Late Post on Live8
I meant to post this a long time ago (well, it seems like a long time ago). Back when “Live8″ was happening, I was seriously so offended by the absolute gall of some geriatric rockers to tell my government that they should confiscate more money from its citizens to dump into the absolute mess that is the African continent.
Now before you start calling me an insensitive, greedy so-and-so, take a step back and look at this situation realistically. Most of the problem areas of Africa are the way they are because some greedy, power-hungry dictator has taken over and completely destroyed the economic development of his country. This in turn has directly caused untold poverty, disease, and famine. Yes, it is a tragic situation. It pains me to know children are being brought into a life of pain and despair.
But the U.S. Government writing a big, fat aid check is not the solution to the problem. All that will do is take money from my pocket and put it into the hands of the dictators causing the problem. I could ramble on about how this actually works in terms of government aid, the IMF, central banking, etc, etc, ad nauseum. But I’m not going to take that much space, nor bore you with the details. Instead, I will say that if you really, truly want to understand the root of the problem, start with a little research. Go get yourself a copy of “The Creature From Jekyll Island” and read that first. This will give you some insight into the flaws of the IMF and the central banking system, and how the African dictators are able to siphon off aid money into their own private accounts.
Africa is one of the richest areas of the world in terms of natural resources, yet it stricken in poverty. This is a direct result of the failure of the rest of the world to address the real problem. Here’s some insight, read: Capitalism Is the Cure…, and The Tragedy of Africa. Begin to understand the answer is not sending more money, it is solving the root cause of the problem. (Incidently, there are a number of other great articles on the same subject at capmag.com.)
I am certain by now there are some readers already calling me a number of nasty names that include (if not verbatim, then at least synonomous with) bigot, greedy, insensitive, and on and on. If you are amoung that group, I’m sorry you missed my point. I heartily feel for the people of Africa that are stuck in this mess. I truly hope we can help them. But government aid to the existing tyrannical regimes only prolongs the problem. The US, the UN, and the governments of the world need to step up to the plate and work on regime change, and apply whatever political pressure necessary to fix the root problem - removal of the tyrannts, i.e. stop taking money out of my paycheck in the form of taxes and turning it over to people like Robert Mugabe.
Incidently, the American people care more than most of the world seems to know (or at least admit). While Bob Geldof and Bono stand up and say America doesn’t do enough, they actually would look a little smarter if they would do some research before they shoot off their mouths. Americans give an average of $22 BILLION a year in private donations to the developing world. Compare that to what the government of France gave in 2003 - $7.2B. (By the way, that $22B is private donations. Add in the $16.3B the US government gave in aid and you are talking some serious cash.) We are far from the tightfisted greed hounds Geldof would would make us out to be.
I much prefer the private donation route. This allows us to get the money to the groups that will get it where it needs to go - into the hands of the poor, the impoverished, the sick, the hungry, and the children. Wouldn’t you agree?
[Incidently, it seems as though not all the donating went to starving Africans. Some of it went to help the poor starving rock stars, too.]
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