Thanks for Nothing

Foreign aid for Hurricane Katrina dismal?Posted by John Bill on September 01, 2005 05:24 AM (See all posts by John Bill)Filed under: Politics, Politics: U.S., Politics: World
Katadyn Hiker PRO Water MicrofilterSports from KatadynRelease date: 01 March, 2005The United States has a long history of helping lesser countries when they are down on their luck. Whenever there is a disaster in the world, there we are giving a helping hand. We are the go to guy whenever a country needs serious help. Consider the following:
In 2004, the United States Federal government gave $18.9 billion in humanitarian financial aid.
In 2004, Japan the second largest governmental donator, gave only $8.8 billion(USD); less than half the amount given by the United States
According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel's Trust for Philanthropy in Indianapolis, private American citizens gave an estimated $240.92 billion in gifts equalling 2.3 percent of US gross domestic product, to charities of all types.
The United States has spent trillions on the defense of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and the Middle East, without ever asking for anything in payment other than friendship.
American inventions and ingenuity have given the world the ability to feed more people than in any time in history.
American technology has given the world the means to communicate in ways that would make the greatest king of yore insane with jealousy. America has given the world so much in last two hundred years, yet has asked for so little in return. Yet here it is several days after the worst natural disaster in modern American history and the only news report I have seen from other countries is one from the BBC. In it Her Majesty, The Queen of England, sends her condolences. Condolences? Thanks Liz, but how about some cash from your fellow Europeans or Japan? Hey Canada, how about some bottled water? The silence is deafening! The world always has their collective hands out to the USA, least we come a runnin', they get mighty upset. Take for example the Tsunami disaster in Indonesia. The Norwegian Ambassador to the UN, Jan Egeland, called President Bush a cheapskate for not coughing up money fast enough. Funny thing that we haven't heard from of good ole Jan Jan the Norwegian Man of late?