I have started a new thread on international aid. On a different thread this topic come up and was off topic. Some points were brought up that have to be refuted. In reference to the international aid America gives:
" [Americans] are regularly told by politicians and the media, that America is the world's most generous nation. This is one of the most conventional pieces of 'knowledgeable ignorance'. According to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US gave between $6 and $15 billion in foreign aid in the period between 1995 and 1999. In absolute terms, Japan gives more than the US, between $9 and $15 billion in the same period. But the absolute figures are less significant than the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP, or national wealth) that a country devotes to foreign aid. On that league table, the US ranks twenty-second of the 22 most developed nations. As former President Jimmy Carter commented: 'We are the stingiest nation of all'. Denmark is top of the table, giving 1.01% of GDP, while the US manages just 0.1%. The United Nations has long established the target of 0.7% GDP for development assistance, although only four countries actually achieve this: Denmark, 1.01%; Norway, 0.91%; the Netherlands, 0.79%; Sweden, 0.7%. Apart from being the least generous nation, the US is highly selective in who receives its aid. Over 50% of its aid budget is spent on middle-income countries in the Middle East, with Israel being the recipient of the largest single share "
Like most propaganda pieces this is composed of some truths with half-truths. For example, America officially gives about 9 billion in aid. True. Officially. What is not mentioned is the 49 billion given by private and corporate donations. You see they use the 9 billion against the total donation by other countries. Above Japan is cited as giving more, but it is Japans TOTAL contribution, not the official government amount, You see most Americans believe it should not be up to the police power of government to take your money and force you to give it to others, it should be done willingly, and it is. Another interesting point is the list of countries that reach the UN’s expectations of aid that should be given. Denmark, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden. What’s interesting is this, taxes. Denmark-49.9% of your income is taken for taxes, Norway- 45.5%, Netherlands- 46.0%, and Sweden-56.1% of your income is taken by the government. And the US- 30.1% leaving Americans more in their pocket to give what and when we want. Which we do to the tune of 33.6 Billion dollars a year. Just had to clear that up.