This is one of those op-eds which drives me crazy. I am referring to the piece in today's NY Times Op-Ed Contributors: A Global Tax Credit by Justin Muzinich (works for a hedge fund in Connecticut)and Eric Werker (an assistant professor at Harvard Business School).
My views on this issue are summarized here:
1. We should end all foreign aid. To balance out the hard feelings, we should stop fighting undeclared wars (e.g., get out of Iraq) and bring our troops home from South Korea.
2. Foreign aid to sub-Saharan Africa only worsens the poverty and misery there. (See "A Farewell to Alms" by Gregory Clark.)
3. Use some of the saved money from foreign aid and foreign wars to help disadvantaged Americans. The recipients would include, but not be limited to, our poor and homeless citizens. The rest of the saved billions should be used in education and R&D for thermonuclear (fusion) power reactors.
The false premise of the op-ed is based on the notion that we can help sub-Saharan Africa by both direct aid and by economic development. This ignores the real problem: overpopulation in sub-Saharan Africa. Until that problem is addressed, no amount of aid will do anything but make the problem worse.
I am not an economist, but my educated guess is that this part of Africa has about 100 times too many people. The growth rate is the core of the problem. If the average number of children per adult female could be reduced to about 1, then over time the problem would go away.
To summarize, the problem in sub-Saharan Africa is overpopulation. Fix that problem, and the economic problems will disappear.
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3 comments:
If you look at the AUMF for the War On the Barbary Jihadis (Jefferson) and the AUMF for the war on Iraq (Bush II) you will find no substantial difference.
So if you accept the Barbary war as valid you must also accept Iraq. At least in so far as Congressional authorization is concerned.
A sound knowledge of history would improve the quality of your pronouncements. Or you can look up stuff in the wiki. Works for me.
BTW agree on the Global Tax.
Bad idea.
With all due respect, your logic fails me. Just because the AUMFs are similar (I will stipulate that) does not imply that the wars were the same. The scope of our "War On the Barbary Jihadis" was miniscule when compared to our wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. My post was about the draft vis a vis undeclared wars. The "War On the Barbary Jihadis" was more like Reagan's invasion of Grenada.
I think my knowledge of history is already "sound". I just don't call myself a "history buff". (That would not be humble of me.) I have used the wiki for years, thank you. My views about "history" mesh well with Nassim Taleb's. You ought to take a look at his book.
History is important, but it is also very unscientific. So leaders need to use better reasons than their interpretations of the "lessons of history" before they decisions that affect war and peace.
Jefferson's actions were correct in his "War On the Barbary Jihadis". Bush's actions were not correct, and Congress (as usual), in cowardice, failed to act responsibly.
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