Is the US Stingy?
In the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, with scores of thousands dead and many more in danger of death from disease if immediate aid is not forthcoming, the United States, the richest country in the world with a gross national product per capita of over $34,000 [by comparison, the GNP per capita for Sri Lanka, the nation hardest hit by the disaster, is $850], reached down into its deep pockets and pulled out an initial $15,000,000 in relief aid, which amounts to a contribution of 5 cents for every man, woman and child in the USA. Shamed by the comparison with Ebeneezer Scrooge, the US promptly increased the figure to $35,000,000, a 7 cent increase.
America is not stingy with aid for vicitms of terrorist attacks on American soil. The 9/11 fund collected almost $7,000,000,000, or about $25 from every man, woman and child in America. The fund paid an average of about $2,000,000 to each 9/11 deceased victim's family
In fairness, Americans are a little financially strapped right now. Every man, woman and child of us has so far spent $556 for the invasion of Iraq, with many more bills to come for that fiasco. Here again, is the meter tallying the cost of the Iraq War: http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=171440
America is not stingy with aid for vicitms of terrorist attacks on American soil. The 9/11 fund collected almost $7,000,000,000, or about $25 from every man, woman and child in America. The fund paid an average of about $2,000,000 to each 9/11 deceased victim's family
In fairness, Americans are a little financially strapped right now. Every man, woman and child of us has so far spent $556 for the invasion of Iraq, with many more bills to come for that fiasco. Here again, is the meter tallying the cost of the Iraq War: http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=171440
posted by Tom Blake | 10:40 AM
7 Comments:
And how much have you contributed personally?
I first dismissed the previous anonymous contribution as irrelevant - the one that asked Tom how much he personally has given to the relief effort. How can an individual do anything - it takes organization. But maybe that anonymous person has a point. As little as I listen to the radio or watch TV, even I have heard that there are organized groups raising money for the survivors, in particular the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. But I didn't hear how to do it. The Red Cross would be easy. But how do you contribute to the Red Crescent? Maybe we should all find out and contribute to the Red Crescent. What if a lot of people in the US sent a lot of money for relief to the Red Crescent. Wouldn't that send a message of the religious tolerance upon which this nation was founded? Wouldn't that send a message that people in the US understand that any religion or any political ideology can be subverted by a subgroup that has gained temporary power?
John from Phoenix
My comparison of the current US government disaster relief with the amount sent by individual Americans to the 9/11 victims fund, while pointing out the disparate amounts, did not point out that the relief aid was governmental and the 9/11 fund was from private donations. The better comparison is the amount I included showing what the government is spending per American for the relief aid and for the Iraq War.
As John points out, private US contributions are also being made, and maybe at some point the figures will be available for comparison of the private contributions for this disaster with the private contributions for the 9/11 fund. One problem in trying to get figures for such a comparison is that contributions to organizations like the Red Cross at times like this are not always earmarked specifically for this relief effort. As I recall, this was an initial problem leading to the creation of the 9/11 fund, that contributions were being solicited using the 9/11 victims as inducements without necessarily earmarking the funds for their benefit.
My personal contributions are of course none of anonymous's business. But even assuming I am not privately contributing anything to the current relief fund and also assuming I did not contribute anything to the 9/11 fund, I am still entitled to express my opinion on my government's spending of what the Republicans keep reminding us is our money. Anonymous could have told us what he or she personally contributed, but did not do so, which is perfectly fine since that is a private matter. It would have been more interesting for Anonymous to have told us his or her opinion on the disparate figures I reported for the US Government spending on the relief aid and the Iraq War. Should we have spent the money to invade Iraq and should we be spending more for the current relief aid?
Three days passed before George W. Bush took time out from his Crawford vacation to make a public statement on the terrible earthquake and Tsunami. Even then, his remarks seem to have been as much intended to dispute criticism of the relatively small US relief contribution as to express our nation's compassion for the victims of this horrible disaster. The American people are very compassionate and generous when these disasters occur and we spontaneously express our concerns and prayers, but George W. Bush has once again failed to project the accurate image of America to the World.
If you want to contribute money to the Red Cross for relief efforts in this disaster, you can go to Amazon.com and do it right from their home page.
From a newspaper in Scotland comes this:
United States President George Bush was tonight accused of trying to undermine the United Nations by setting up a rival coalition to coordinate relief following the Asian tsunami disaster.
The president has announced that the US, Japan, India and Australia would coordinate the world’s response.
But former International Development Secretary Clare Short said that role should be left to the UN.
“I think this initiative from America to set up four countries claiming to coordinate sounds like yet another attempt to undermine the UN when it is the best system we have got and the one that needs building up,” she said.
“Only really the UN can do that job,” she told BBC Radio Four’s PM programme.
“It is the only body that has the moral authority. But it can only do it well if it is backed up by the authority of the great powers.”
Ms Short said the coalition countries did not have good records on responding to international disasters.
Full article is at: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3944374
Daughter Anna sent a link to a NY Times op ed piece by William Kristof giving figures on the comparatively low contribution the US makes to foreign aid and the little amount being spent on such extensive killes as Aids, Malaria and diarrhea.
Free NY Times registration may be required to read the piece which is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/05/opinion/05kris.html?ex=1105949349&ei=1&en=57fed3784304dda9
Correction: It's Nicholas Kristof.
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