http://service.spiegel.de/cache/inte...363663,00.html

Read this interview!

It's an interview of a Kenyan economics expert. I find it to be rather refreshing compared to the bottomless pit of tossing dollars at a problem instead of addressing the roots of the problem so in the future sometime we won't have to continue spending money on the poor in Africa. We continue to fail at helping out Africa, but it's not because a lack of funds.

Just to clarify, I don't think we should cut all of the funding we send to Africa. I just see no purpose of giving money when we allow such oppressive governments to exist and work against the cause of fighting poverty and AIDS. Also, earning what you receive is a very important process in understanding the outcome of your actions. I don't want people thinking they should be bailed out every time they ignore reality and harm themselves.

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Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness ~Thomas Paine

I read that one yesterdsy whan a friend sent it to me. I agree, it is refreshing and mostly accurate. I have a feeling that in the past, western governments were content to just throw money at Africa just to say we're doing something good, regardless of how the money was spent or what corrupt leaders grabbed it. And Africa should indeed learn to depend less on us and more on themselves. I don't think we should cut aid either. We should, however, focus on erasing debt, which we have done to a degree already.
I don't think it's our place to "allow" or "not allow" governments to exist. We are not the supreme commander of the world. But we can influence things by controlling our flow of money, keeping it from the bad governments and rewarding the good ones.

...thoughI thought he kind of overstated (possibly for effect) his position. No aid during famine=no one would starve - a bit of a reach, really.

But I liked his emphasis on fair trade rather than over-dependance on foreign aid.

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

Simply put, if you give a man to fish, you feed him for a day.

But if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. The West is succesful because of our superior culture. Africa is still VERY backwards. It's like giving a bunch of money to a 10 year old. Instead of spending the money on worthwhile expenditures, they would most likely spend it on candy and other junk.

What we need to do is help Africa educate its youth, and directly help them develop its infrastructure. Simply giving out blank checks does absolutely no good to people who don't know how to use it.

Take Zambia. They used to have a thriving economy that was on the upturn, before copper prices went lower and the government had to borrow at high interest. Now, they are in debt and get aid from the West.
Including a LOT of secondhand clothes.
Now, Zambia used to have a textile business that supplied the entire needs, nearly, of their populace. They didn't NEED clothes. So, when the clothes came in, dealers got a hand of them and sold them cheap on the street, beating out the local textiles. Now, 20,000 jobs have been lost because WE have completely destroyed Zambia's textile economy, contributing to the overall collapse.

You have to be smart with the aid you send. Preferably, you will buy it in-country, but the other way to not adversely affect the economy is to supply items for free that the country usually imported.

Focus on building businesses. Economic aid is the only kind that does any good.

We could and should influence the bad ones that way more often, but I don't see it happening when there's AIDs epidemics and genocides. Our leaders use it for political gain like in order to look good they give money or if they don't give money the other party criticizes them and uses it for political gain that way.

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Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness ~Thomas Paine

is there any better example of how self righteous our so called "entertainment icons" have become? I applaud them for wanting to do good, but I have my doubts as to how effective their plan really is.

For emphasis.[/quote]