Unlike Ron Paul or Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, President Donald Trump never campaigned on cutting off foreign aid or international assistance. But he is fulfilling the pledges of both men.
Last month, the Trump administration said it would consider slashing funding to countries that voted for the resolution to condemn the United States for moving its embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.
This was a great move on many fronts.
On Monday, Trump vowed to end $255 million in aid to Pakistan, which was later verified by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Trump then threatened to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the Palestinians on Tuesday.
He tweeted:
It’s not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
…peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
The Palestinian Authority received more than $616 million from the U.S. last year.
Who would have ever thought that Trump would grant a libertarian wish?
Liberty Nation writes:
Following the Second World War, the U.S. government established its very first aid initiative. Then-Secretary of State George Marshall adopted a plan to offer substantial economic assistance to Europe following the war to enable nations to rebuild, stabilize the region, and boost the economy. Twenty years later, President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and started the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Only a handful of presidential candidates since then have suggested to slash or end foreign aid altogether. Former Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) was adamant in 1988, 2008, and 2012 that we eliminate these programs, while his son, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), also espoused the same positions.
It is no secret that the nation is bleeding red ink by the minute. The U.S. is drowning in $20 trillion debt, $500 billion budget deficits, and $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities and expenditures. How can the nation afford to police the globe and maintain the rest of the world’s finances when Washington is unable to balance the books?
Yes, foreign assistance accounts for a fraction of a percent of the annual budget. According to official figures from USAID, the U.S. provided approximately $30 billion last year in economic and military assistance to the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. This will spike to $38 billion for 2017.
And these are only conservative estimates. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) pegged annual foreign aid at $55 billion. Moreover, depending on the administration and the negotiations between diplomats, these numbers fluctuate every year – in 2015, international relief topped $35 billion.
That said, every penny counts if your objective is to shrink the debt and deficit.
Indeed, foreign aid accounts for a fraction of a percent of the entire United States budget, but if you look after the pennies, the dollars will (hopefully follow).
Moreover, the unintended consequences of foreign aid has gotten the U.S. into trouble, both fiscally and militarily. Foreign aid works like this: you take from the impoverished in the U.S. and give it to the rich in poor countries. The intended recipients of global assistance garner pittance, while the corrupt leaders are further enabled.
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