Should we have to spend 0.7% of GNI on foreign aid?

Original post by DeBruyne18

Because even spending a small amount on stuff such as irrigation systems can make a massive difference.

It suits us for the rest of the world to be prosperous.

Thats why the government has a volunteering program ICS. Volunteers do more work and help out in the community more than this money. We have given Pakistan so much money, im still failing to see what they have actually spent it on, that will help their society.

Reply 24

Original post by Davij038

No the target is ridiculous. Foreign aid can do some good but it should drastically lowered and under the purview of the foreign office.

Countries succeed due to having property rights and the rule of law, not through having money chucked at them, especially if theyre corrupt. I think foreign aid is on the long run actually harming the development of the third world.

I use Pakistan as an example. Us and America have given so much money to them, im failing to see how its helped ABIT. Infact it seems that they helped the most wanted man in the world hide haha

Reply 25

mojojojo101

17

Original post by Davij038

No the target is ridiculous. Foreign aid can do some good but it should drastically lowered and under the purview of the foreign office.

Countries succeed due to having property rights and the rule of law, not through having money chucked at them, especially if theyre corrupt. I think foreign aid is on the long run actually harming the development of the third world.

Aid should absolutely not be under the remit of the foreign office, the result being that aid very quickly becomes part of trade deals and international agreements as opposed to an assessent of who needs it most.

Reply 26

Original post by jdddd

Thats why the government has a volunteering program ICS. Volunteers do more work and help out in the community more than this money. We have given Pakistan so much money, im still failing to see what they have actually spent it on, that will help their society.

And volunteers need money. Clean water, schools, hospitals and infrastructure systems.

Reply 27

Gwilym101

17

Original post by bob072

Well it's taxpayers money not theirs (as well as borrowing which amounts to future taxation) but even so taxation as a percentage of GDP is the highest in 40 years and at record highs. I know it doesn't fit with the Marxist agenda of Corbyn/McDonnell but it's true.

The issue of taxation is a seperate issue entirely. Most of the issues of taxation and government spending would be negated if the government actually got off their arses and closed the various tax evasion loopholes for corporations like Amazon.

Reply 28

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Original post by DeBruyne18

And volunteers need money. Clean water, schools, hospitals and infrastructure systems.

Charties and Locals provide food, water, accommodation etc.

Reply 29

Andrew97

20

Reduce it. We should only have money aside for disaster relief (Like Haiti for example) why are we giving any money to India. They have a space programme. If they can’t spend their money properly, that’s their problem not ours.

Reply 30

Original post by jdddd

Charties and Locals provide food, water, accommodation etc.

That's rather silly. Where do you think they get their money from? A huge amount of foreign aid goes to charities who carry out such work.

Locals don't have enough money or resources to do it, that's why we have foreign aid.

Reply 31

Original post by Davij038

No the target is ridiculous. Foreign aid can do some good but it should drastically lowered and under the purview of the foreign office.

Countries succeed due to having property rights and the rule of law, not through having money chucked at them, especially if theyre corrupt. I think foreign aid is on the long run actually harming the development of the third world.

Not really. Spending money on building clean water and sanitation systems in poorer countries is wonderfully beneficial to those communities. As is building schools and hospitals and other infrastructure.

You know, there seems to be a tendency to just think aid does nothing but actually there has been serious progress in much of Africa and a lot of that is down to foreign aid.

Yes you need the rule of law, but you also need clean drinking water and housing and schools.

Reply 32

Original post by DeBruyne18

That's rather silly. Where do you think they get their money from? A huge amount of foreign aid goes to charities who carry out such work.

Locals don't have enough money or resources to do it, that's why we have foreign aid.

Not every volunteering program costs money. A lot of the time its labor time to create better working conditions on farms etc.

So no locals have accommodation or money?

Didier Drogba built something like three new hospitals in his country, don't see foreign aid doing that.

Reply 33

Original post by jdddd

Not every volunteering program costs money. A lot of the time its labor time to create better working conditions on farms etc.

So no locals have accommodation or money?

Didier Drogba built something like three new hospitals in his country, don't see foreign aid doing that.

How on earth are you going to build schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure without money?

No the locals don't have money, that's why we're helping them.

Reply 34

Original post by DeBruyne18

Not really. Spending money on building clean water and sanitation systems in poorer countries is wonderfully beneficial to those communities. As is building schools and hospitals and other infrastructure.

You know, there seems to be a tendency to just think aid does nothing but actually there has been serious progress in much of Africa and a lot of that is down to foreign aid.

Yes you need the rule of law, but you also need clean drinking water and housing and schools.

It would be good if we can get water to these communities. However, in the reality world, thats not where most of the money goes. Or we would have so many more communities with water. Most of the charity boses are on plus three hundred thousand a year. Ridiculous.

Also, evidence the 'serious progress', have you seen it first hand?

Reply 35

the bear

20

so many countries rejected our care as part of the Empire and now depend on our handouts after leaving.

smh

Reply 36

Original post by DeBruyne18

How on earth are you going to build schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure without money?

No the locals don't have money, that's why we're helping them.

Name me a hospital or school built with foreign aid money. I may allow one road which was built in Afghanistan, but that was for the safety of our troops. You mean the same locals we get our fruit and vegetables from?

Reply 37

Original post by DeBruyne18

How on earth are you going to build schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure without money?

No the locals don't have money, that's why we're helping them.

'While giving a country the money to build a hospital may sound like a great thing to do, it has only a temporary and very localised effect. The secondary, and more important long-term impact is that the country doesn’t develop its own institutions and tax systems.
The government of the recipient country would have needed to tax in order to build the hospital. But without the need to tax, the government hasn’t had to act legitimately such that its citizens will pay up on time and in full. There is no incentive for the government to respect its citizens and vice versa.'

http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/foreign_aid_has_ceased_to_be_about_results

Reply 38

Trapz99

21

I think we should spend 0.7% but it should be spent on countries that actually need it. Not countries like India and Pakistan which have nuclear weapons and India has a space program as well. They should be spending their money on providing opportunities for their poor, not on unnecessary projects.

Foreign aid acts as a form of soft power. It helps us to improve our diplomatic relations with countries and can lead to economic benefits for us later on. People seem to think that we send aid because we’re nice. That’s not purely why we do it. It’s to encourage countries to develop better relations with us.

Reply 39

ckfeister