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May 13, 2008 10:54 pm US/Central
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Good Question: Can The U.S. Afford Foreign Aid?
(WCCO)
When people are in danger or dying, as is happening in Myanmar because of the cyclone and China because of the earthquake, Americans overwhelmingly want our government to help. But when financial times at home are tough, can the United State afford to help out abroad?
"The actual answer to that is that we can't afford not to," said J. Brian Atwood, former director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the Clinton Administration. Atwood is currently Dean of the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.
"It goes to the quality of what we are as a nation, it goes to our values," said Atwood. "And it's not going to save a lot of money out of a trillion dollar budget to cut it."
In 2006, the United States government spent $22.7 billion in foreign development and disaster aid, according to the independent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The United Kingdom spent $12.6 billion, Japan spent $11.6 billion, France and Germany spent around $11.5 billion. The United States, by far, gave more real dollars than any other nation, making up more than 20 percent of total aid.
"We could give so much more," said Atwood.
Many critics point to the fact that the United States gives a relatively small percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the key measure of a nation's wealth.
The U.S. gives about 0.12 percent of GDP, according to Atwood. He said the United Nations goal for foreign aid is 0.7 percent of GDP, a goal which the Scandinavian nations surpass.
Some argue that the United States gives more than it gets credit for, because private charities in the U.S. step up and gather billions of dollars. That's a phenomenon that doesn't happen as much in other countries.
"It's larger than it was but it's still less than 1 percent of the federal budget," according to Atwood. He said that public opinion polls show most Americans believe the U.S. spends 15 to 20 percent of its budget on foreign aid.
"We're a country that has a big heart when it comes to disaster, but we don't have such a big heart when investing in the long term," added Atwood.
Right now, the U.S. has pledged $500,000 to China for earthquake relief. Military planes are standing by to deliver food and supplies to the people of Myanmar, if and when the military government allows foreign aid workers into the country.
According to Atwood, the U.S. can marshal money and supplies within 24 hours of a disaster. The percentage of foreign aid that goes to disasters is relatively small. He believes the U.S. budgets around $900 million for those situations.
"Is it too simplistic to say, why spend that money over there when we could be spending it over here?" asked WCCO-TV reporter Jason DeRusha.
"The world is too small a place to think that way," responded Atwood.
Half of the world lives in poverty and "they can't be good global citizens if they are living in poverty. That is not in our interest," he added.
"If we began to see this as a threat, the real threat that it is, we'd see this as a national security problem, not just a humanitarian problem," according to Atwood.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)