I've been thinking about this video in which the POTUS talks about all the pork in the latest proposal for a second stimulus check. There are many line items to support other countries. This is the full list of what he mentioned. I'm speaking about the projects outside the US. Does the US taxpayer simply bankroll these various projects in other countries and what do we get out of it? Do other countries give us millions/billions of dollars? How can they justify doing this when help is needed domestically?
I've heard of foreign resources assisting in America as in fire fighters to help with our fires during a drought, but I don't hear of much money coming here.
When you are the richest country in the world, you are the one giving, not receiving. Just like Bill Gates gives money to charity, but doesn't expect any money in return from the poorest of the poor.
This is a general problem in the US - misinformation. The foreign aid package is NOT part of the Covid relief bill. It is part of the general funding bill. Two separate items. Many foreign aid packages include access for our military bases or military support (Israel, Germany, Japan ...). One thing to consider - There would be no United States if France hadn't given financial and military aid to the Colonies in the war of Independence. The Asian Carp thing is really a project to combat the infiltration of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes region of the US - and it is a problem.
@Daniel Light, admittedly, I am unfamiliar with how all this works and am trying to learn more about it (for the sake of my children). It is quite overwhelming with people arguing on all sides. I absolutely understand why we would want to help our allies and keep those relationships solid. I just don't get why they are obfuscating the COVID relief bill and general funding matters. Or, is this just another "set the place on fire" tactic courtesy of Trump's temper tantrum?
That makes sense on paper. I don't quite get it when it means that we are not in the position to give. Some years are leaner than others. I'm sure Gates' donations fluctuate based on his income and ability to give each fiscal year.
Things do get lost in translation - and the crazy Hatfield and McCoy mentality of our political parties does not help. The problem in this particular instance is that we have two separate funding bills hitting Congress at the same time - The Covid Relief legislation and a general Omnibus Spending bill. And political operatives are trying to conflate the two to confuse the voter.
It's mostly a time thing. Congress has so much legislation to pass that if they debated and voted separately them then not enough would get done. Especially large bills like the budget. The above poster was correct that these are separate, they are just voting on them at the same time to get it done. This is why "pork" often gets added to a bill, they are separate legislation the house or senate want a vote on but probably won't unless they attach them to something else going through. This is the primary job of Pelosi and Mconnell, to keep this organized and flowing and there is a lot of communication between them like if you pass our pork we will pass yours. Usually budget, defense and relief bills are already secured votes before they are even done but enough people have issues with one part of the covid bill that it literally stopped everything with it and that is the battle and the test of wills. Congress could detach the bills and vote on them separately but then they each have to go through congress on their own which would take longer then solving this one sticking point.
OK. That makes sense. Now, I'm wondering why they couldn't attach all that other stuff to another bill and leave the COVID relief one as a separate bill so it can get through and out to the people that really need it. There has to be other bills up for consideration, right? Something else for them to attach it to?
I don't exactly know what their procedures are for that but they have weird rules for everything. However it's done was a procedural thing they developed at some point. They have to follow a playbook since congress turns people so quickly or it would just be a jumbled mess. This is another magor thing the leaders of the house and senate do is constantly look at their procedures and make sure they are working sufficiently because they need to be adjusted quite frequently. Like being in a sailboat, you constantly need to adjust the trim.
Your source is lying to you again. https://www.tampabay.com/news/natio...-include-foreign-aid-arts-funding-politifact/ "The post is right that Congress appropriated funds for foreign aid and for American arts centers, and Americans are free to disagree that taxpayer money is allotted in this way. But it’s wrong to suggest that such funding is in the COVID-19 relief bill. On Dec. 21, lawmakers in both chambers of Congress passed a $2.3 trillion spending package: a roughly $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill — consisting of 12 different bills to fund the government during fiscal year 2021 — and a separate, approximately $900 billion bill specifically for COVID-19 relief. Lawmakers also passed several other smaller bills." You are confusing the relief bill with the budget spending bill. This confusion is being deliberately spread by right wing sources. Why they want us to conflate these two separate pieces of legislation is a mystery to me. Who does this lie help?
How is my post fraudulent? I asked a question about a video clip of the POTUS talking about this issue. Others responded and explained that they were two separate bills. That's NOT the way POTUS presented it, hence my question.
Both parties do this: when you have a piece of self-serving pork you want passed, but know it won't get passed on its own merit, you stick it into a bill containing mostly popular items that both sides want and that the president will sign. That isn't what happened in this case, but it's a common practice, unfortunately.
Your OP contains a list of foreign aid money, and claims it is all part of the COVID relief bill. That's fraudulent. Not on your part, but on the part of your source, the one from which you copied the list.
Again, I simply copied the transcript of the video clip. The POTUS made it sound like it was part of the COVID relief bill. I have since learned that they are two separate things but that doesn't mean the post is fraudulent or I'm being disingenuous.
I don't think that is a good example. (or maybe it is a good one for the US to learn from). In hindsight they would probably not do it again. It contributed greatly to their economic problems and is often listed one of the cause of the fall of the french monarchy and the revolution.
The justification is always diplomacy. The bulk of the aid is to the middle east in terms of military aid to countries like Egypt and Israel or more economic like to Jordan. The idea was this money was to facilitate peace in the middle east and to gain there cooperation. For the longest time we relied heavily on middle eastern oil and ensuring that supply is probably why we invested the huge amounts there because the aid was considered strategic. Another large part of foreign aid payments are often considered humanitarian. To alleviate poverty, starvation and suffering in undeveloped countries and to try to build them up and move them forward. I think this is the one that many people have so problems with because the argument is why are we helping others when there is poverty in the US. The answer is still diplomacy. Often the same people that complain about aid going to these countries also complain about China and how they will overtake us in 10, 20, 30... years. China invests heavily in African countries. They build roads, infrastructure, factories, school etc... They learned from us that investments in countries like these lead to long term returns. If you want to be a world leader you need friends, supporters, and people to do business with. In 30 or 40 years as these countries do better and their income increases who will they look to? Who will they support? Who will there preferred trading partner be?
With the exception of Israel I do not think most 1st world countries receive foreign aid. They will receive help from other countries during disasters like when Canada sends fire fighters down to California and I believe many countries sent personnel to New York after 9-11. I think what the US get is a lot of loans. The US is heavily indebted to countries like Japan and China who I think hold about 30% of our t-bills. They are essentially supporting our crazy spending by our politicians.
