foreignpolicy.com — The Gulf Coast received hundreds of millions in foreign aid last year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. But, what happened to all that money? "One year later, the fate of international disaster assistance has turned into a tale of inept bureaucracy, diplomatic bungling, and unspent cash."
Aug 25, 2006 View in Crawl 4
skyorbitAug 25, 2006Submitter
I know. If the government didn't tax us so much for its bungaling government "aid" there'd be that much more voluntary aid.Tracy
kbcraigAug 25, 2006
Pretty much what happened to all the federal funding for levee repair before Katrina: it disappeared into a hole. Or local politicians' pockets. Whichever.
radiantbeingAug 25, 2006
American individuals gave $248 billion to charity in 2004. If the people give to charity, they get to decide what causes are important to them and they will be damn carefull to give their money to charities that will use it effectively. If government spends the people's money, who knows where the money will go. I am sick of activists talking about governments giving aid as a percentage of GDP. The smartest way is to let the people take responsibility, do their homework, and donate to causes they care about. <a class="user" href="http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2005/06/2005061301.htm">http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2005/06/2005061301.htm</a>
tofagerlAug 26, 2006
@RadiantBeing: The rich people tend not to care too much about the causes that "most people" think are important. Just look at the situation of arts and culture in the US, and that should be reason enough to discount your argument.
skyorbitAug 26, 2006Submitter
Sure they do. The only way they're able to get even wealthier is by serving the interests and desires of the consumer. You do realize Wal~Mart and FedEx donated heavily to victims of Katrina -- at least as much a FEMA would allow them too. Whether they did that out of their own self interest or true compassion -- the reality is, they still did a lot of good.Tracy