Foreign Aid Essay Research Paper There are

Foreign Aid Essay, Research Paper

There are two words that many politicians like to shy away , and those two words are, “foreign aid.” Taking a firm stand on either side of this topic is usually side stepped by decision makers. Their opinions are usually based on a case by case analysis. This extremely controversial topic involves whether or not to support the policy of foreign aid to needy or sometimes not so needy countries. What benefits does foreign aid have for the countries that receive it, and does it have any benefits for the countries who give. Some may say that instead of spending money on foreign aid, money should be spent on domestic aid. Those who argue in favor of foreign aid say that it is an investment in the future of both countries that will eventually pay off. There is also another factor to consider when discussing foreign aid: what kind of foreign aid is being offered. There are three different types of foreign aid: first, there is military foreign aid; second, there is foreign aid for the advancement of business; third, there is emergency foreign aid for food and medicine.

Foreign aid to countries can help in many ways. It can be used as a tool in bargaining. For instance a country that has just received foreign aid or is expecting to get their regular installment of foreign aid will be more likely to listen to new ideas. Because some countries are so dependent on their regular installments of foreign aid, they are willing to appease countries such as the U.S who are giving it. When looked at closely, foreign aid may be considered an elaborate system of legal bribery. This becomes evident when countries do what they would normally not consider doing in order to continue receiving foreign aid. The U.S supplies financial foreign aid to many different countries; sometimes this foreign aid is in a form of a loan. For example, recently the U.S. supplied Mexico with a loan in order to save the falling value of the Peso. This loan was denigrated by much of the U.S. population because many people don’t understand why the U.S. should care about the falling value of the Mexican Peso. First of all, deflation of the Peso means a loss of jobs in Mexico which would in turn send an influx of illeagal immigrants from Mexico to the United States. In addition, Mexico is a large economy that imports American goods. If the Peso’s value were to drop, it would mean less buying power for the Mexican public, and that in itself would hurt American business. Some people would still be against this type of aid, and their argument would be that if money that goes to Mexico was invested in helping small business get started, America would be less dependent on other countries for their goods or services. In this case the nay-sayers were proven wrong because Mexico recently repaid the United States in full, plus interest, and a year in advance.

Another form of foreign aid is a certain amount of credit is given to the receiving country in order to buy American made goods only. This form of aid not only helps the country in need, but it also pumps money into the US economy. Still some may wonder why should we care about a country such as Russia, to whom the U.S. has recently given aid to recently. The U.S. can’t afford to have an ex-superpower unstable economically because of their nuclear capabilities. Because Russia is in the unstable beginnings of a democracy the U.S. wants to keep Russia on the right track. If that includes giving them aid in order to help feed their people, then that is what the U.S must do. Because reinstatement of the old regime would result in turmoil throughout the world. After communism was overthrown in the former Soviet Union the world went through big changes. There was no longer two world super powers, and all of a sudden a 40 year cold war ended. As stated the U.S. uses foreign aid as a tool to implement their political views in other countries. In January of 1996 Robert Dole, the speaker of the House, commented that if Russia didn’t pull out of Chechnya the U.S. would rethink the up coming aid package to Russia. In 1997 the U.S. has over 800 million budgeted for aid to Russia and other former Soviet republics. This is an excellent example of how the U.S. uses its economic prowess to influence the politics of other countries. A few days later Mr. Clinton defended Boris Yelstin and his government for their actions in Chechnya . He criticized the attack on the women and children but defended the overall effort. President Clinton has clear goals and although he can’t defend the carnage that went on in Chechnya, he still must defend Yelstin and Russia because he needs them to complete his goals. “Now more than ever, it is important to help Russia dismantle its nuclear arsenal;” Secretary of State Warren Christopher reminded everyone, it is in the US’s best interest to see to it that Russia no longer has nuclear capabilities. This shows that the U.S. and other countries will overlook bloodshed of innocent woman and children in order to keep their’ political goals intact.

There is also another type of foreign aid that not many people know about: is military foreign aid; the U.S. spends by far more money on this type of foreign aid then on any other. Military foreign aid consists of two elements: either the U.S gives the weapons, and troops for defense or it awards straight cash payment. Many may wonder why the U.S. would supply other countr