Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!decvax!cca!ima!inmet!nrh From: nrh@inmet.UUCP Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Re: Re: Using tax money to feed hung - (nf) Message-ID: <1003@inmet.UUCP> Date: Tue, 6-Mar-84 23:54:03 EST Article-I.D.: inmet.1003 Posted: Tue Mar 6 23:54:03 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 09:11:01 EST Lines: 37 #R:watmath:-704600:inmet:7800067:000:1893 inmet!nrh Mar 5 13:56:00 1984 ***** inmet:net.politics / watmath!saquigley / 8:57 pm Feb 29, 1984 I do not have any figures to substantiate the following claim, so I would appreciate it greatly if anybody could supply some. My understanding of foreign aid is that the US gets more money back from the governments it is "helping" than the original amount of money given to these countries in the form of "aid". If this is so, arguing about whether your tax money should go to "charities" is simply ridiculous, since "aid" can simply be considered as an investment of the taxpayers' money by the state, and not as money that is thrown away never to be seen again. Sophie Quigley watmath!saquigley ---------- It's still charity -- even without figures, it's obvious that giving money as aid might not be the best "investment" possible, and therefore you're asking people with money to forego profits that are larger. You may see it as merely lower profits. They see it as cost due to lost opportunity. Andrew Carnegie, I think, once remarked that one should not feel uncomfortable asking another to give to charity, any more than one should feel uncomfortable giving another person a good stock tip. If it really WERE a good investment, you'd find people lining up to "buy in". With figures: (the handy ol' argument-busting 1984 World Almanac comes out!): Western Europe was the only net-return -- a total balance of $ -468 million. All other major regions were net losses to the US, with a total worldwide balance of $10,832,000,000. Military aid comes to $1,399,000,000. subtracting, you've still got a net loss of about 9 billion. You may still have a point, of course -- one can argue that the money spent in Europe is only now maturing, but I don't buy it might be worth looking up! I'd certainly love to invest in a scheme that resulted in feeding the hungry while making me richer.....