Saturday, July 29, 2006

note on foreign aid

Kathy at relapsed catholic post about how foreign aid, in this case food, is actually harmful to third world nations. 
One way food aid makes matters worse is by immediately depressing the price of any food that's produced locally. (Who can compete with free food?) And therefore putting any local farmers who have managed to weather the current famine or conflict or other crisis out of business or relegating them entirely to subsistence farming for their own needs
This also goes for clothing.  Many in the poorer countries work in the textile industry, so our "aid" puts people out of work.  What the mostly need is for the UN and ilk to leave them alone.  If these nations can put off the communist/muslim shackles, then the just need to be free and work out their own prosperity.

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