Counterproductive Foreign Aid Should be Cut

Not only do foreign aid programs cost Americans billions each year, some of them are counterproductive. My friend Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, highlights a new study found at Downsizinggovernment.org, that says foreign aid not only costs too much, but can even be counterproductive in its results. He writes:

The federal government funds an array of aid programs aimed at promoting growth in less-developed countries. Funding goes to federal agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, and it also goes to international aid groups, such as the World Bank.

The federal government spends more than $30 billion annually on foreign aid. Aid spending has more than doubled in the past two decades. The Trump administration has called for substantial cuts to foreign aid spending.

Ian Vásquez has published a new study on foreign aid at DownsizingGovernment.org. He argues that despite the political enthusiasm for aid, there is little evidence that it is effective. Indeed, it is often counterproductive. There is no correlation between foreign aid and economic growth, and efforts to condition the receipt of aid on market reforms have failed. As such, Ian argues that the federal government should end its development aid programs.

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.