The billions of dollars in foreign aid US taxpayers can't afford to give

[kscarbel2]

The U.S. provided $35 billion of economic aid in 2014

The United States provided an estimated $35 billion in economic aid to over 140 countries* in fiscal year 2014.

(Translation: “Estimated” means either that they have poor accounting practices and don’t know, or this number is below the actual fact.......the masses needn’t know the actual amount)

So when you ponder why our interstate system’s concrete roads are crumbling and bridges collapsing, and the government claims to lack the money to provide funding to address the decay of America's key economic artery, well, this is one reason why.

In the map below the relative size of each country is proportionate to the aid received from the United States and the color of each country indicates GDP per capita.

How was this aid distributed?

Clearly, not all aid is distributed equally.

The question is: Who received the largest slice of the pie from the U.S.? From the map above, the answer is clear: Israel.

Of the $35 billion of total economic aid distributed, almost a quarter of funds went to five countries. Below are the top 5 recipients of economic aid in 2014.

Israel: $3.1 billion

Egypt: $1.5 billion

Afghanistan: $1.1 billion

Jordan: $1.0 billion

Pakistan: $933 million

Question: Why does the U.S. provide Israel annually with funding through multiple channels, when it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world?

At first glance, one may wonder why Israel would receive roughly 9% of U.S. economic aid. It is important to note that foreign aid has a variety of uses depending on the current political, economic, and social climate.

According to the U.S. State Government 2013-2015 Foreign Assistance report, all $3.1 billion of Israel’s funding was used for military financing.

In Egypt, $1.3 billion of $1.5 billion received was used for military-related activities as well.

On the other hand, the majority of funds received by Afghanistan, Jordan, and Pakistan were used for economic development purposes.

Of the $35 billion referenced in the report, $8.4 billion (24%) was used towards global health programs, $5.9 billion (17%) was used for foreign military financing, $4.6 billion (13%) was used for economic support, and $2.5 billion (7%) was used for development assistance.

Below is a breakout of aid received by geographic region in fiscal year 2014.

Africa: 20%

East Asia and Pacific: 2%

Europe and Eurasia: 2%

Near East: 20%

South and Central Asia: 7%

Western Hemisphere: 4%

General Aid: 45%

With 142 countries receiving aid out of the 188 countries listed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2014, approximately 76% of the world received some form of economic assistance from the U.S., the majority located within Africa and the Near East.

Depending on future geopolitical events, this allocation is subject to change; however, according to the federal government’s 2015 estimates, the approximate $33 billion requests in aid follow a similar geographic allocation. Nonetheless, in the past three years, the economic support from the U.S. will have impacted a large majority of the world’s population, totaling $103 billion in economic support across various programs.

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[41chevy]

Much better to spend is a kick backs for a 43 million dollar gas station in Afghanistan . . .

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/11/02/pentagon-afghanistan-gas-station-boondoggle/75037032/

[kscarbel2]

RT  /  August 17, 2019

The United States has cut Pakistan’s foreign aid by $440 million, sending mixed signals as President Trump seeks mediation between New Delhi and Islamabad over the crisis in Kashmir.

The aid reduction means that Pakistan will receive $4.1 billion, slightly over half of the total amount promised by Washington nine years ago.

The aid package, originally set at $7.5 billion under the Kerry Lugar Berman Act, was implemented in 2010, but a breakdown in US-Pakistan relations has delayed the distribution of funds.

[kscarbel2]

With miles and miles of worn out highways, and thousands of bridges soldiering on past their designed life spans, can someone please tell me why we should give a country on the other side of the world US$4.1 billion of taxpayer money ???

[41chevy]

28 minutes ago, kscarbel2 said:

With miles and miles of worn out highways, and thousands of bridges soldiering on past their designed life spans, can someone please tell me why we should give a country on the other side of the world US$4.1 billion of taxpayer money ???

Same reason we give all types of money and aid to illegals who come here? After all it is not like the politicians really give a crap about who bank rolls the funds or who bears the burden of the debt. Remember AOC's statement about spending money "if we don't have enough, just print more because it is not adding to the deficit if it comes from inside the U.S.  borders"