I've decided to crunch a few numbers.
Bush is asking for an additional $75 billion from Congress to help fund this war. Now, i haven't managed to find any information for what this money is earmarked for specifically, but i would imagine that humanitarian aid is low on the list.
So, without further ado:
According to the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) the "... USA's aid, in terms of percentage of their GDP is already lowest of any industrialized nation in the world." (source: http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp). Their Net ODA (Official Development Assistance) for 2001 was a tad over 10 billion dollars, which is a staggering 0.11% of their GNI (Gross National Income).
The UN has recommended that all industrialized nations set their ODA to 0.7% of their GNI, which the majority of the industrialized nations fall well below (with the USA being the lowest) (source: http://www.oecd.org/EN/document/0,,EN-document-0-nodirectorate-no-12-29438-0,00.html).
So so, I was curious. Who exactly gives this money out?, and how is it used? ($10 billion is a lot of money).
Turns out that roughly $6.6 billion is doled out in grants, goods, and volunteers, ALL MANAGED BY NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations), and $2.8 billion by business interests.
Wow. Alright, I realize that the majority of money used by NGO's are most likely received through some governmental assistance, but it's usually tough to receive, and each organization usually requires matching funds or "cash-drives" in order to get the requisite funds.
Basically, if the US were to take that $75 billion, re-invest it in humanitarian aid, they would not only bump ODA to well over the UN recommendations, but exceed them. At the same they would be supplying a lot of struggling NGO's with a much needed cash influx that could be both used as an image booster (which the US desperately needs) and as a genuine outlet for "terrorism" suppression.
Enough enough. Poor journal entry, but I just don't understand why congress doesn't see this, or why some other countries don't realize it.
As for my quote;
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei
Bush is asking for an additional $75 billion from Congress to help fund this war. Now, i haven't managed to find any information for what this money is earmarked for specifically, but i would imagine that humanitarian aid is low on the list.
So, without further ado:
According to the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) the "... USA's aid, in terms of percentage of their GDP is already lowest of any industrialized nation in the world." (source: http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp). Their Net ODA (Official Development Assistance) for 2001 was a tad over 10 billion dollars, which is a staggering 0.11% of their GNI (Gross National Income).
The UN has recommended that all industrialized nations set their ODA to 0.7% of their GNI, which the majority of the industrialized nations fall well below (with the USA being the lowest) (source: http://www.oecd.org/EN/document/0,,EN-document-0-nodirectorate-no-12-29438-0,00.html).
So so, I was curious. Who exactly gives this money out?, and how is it used? ($10 billion is a lot of money).
Turns out that roughly $6.6 billion is doled out in grants, goods, and volunteers, ALL MANAGED BY NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations), and $2.8 billion by business interests.
Wow. Alright, I realize that the majority of money used by NGO's are most likely received through some governmental assistance, but it's usually tough to receive, and each organization usually requires matching funds or "cash-drives" in order to get the requisite funds.
Basically, if the US were to take that $75 billion, re-invest it in humanitarian aid, they would not only bump ODA to well over the UN recommendations, but exceed them. At the same they would be supplying a lot of struggling NGO's with a much needed cash influx that could be both used as an image booster (which the US desperately needs) and as a genuine outlet for "terrorism" suppression.
Enough enough. Poor journal entry, but I just don't understand why congress doesn't see this, or why some other countries don't realize it.
As for my quote;
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei
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It almost hurts to think about, doesn`t it?