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M O N D A Y , J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 0 5Bush: Don't Waste Our Money By Refusing ToDo More In Africaby Michael in New York on
6/13/2005 02:14:00 PMBush was pulled kicking and screaming into Blair's plan toprovide debt relief for Africa. But as others have pointed out,the $40 billion package amounts to about $1.5 billion less ayear in money these countries will pay. That, of course, is apittance. Blair's goal is $50 billion more a year in aid PLUSserious free trade reform (remember when Republicans likedfree trade?) that will allows African farmers to compete on theworld market by lowering the trade barriers the US and othercountries have in place.The LA Times makes this very point in its lead editorial.U.S. foreign aid in general has been pathetically small fordecades. When Bush took office, it amounted to just atenth of a percent of national income. So when Bush toutshis record — a tripling of aid to Africa, a $15-billioncommitment to fight HIV/AIDS, etc. — it has to be put inperspective: It's better than nothing, but it's still kind ofmeasly....Nobody is calling for a blank check. The Bushadministration and others are rightly trying to tie aid toeconomic reform and good governance, but some of theunmet needs in sub-Saharan Africa — vaccines, mosquitonets, schoolhouses — are so basic that they transcendpolitics. It also doesn't help these nations that the U.S. andother rich countries don't engage in fair trade for farmgoods, and the G-8 needs to recommit itself to endingthose subsidies that victimize the developing world.At best, we've taken a tentative first step in putting Africa on its owntwo feet, but Bush will be throwing that money in a hole if he doesn'ttake advantage of this opportunityThink of Africa as a critically illpatient. If you want to cure them, you need to insert a feeding tube,defeat the disease and then focus on rehab. All we've done so far isinsert the feeding tube. And that isn't enough.
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6/13/2005 02:14:00 PMBush was pulled kicking and screaming into Blair's plan toprovide debt relief for Africa. But as others have pointed out,the $40 billion package amounts to about $1.5 billion less ayear in money these countries will pay. That, of course, is apittance. Blair's goal is $50 billion more a year in aid PLUSserious free trade reform (remember when Republicans likedfree trade?) that will allows African farmers to compete on theworld market by lowering the trade barriers the US and othercountries have in place.The LA Times makes this very point in its lead editorial.U.S. foreign aid in general has been pathetically small fordecades. When Bush took office, it amounted to just atenth of a percent of national income. So when Bush toutshis record — a tripling of aid to Africa, a $15-billioncommitment to fight HIV/AIDS, etc. — it has to be put inperspective: It's better than nothing, but it's still kind ofmeasly....Nobody is calling for a blank check. The Bushadministration and others are rightly trying to tie aid toeconomic reform and good governance, but some of theunmet needs in sub-Saharan Africa — vaccines, mosquitonets, schoolhouses — are so basic that they transcendpolitics. It also doesn't help these nations that the U.S. andother rich countries don't engage in fair trade for farmgoods, and the G-8 needs to recommit itself to endingthose subsidies that victimize the developing world.At best, we've taken a tentative first step in putting Africa on its owntwo feet, but Bush will be throwing that money in a hole if he doesn'ttake advantage of this opportunityThink of Africa as a critically illpatient. If you want to cure them, you need to insert a feeding tube,defeat the disease and then focus on rehab. All we've done so far isinsert the feeding tube. And that isn't enough.
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Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...17 minutes ago
EschatonOvernight - Folk On. Newish.34 minutes ago
HuffPost PoliticsMichael Likosky: Ed Rendell: Hardest Working Manin Infrastructure - At this year's National GovernorsAssociation (NGA) meeting, Governor Ed Rendell'stenure as Chair fittingly came to a close with aplenary session on infras...36 minutes ago
Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Open Thread below...1 hour ago
FiredoglakeLate Night: Livin’ the Dolce Vita with TheLovernator - Who's got time to govern? Certainlynot Mark Sanford.1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V
In honor of SenatorDeMint
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They justNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Bush:...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/bush-dont-waste-our-mo...
1 of 57/23/09 12:43 AM
Visit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with
vodpod
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, in
REM - Orange CrushAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Bush:...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/bush-dont-waste-our-mo...
2 of 57/23/09 12:43 AM
The TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)46 minutes agoEzra KleinTab Dump5 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’6 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .7 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
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S E A R C H
AMERICAblog
Web
SearchS E N D U S T I P S &C O M M E N T Samericablog@starpower.netB L O G A R C H I V E
Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Bush:...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/bush-dont-waste-our-mo...
4 of 57/23/09 12:43 AM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Bush:...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/bush-dont-waste-our-mo...
5 of 57/23/09 12:43 AM