Americans still think 28 % of the budget goes to foreign aid

[ROB]

For years, the example budget wonks turn to when they want to underscore the public's ignorance about the budget is the baffling, but persistent, belief that foreign aid is bankrupting the country.
"Foreign aid is the only program that [people] consistently favor cutting," said Bruce Bartlett with a sigh, "perhaps because of grossly overestimating its share of the budget." He went on to list poll after poll showing the public's wildly incorrect opinions about how much the United States spends helping other countries.
And yet the perception persists. A new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans think 28 percent of the budget goes to foreign aid. That would make foreign aid pricier than Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or all defense spending.
Of course, foreign aid isn't that pricey. About 1 percent of the budget goes toward foreign aid. And the Kaiser poll found that when you tell people that fact, it changes their opinions:

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But as of yet, budget wonks haven't had a shadow of success at convincing the country that foreign aid is a tiny sliver of federal spending.

[friendlyskies]

Well, it's been such a big, overblown talking point on teevee news (not just right wing teevee news, either, also CNN and maybe other outlets as well) that it's no wonder people overestimate it. Like Benghazi or Obama takin' our guns…. it's not like USAmericans are morons (necessarily), but we do trust television news, or at least the brand of television news that deliberately reinforces our biases, as opposed to that other station that just lies. I guess because television news was sort of trustworthy up until fairly recently.

Another thing USAmericans seem angrily unaware of is that foreign aid is almost as important as military might in terms of keeping us in a superpower position. China is so good at that, building big public works projects in the developing world that provide an outlet for government investment (and manipulation) in private companies, while creating a foothold for Chinese power in those countries. Like Brazil. The rest of Latin America (except Cuba) has the USA as its number one creditor and trading partner, with the EU a distant second and China an even more distant third. Maybe in Peru, Panama, and/or Costa Rica, China is number two, I haven't seen recent stats. But that's going to change. China is probably going to be #2 in Latin America by 2020, and gradually take over the USA's top spot, country by country, starting five years ago. Brazil is happy with China not just because they buy up tons of minerals and farmland, but also because of the so-called Silk Road, or Interoceanic Highway, the first paved road across the Amazon and Andes.



Ostensibly it's foreign aid. Two major ports (fitted for Chinamax ships ahem), easier access for tourists to places like Cuzco and Manaus, a road for the pueblo, etc. But it's also one hell of a lot cheaper and more effective than trying to beat Brazil in a war, or even muscle them militarily, like Putin and Ukraine. Sure, Putin got his port back, but China got two ports and an awesome fucking road and two governments of regional powers (Brazil and Peru) at their beck and call. Putin's going to be trying to hold onto that port, and spending gazillions of rubles and man hours to do it, for the rest of his reign. China can kind of forget about it, use the ports, use the road, and focus on building a canal across Nicaragua. It's kind of funny, Putin wants Nicaragua to be his little Latin American buddy right now, but they're like, "You all kick down a few million a year, and we appreciate that and will support you in the UN, but China is building us this canal…. if we have to choose, we're going with China."

And in the meantime, back in the USA, we're like, "Should we go to war with Venezuela, or just destabilize them using the CIA?" Well, fuck, why don't you build them a fucking road or something… oh right, that's foreign aid, which is 28% of the national budget and SOCIALISM and we don't want to aid socialists with my taxes because FREEDOM. Let's bomb the fuck out of them instead!

[Tarkan]

China is probably going to be #2 in Latin America by 2020, and gradually take over the USA's top spot, country by country, starting five years ago.

China is about to implode. I wouldn't bank on them taking the top spot any time soon.

[ROB]

China is about to implode.

How so?

[coldharvest]

China is about to implode.

How so?

environmentally, socially, politically, take your pick
traditionally, much like Scotland, China has always been China's greatest enemy
...and if you don't believe me feel free to read the big book of Chinese history




as far as US citizens believing in the Foreign Aid Fairy that makes perfect sense considering that around 25% of the population believes in Angels
and around the same number are functionally illiterate

[svizzerams]

China is about to implode.

How so?

environmentally, socially, politically, take your pick
traditionally, much like Scotland, China has always been China's greatest enemy
...and if you don't believe me feel free to read the big book of Chinese history




as far as US citizens believing in the Foreign Aid Fairy that makes perfect sense considering that around 25% of the population believes in Angels
and around the same number are functionally illiterate

ha ha ha....sob.

[Tarkan]

China is about to implode.

How so?

environmentally, socially, politically, take your pick
traditionally, much like Scotland, China has always been China's greatest enemy
...and if you don't believe me feel free to read the big book of Chinese history

I was thinking economically. The mother of all bubbles is about to pop over there.

as far as US citizens believing in the Foreign Aid Fairy that makes perfect sense considering that around 25% of the population believes in Angels
and around the same number are functionally illiterate

That's racist.

[coldharvest]

That's racist.

I know

I just want to know what color God is so I know what to call him

[ReptilianKittenEater]

China has issues in the short term and long term. When it goes bottoms up, likely they will want some of those trillions invested in government debt back. In the long term they will be seeing an aging population and population decline within 30 years....What it took Western Europe to accomplish in 300 years they will do in 60. All that cheap labour will dry up, industry is already moving to Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh etc.

[ROB]

I was thinking economically. The mother of all bubbles is about to pop over there.

Do you think it will pop to the tune of making the economy contract?

[Holland]

Over the next several decades it will cease to matter where a company opens their factories. It will all be robotic labor anyway. In the US for example, people will start seeing a lot more "made in america" labels on the crap they buy, even though the manufacturer employs very few people.

Healthcare, agriculture, law enforcement. Robots.

First world countries that can afford the technology will start seeing their unemployment rates double every decade or so. And poor countries will have rising unemployment because their slave labor is no longer required. Those drones took our jobs.

[roach coach]

Another thing USAmericans seem angrily unaware of is that foreign aid is almost as important as military might in terms of keeping us in a superpower position.

And not just to maintain hegemony, but in the rest of our overseas endeavors be it conflict-related or not.

“If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately. So I think it’s a cost benefit ratio. The more that we put into the State Department’s diplomacy, hopefully the less we have to put into a military budget as we deal with the outcome of an apparent American withdrawal from the international scene.”

-Gen. James Mattis, USMC (Ret.)

[coldharvest]

Mad Dog for President