International aid - arguments for and against stopping it

[12gauge]

Individuals are free to give if they want to, and free to not give if they dont want to.

Dont see why or how it can be justified that governments assume citizens donation intentions for them.

[HundredthIdiot]

12gauge said:

Individuals are free to give if they want to, and free to not give if they dont want to.

Dont see why or how it can be justified that governments assume citizens donation intentions for them.

It's not that simple. The two types of aid are often different, e.g. Government aid with political strings attached. If you strip out all the state aid that looks like actual charity, the remainder looks like naked arm-twisting.

TBH, it doesn't really matter where the aid comes from, the whole system is a mess. I know people who've lived and worked in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and the entire economy becomes distorted around foreign contributions. Anyone local with skills and talent ends up working for the NGOs rather than the government, whilst the weak, corrupt government (relieved of much of the burden of running the country) continues to focus on political and military game-playing.