Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

cidrap.umn.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 127 posts

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#81

Post by normalaccess »

BobaFloutist wrote: post #47
redleader55 wrote: post #18

Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.

Because we already volunteered to do this specific thing, so it's incredibly disruptive for us to back out at (or well after) the last minute. Other countries do other things, and it would be similarly disruptive if they pulled or froze funding and operational support with 0 notice. It'd be like if Microsoft donated free copies of Windows to a hospital and then one day was like "Actually we've been donating too much…

It's always a shame when people get used to free things because they lose the ability to provide for themselves.

I say we stop so other countries can spin up their own programs and pay for it. I have zero interest in using TAX dollars to fund medical programs outside the US.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#82

Post by normalaccess »

mplanchard wrote: post #64
bluefirebrand wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think the rest of the world will withdraw from trusting the US after this and other actions The USA currently has a problem where a large portion of the US population no longer trusts the USA. That population shifts depending on whichever group is in charge of the federal government Maybe this is not the way to repair that trust, I don't know. But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money t…

Foreign aid is (was) 1% of the US budget

And is highly abused, cut it.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#83

Post by ModernMech »

aprilthird2021 wrote: post #32
thecuntdaniel wrote: post #24

[flagged]

I do think it's crazy the degree to which the entire world seems to rely on us. And our own politicians are the ones who have sent our hard-earned billions of dollars away to foreign countries, many of whom feign being allies but really provide us with no benefit at all

The US's vast wealth depends on keeping other countries dependent on us; if they weren't so dependent, they wouldn't be so compliant.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#84

Post by normalaccess »

mplanchard wrote: post #68
aprilthird2021 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money to other countries" is a step to repair some of that trust with the population Yes, bingo. On both sides, people have become extremely sick of seeing "billions of dollars sent to X" in the news knowing that we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid

> we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid 21% of the federal budget goes to Social Security (aid) 16% goes to medicare (aid) 10% goes to other health spending (probably at least partially aid -- edit: further research shows that of this, around 90% is some kind of aid) 7% goes to income security (aid) 4% goes to veteran services (aid) 3% goes to education, training, employment, and…

It's not the spending itself that's the problem. It's the the waste in each program. The middle men and NGO's that are hovering up free money from the tax payers that is the problem.

All these programs are treated like cookie jars and everyone gets a nibble.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#85

Post by janeroe »

throwway120385 wrote: post #34
redleader55 wrote: post #18

Why is the US contribution so critical to anything outside the US when there so many other rich countries that could pick up the slack? Does this mean that besides US no one else cares? I can't believe that's true.

Because we get a lot of travelers through our country who may otherwise spread TB here if we made no effort to control it outside of the country, and it would be a huge public health problem for us despite the fact that treatment for it is readily available in our country. If we're going to do this we should probably institute some kind of health screening during the immigration process at entry points.

> Because we get a lot of travelers through our country who may otherwise spread TB here if we made no effort to control it outside of the country

A dozen of vaccines and a proof (from the doctors certified by the US officials) that you have no contagious diseases (including TB) is a prerequisite to get any US visa. The only way to bring TB to the US, I presume, is to jump over the fence at the border.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#86

Post by janeroe »

mplanchard wrote: post #64
bluefirebrand wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think the rest of the world will withdraw from trusting the US after this and other actions The USA currently has a problem where a large portion of the US population no longer trusts the USA. That population shifts depending on whichever group is in charge of the federal government Maybe this is not the way to repair that trust, I don't know. But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money t…

Foreign aid is (was) 1% of the US budget

And that's 1% (of the whole budget) too much.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#87

Post by ModernMech »

janeroe wrote: post #79
BobaFloutist wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because we already volunteered to do this specific thing, so it's incredibly disruptive for us to back out at (or well after) the last minute. Other countries do other things, and it would be similarly disruptive if they pulled or froze funding and operational support with 0 notice. It'd be like if Microsoft donated free copies of Windows to a hospital and then one day was like "Actually we've been donating too much…

[flagged]

That's now how it works in the US. Every 2 years we have an opportunity to vote for our representatives. They set the budget, and if we don't like it we can elect new representatives who will set a budget closer to our liking.

This isn't a matter of taxes being spent on things we didn't agree to, because spending this money is a priority for many Americans. For other's it's not, but that doesn't mean the money is being coerced. That's the deal with living in a pluralistic society; your personal priorities aren't the only ones. Sometimes public money is spent on things you don't like, and that's okay because other people don't like their money being spent on the things you do like. Everyone is happy yet unhappy - compromise.

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#88

Post by amarcheschi »

Hasu wrote: post #16
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What trust? Other governments trust the USA as much as people trust Facebook to deliver them non brain rot content or McDonalds to serve them a healthy nutritious meal. Countries have a mutually beneficial relationship with the US out of need(world's biggest economy and consumer market), out of fear(world's biggest military), and out o necessity (Russia and China being worse alternatives) not out of trust. Basically,…

Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Global geopolitics are complicated . It's true on some level that no one trusts anyone else, but relative levels of trust still matter. There aren't many superpowers out there, if the US is seen as unreliable, China and the EU can step in and replace US influence. This has been happening in Africa for a couple decades or…

US single handedly boosting European investment in European defense companies

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#89

Post by normalaccess »

normalaccess wrote: post #81
BobaFloutist wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because we already volunteered to do this specific thing, so it's incredibly disruptive for us to back out at (or well after) the last minute. Other countries do other things, and it would be similarly disruptive if they pulled or froze funding and operational support with 0 notice. It'd be like if Microsoft donated free copies of Windows to a hospital and then one day was like "Actually we've been donating too much…

It's always a shame when people get used to free things because they lose the ability to provide for themselves. I say we stop so other countries can spin up their own programs and pay for it. I have zero interest in using TAX dollars to fund medical programs outside the US.

For people down-voting, it's no different than being told "Don't feed the bears" and Yellowstone Park. It's worse off for the animals because they become dependent.

Link to Eric Olszewski's blog on the topic: https://medium.com/@eolszewski/dont-feed-the-humans-they-wil...

Re: USAID funding freeze disrupts global tuberculosis control efforts

#90

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

EA-3167 wrote: post #74
LunaSea wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Estonia and Poland both spend more as % of GDP than the US. The US also spends less than the amount designated by the UN on foreign aid. America also spent less than Germany in % of GDP in the World Health Organization funding.

As a percentage of GDP alright. Now how about absolute numbers, because pretending that doesn't matter isn't particularly helpful, and feels like playing with numbers rather than dealing with reality.

Although I am not a Christian, the parable of the poor widows offering always resonated with me.

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Post reply on HN