Are you for or against foriegn aid

"Charity starts at home".


I don't see the problem with not giving money abroad, but giving it to needy people here, in our country, it's our money.
 
Against.

I donate to charity already, which is my choice, if I wanted to donate to foreign aid I would.
 
we should spend more on FA

should we be more careful about who we give it to ? yes

people saying "charity begins at home" even if you were homeless on the streets in the uk you would still have it better than the people this aid is supposed to help

for some countries FA will be the only thing from them collapsing into a failed state, as seen with somalia, you cant just leave them to it and expect them not to start resorting to piracy etc to get money for food

people criticising aid for Pakistan are overlooking the fact that we really really dont want them becoming a failed state (with nuclear weapons no less) when we are trying to withdraw ourselves from Afghanistan, it may be the lesser of two evils, but what other choice is there?
 
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gettothechopper said:
we should spend more on FA

should we be more careful about who we give it to ? yes

people saying "charity begins at home" even if you were homeless on the streets in the uk you would still have it better than the people this aid is supposed to help

for some countries FA will be the only thing from them collapsing into a failed state, as seen with somalia, you cant just leave them to it and expect them not to start resorting to piracy etc to get money for food

people criticising aid for Pakistan are overlooking the fact that we really really dont want them becoming a failed state (with nuclear weapons no less) when we are trying to withdraw ourselves from Afghanistan, it may be the lesser of two evils, but what other choice is there?
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We've been giving foreign aid to these countries for decades. They're still in the same **** situation they were in 10,20,30+ years ago, so clearly just throwing money at the problem isn't solving it (who'd have thought it...;))

Giving them more and more money is really just perpetuating the issue - it's like buying an alcoholic booze so they don't suffer from withdrawal. There's no incentive for them to sort themselves out, because they know we'll just keep on giving.

The harsh reality is that countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, etc. don't have the climate/environment to support a high population of human life, the soil is no good for farming, and poor for livestock.

Giving people in these countries the bare minimum needed to just about survive means more people live to breed, meaning more kids born into poverty & famine. It doesn't take a genius to work out that if you're struggling to feed yourself, and having to walk 20 miles a day for a bucket of water, then maybe having 5-6 kids isn't that great an idea. But it's ok, because Oxfam will show a few manipulative videos on TV, and the UK will bend over backwards to make sure those kids grow up to have more kids of their own and exacerbate the situation, all the while taxing its own population to the hilt.
 
Frightful Boar said:
Still waiting to hear how you put your money where your mouth is. What is it that you do to uphold these lofty principles?
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Of all the people on this forum I don't have to justify myself to you. ;)

Haggisman said:
I take it you live in a dirty hovel, and every other day tell your kids "sorry Timmy, you're not eating tonight, you got fed yesterday, Xabu over in Ethiopa hasn't eaten in a week, so he's having your dinner"?

Or do you make sure that your family is properly taken care of before considering if you have the spare money to look after others?

If it's the former, then good on you for sticking to your principles, I can't imagine there are many who would do the same. If it's the latter, then, well, I think that's pretty blatant hypocrisy.

In essence, we as a nation are a "family" and mummy and daddy government have a responsibility to make sure their own family are looked after properly before concerning themselves with the homeless guy down the road.
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What an utterly idiotic post.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the fallacy of false choices, where one must donate 100% of everything they do to not be a hypocrite & support societal changes which result in reduced human suffering.

Well done /golf clap.

Do you think that if we scrap foreign aid, poverty will end in the UK?, do you really think that the two are directly connected?, seriously? - is this how your mind "works"?

I agree we should take care of our own, but we can already do that - we simply choose not - what we don't have to do is abandon our responsibility to the rest of the human race to look after our own.

UncleRuckus said:
Actually it is my soil, I was born here, my parents were born here, my grand parents were born here; you get the picture. On top of that I have a legal document proving this fact.
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I really don't care about your lineage, that generations past of yours spawned here means nothing in reality, people are people.

UncleRuckus said:
No you are quite right about choosing who you help shouldn't be limited to where you are born, I send money over to the people of Palestine to help with their problems and I also help with local charities including animal ones because they are my choice of people/orgs to help.

As for helping Africans, on that same hand what makes their suffering greater than the English?

I do not wish to be taxed to subsidize their farmers so they can make money growing crops for bio fuels instead of food, nor to I want that money to go the those wicked *******s who oppress them.
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That's an argument in favour of ensuring the money spent is spent correctly - not an argument in favour of slashing foreign aid.

A difference exists.

I also note the kind of people vehemently in favour of slashing foreign aid are the exact same people in favour of slashing welfare in the UK mostly - just having the nerve to use some kind of faux "looking after our own" morality to justify being empathically retarded.
 
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greasing the wheels "aid" ican support. throwing money at the black hole that is Africa on the other hand not so much.
 
Very much in favour. People here are saying the money could be spent better here; I disagree. We live in a privileged position here. We have clean water hot and cold, electricity, a roof over our heads, very few of us ever go hungry, we have television and radio and internet to keep us entertained, free healthcare and education, and a welfare system to provide a modicum of support if we happen to fall on hard times.

Now compare that to the squalid conditions that some of our fellow human beings have to endure. Water that might kill them. Very limited food supply. People dying of diseases which would be easily curable if only they'd had the good fortune to be born into a country with a national health service. Education limited to a lucky few.

We could do better in ensuring the money we donate doesn't get embezzled by corrupt local politicians and warlords. We could do better in ensuring that the aid we give is aimed at long-term improvement, so as to avoid dependency on that aid. But I would not begrudge 0.7% because of that. What little does get through, that does some good.
 
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I'm in favour of foreign aid assuming it is regularly reviewed, for instance the UK will stop giving direct aid to India by 2015, that should have happened years, if not decades ago.

There also needs to be far more transparency regarding where the aid goes and how it is spent.
 
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I'm indifferent to it;

If I were taxed less, I'd have more money.
If I had more money, I'd be more charitable anyway.

Although as it is vice versa, I would like more choice/say in where it goes.
 
I agree with the general principle, but not in how it often used: as a bribe to a country to adopt a particular policy favourable to Britain. Or sometimes, just to buy our guns/tanks/ships etc.
 
dbmzk1 said:
This.

Sort our own affairs out first.
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This. I'm all for helping people in other countries but charity does indeed begin at home especially in the current financial climate we find ourselves in.

Address issues here at home in the UK and then we can think about sending financial help abroad.
 
Judgeneo said:
For.

Though there are undoubtedly questions on how it is spent
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This is exactly right. I wouldn't mind lowering my quality of life, if it truly meant that people in 3rd world countries could be raised up to our level. Or even if that could happen in the long term.

But I have zero confidence - none at all - that the money is spent in a proper manner. It is either lost to corruption (with is rife), goes to bolstering military spending, buys luxuries for the wealthy ruling classes, or gets wasted in bureaucracy.

Let it be on record that I'd happily give 10% of all my earnings to raising the quality of life in these places, if I thought it would make a difference.

I don't honestly believe charity begins at home. We have vastly more than we need, and should be more than capable of taking care of our own population as well as lending a helping hand to other nations.

But I don't donate - won't donate - because I'm certain we're just peeing all that money into the wind.
 
Personally in good economic times I am for it.

When times are tight as they are you need to sort your own house before fixing others.
 
tintin82 said:
India imports £2.733 BILLION of UK goods last year, and ranked 4th in the world for imports to India. So dont winge about the £50mil that greases the palms!
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This would be my view, in regions of the worlds who still run on bribes ( and that's lot) as long as the value we get from it vastly exceeds the amount we have to bribe (under the guise of giftaid) then its very worthwhile.
We can also claim we are wonderful donated this money, and how naughty the bold men are for spending in so poorly.
 
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