the exact dimensions of which are not always easy to ascertain.

www.globalresearch.ca...

Your opinion is similar to a five year old saying that if we just throw the monthly bills in the garbage we don't need to pay them anymore, and all our services will stay on.

I have always been intrigued why governments of developed economies provide economic aid and support to less-developed countries. Often, the amounts reach billions and billions of dollars, and yet, the gains aren’t exactly clear. It is only recently that I have come to realise, with the help of some research, that indeed foreign aid is not necessarily free aid.


Economic support is given by donors, mostly developed countries, in order to pursue certain political or economic agenda that will ultimately redound to their own benefit. Foreign aid has been used by developed economies for political leverage in various commitments and agreements they are involved in. As Redelet (2006) argues, some aid are actually “tied” so that there is less “country ownership” of them with respect to their recipients and that interference by donor governments is inevitable.

glipho.com...



Read a book like Odious Debts. There you will learn that foreign "aid" is usually just a means of bribery or extortion to sink an entire third world into servitude where the leadership reaps the few billion dollars in pork projects which get paid back to family corporations and they sign off nearly all the resources they can back to the country giving the "aid" for cents on the dollar.

Aid, only aids the person giving it.

In many cases, Aid only pays back interest the other governments owe to US corporations within debts they can never expect to actually pay off. So it's more like a corporate tax credit than anything.

The information is out there, seek and you shall find.

reply to post by 19KTankCommander

Lets add to the list folks

Get rid of all the redundant departments. States have education, food and dept of roads so get rid of the federal version. We really do not need the FDA, USDA, EPA corporate-government revolving doors now do we?

Get rid of all the staffers in Congress except one per member. We HAVE all the laws we need. Heck Congress should READ all the darn laws and regulations passed and start repealing instead of passing laws. How about doing that for the next 25 years.

Small business is the life blood of the USA and all those regs are intentionally strangling our recovery.

Realize that the urge of CEOs of large corporations, mistakenly called 'capitalists' is not toward a competitive market. It’s the very LAST thing any one trying to maximize profit wants. Even Adam Smith’s recognizes that ~’Rairly do men of means gather, even for merryment and [discourse?] but that the conversation turns to ways to [restrict competition and raise prices]’.

What a CEO wants is a monopoly where they can achieve the profit maximizing price point. Not competition. Not a “market” with many sellers.

So watch what GE does. It is always on the hunt for a market it can “dominate”. It uses political leverage to get its products mandated and the competition banned. It doesn’t want a market, it wants a ‘company store’.

Internalize that, and a lot of things “fit” better… Like all the laws that kill competition with Red Tape and the corporate-government revolving door that makes sure the regs are never applied to the big boys. For example SHIELDING THE GIANT: USDA's “Don't Look, Don't Know” Policy

reply to post by crimvelvet


First intelligent contribution to this thread. Yes, the agencies and departments and bureaucracy is killing the US. As well, the regulations which allow massive corporations to operate at great advantage while killing small business.

If these huge corporations are given so much leeway to operate with impunity, I believe they should be socialized. They are getting such ridiculous government perks, that they may as well be a government institution.

On the other hand, the small business, the lifeblood of healthy local economies, barely stay afloat because the game is rigged against them.

reply to post by boncho

You really have no idea the purpose of foreign "aid" or the reason there are nearly 200 military bases around the world, do you?

Of course I do.

It is all about using tax payer money and the blood of their children to advance the plans of the globalist elite....

You didn't think it was for the good of AMERICANS now did you? The Elite could give a rats behind about what happens to the USA and Europe. They are busy infesting the second world countries like the nasty parasites they are.

crimvelvet
reply to post by grandmakdw

 

For example the USA provides 40% of the funding for the United Nations. US tax payers provide a significant share of the funds loaned by the World Bank (It changes) The USA even funds World Wildlife Federation! $24,589,994 in 2001 for example.

What about all the idiotic 'Research grants'? Do we really need to know the mating habits of the slug and how it is impacted by mythical global warming?

You are right about the research grants. However. some are good and necessary. It would take time to go through and sort out the ridiculous grants from the needed grants like cancer research. Needs to be done for sure.

However, a quick fix would be to pull foreign aid and you are correct drop UN funding to the percentage of people in the US verses the rest of the world.

Jefferton
Also, stop borrowing so much money from other countries...

Not to spoil the usual victim mentality Americans love so much.

You are correct, we should stop borrowing, we don't need to borrow money to give away to other countries for sure, nor to support the UN as a previous poster said.

We are not the bastion of hope for the world, we don't need to be paying for any other country on borrowed money and we sure as heck don't need to have our troops in countries like Germany, Japan, Italy etc.

reply to post by 19KTankCommander


You make some excellent points. Have you sent this list to your congressman and senators and to the white house and to harry reid? I sent my original post to all those places. Join me.

This is everything the good Doctor, Ron Paul wanted to do.

Hopefully Rand follows in his footsteps and runs in '16

xuenchen
reply to post by 19KTankCommander

 

Just raising taxes isn't good enough.

Chop & Cut the binge spending and,

Stop specific imports.

Produce the goods and services right here.

That will increase jobs and bring in more revenue and reduce welfare too.

The current revenues can easily support the government.

Limit spending on revenues and stop borrowing from foreign interests.

And,

selectively *hold* some foreign debt holder payments.

The U.S. is the strongest nation.

Nobody will challenge.

Americans are going broke in favor of foreign interests getting richer.

That can't last forever.

Everything needs to turn back in *OUR* favor, not theirs.

edit on Oct-10-2013 by xuenchen because:

What if we all post our lists here

AND THEN

send our lists to our congressman, senators, the white house, harry reid, John B and Nancy P as well.

If enough of us did it maybe just maybe it could make a difference

I always say, one person can make a difference in the world if they just try.

I know most people on ATS don't believe one person can do anything to affect the world, however, that just isn't so. Systems theory, which is a micro and macro social and economic theory says that one person can make a difference. This theory is compared to a wind chime, when the wind strikes a wind chime (a crisis) the system tries its best to return to homeostasis (the way it was). However, if you move just one chime in a wind chime, it will cause movement in all the others, they will try to return to homeostasis (ignore the pesky chime), but they have been hit and affected.

reply to post by grandmakdw


I've tried.

But I live in strong Democrat areas.

They won't listen.

Some Republican people in Congress know this already.

Unfortunately, we are up against a super power that is worldwide.

You really have no idea the purpose of foreign "aid" or the reason there are nearly 200 military bases around the world, do you? 1) the control of the world economy and its financial markets, 2) the taking over of all natural resources (primary resources and nonrenewable sources of energy).The latter constitute the cornerstone of US power through the activities of its multinational corporations. ....... Read a book like Odious Debts. There you will learn that foreign "aid" is usually just a means of bribery or extortion to sink an entire third world into servitude where the leadership reaps the few billion dollars in pork projects which get paid back to family corporations and they sign off nearly all the resources they can back to the country giving the "aid" for cents on the dollar. In many cases, Aid only pays back interest the other governments owe to US corporations within debts they can never expect to actually pay off. So it's more like a corporate tax credit than anything. The information is out there, seek and you shall find.

These are the exact reasons we need to disengage in these practices.

The US is no longer the "big daddy" of the world, we are no longer the bastion of freedom, we are not the "police of the world", we are nearly broke and the butt of the world's jokes.

We can no longer afford to and should not be bribing anyone into servitude.

We should not be trying to control the world in any way, shape or form, militarily or monetarily. The US is no longer able to afford to do it or to attempt to do it.

The US needs to start looking to taking care of its own people, not trying to cause as much pain as possible to its own people.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with you at all except to say you made excellent points as to why we should NOT be giving foreign aid or have our military in Europe, Asia or Africa.

crimvelvet
reply to post by boncho

 

You really have no idea the purpose of foreign "aid" or the reason there are nearly 200 military bases around the world, do you?

Of course I do.

It is all about using tax payer money and the blood of their children to advance the plans of the globalist elite....

You didn't think it was for the good of AMERICANS now did you? The Elite could give a rats behind about what happens to the USA and Europe. They are busy infesting the second world countries like the nasty parasites they are.

I was replying to the OP, not you in that post. in fact I commended your post. I know you are smarter than that. But, in fact, I do have a small disagreement with you. While the people at the top surely don't care about a nation more than themselves, the consolidated power of the majority, is mostly in the US.

So, there is favour there.

And, while the Joe Citizen is not considered in any of their actions, the US has had a hundred years of relatively good fortune from the power structure operating inside and outside its borders around the world. Simple as that.

TextYou really have no idea the purpose of foreign "aid" or the reason there are nearly 200 military bases around the world, do you?

Sad to say I do understand about foreign aide, and the Military bases have nothing do with it, this is paid by a separate fund, example, Housing on military bases is built by American dollars but we rent them out from the host nation, we don't own the land we lease it, example Philippians prior to the volcano erupting.

This is not foreign aide, its another fund, that is fund through the department of Defense. having spent 20+ years traveling around the world you get to learn were the money goes, example did you know that the Coast Guard is funded through the Department of transportation?

reply to post by grandmakdw


Yes I have, I have sent several list but never get any reply.