Feeding the Hungry Millionaires
Filed in archive Int'l Development on August 15, 2007
It's no secret the nations of Africa are struggling to survive. Between the AIDS pandemic and the multitude of problems and other health risk factors facing those who wish to help - it just seems like Africa is treading water, and getting nowhere fast.
Then you factor in foreign businesses coming into Africa with their Western ideas of how everything should work, but it just doesn't work over there. As one commenter noted on an entry some time ago, it may actually serve to drive up the cost of health care to consumers rather than help those who really need it.
So what about foreign aid? It seems like a great idea, having one government send some of their tax dollars to another country in need. There's just one problem with that. The middle man, namely, the other government.
Enabling greed
As John Stossel of 20/20 reports, the corrupted African governments are just taking all the foreign aid and keeping it for themselves - instead of giving it to their people.
There is plenty of money to solve all of Africa's problems, and billions have been given through foreign aid. The problem is not the amount of money, but government greed.
African governments aren't just taking foreign aid, they are also flat out denying ownership of land to their citizens, and making it just about impossible to even open a business. Their citizens are literally afraid to earn money, expand their businesses, or invest in business because they have no guarantees that building will still be standing in the morning.
All foreign aid does is help these corrupted governments to continue oppressing their people. Much better alternatives are giving to charity, since these organizations are held accountable for their expenditures, and actually do something for the people that need it most.
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