Spend tax dollars locally

“There’s a sucker born every minute.” P.T. Barnum

Ron and Rand Paul are two names not familiar to most Canadians but they created quite a stir south of the border by calling for an end to all foreign aid and total withdrawal of American forces worldwide in an effort to save money. Needless to say, this common sense suggestion received scorn from many quarters fearing it would reduce prestige, weaken security and deflate well-meaning intentions. They’re wrong.

Any thinking person would be hard pressed to underestimate the intelligence of American foreign policy. They’ve spent trillions, lost thousands of lives, wasted scarce resources and have been given nothing but scorn and hatred in return. They’re by far the largest per capita donors on the planet in all kinds of emergencies from tsunamis, floods and earthquakes, and for what? Their policy for respect begs for repeal in light of severe domestic budgetary woes.

As with many good ideas, this one won’t see the light of day. For some incomprehensible reason, political leaders in the Western world seem programmed to severely tax their constituencies in order to toss out money into futile wars, bloated bureaucracies and less than savoury regimes.

Canada is a poster child of the international aid industry. We’ve thrown away billions in Haiti, squandered equal amounts in Africa, and still recklessly donate hundreds of millions to China and India which have space programs, nuclear weapons and ascendant economies. Shouldn’t they be donating to us instead?

Our local MP responded to my queries in this regard by casually suggesting these amounts are only a small portion of the total budget in Canada and gave me the impression that I must be some kind of tightwad for insisting my tax dollars be spent here in the Great White North. She’s right. I’ll admit to having a mean streak against anyone who takes money from me by force and blows it on vague, unending, immeasurable programs that supposedly help my less fortunate fellow human beings do the same stupid things over and over again.

Is Haiti better off than before? The answer is no. Do the different ethnic groups on Cyprus get along better now after our “peacekeeping” efforts? Until the apologists and whiners get attuned to the truth that only trade and commerce, not handouts, will improve peoples’ lives, hardworking Canadian taxpayers will continue to have their pockets picked by do-gooders throwing away valuable resources in faraway places. The upheavals in the Muslim world are an example. America has been propping up whichever thug-in-chief they feel best represents their interests ending with nobody happy and Americans hated. Again, money wasted.

Largesse simply begets more largesse. Next year, the budgets will come out and the recipients will complain about not getting enough help while Western militaries will pursue useless agendas and foreign aid departments merrily waste money on illusory pipe dreams of a better world.