Why do we send £400 million to Pakistan etc?

Why do we send £400 million to Pakistan etc?

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rb5230

Original Poster:

11,657 posts

171 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
So i heard on the radio this morning that every year we send over 400 million pounds to Pakistan and over 600 million to India every year along with a host of other countries, like we are rolling in it or something.

All the while most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.

Apparently its for helping poverty which apparently does not exist in this country. I`m sure a few billion would help out quite a lot in our country.

Should we not decide what we want to spend our money on?

If we were a bit better off ourselves i would have no problem with helping everyone that needs it but the UK is in a terrible state at the moment.

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
There's an argument that our (UK) "terrible state" is still orders of magnitude better than Pakistan and India's "terrible states". Maybe some residual colonial guilt too.

That said, as both are countries that can afford a nuclear weapons program, should we really be providing aid?

Edit: We did decide what to spend our money on, through the medium of democratic elections. I think UKIP suggested cutting overseas aid and I'm pretty sure other fringe parties did too (I can't imagine the BNP promoting lots of foreign aid hehe).

Fittster

20,120 posts

212 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Because we have to bribe (i.e. give aid) those country so they will buy the non-competitive products produced by British industry.

Hugo a Gogo

23,378 posts

232 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
don't know why the aid is sent, but this...
rb5230 said:
most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.
is bks

SplatSpeed

7,490 posts

250 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Hugo a Gogo said:
don't know why the aid is sent, but this...
rb5230 said:
most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.
is bks
care to explain your thoughts?

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
SplatSpeed said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
don't know why the aid is sent, but this...
rb5230 said:
most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.
is bks
care to explain your thoughts?
Even if true...
"struggling to fill the car" in the UK -> "what car?" for the poor in India/Pakistan
"struggling to pay rent/mortgage" in the UK -> "no rent on the shanty shack"
"struggling to buy food" -> "scavenging rubbish dumps for food"

Poverty does exist in the UK but it's still a much higher standard of living than poverty in India/Pakistan.

Whether any of that justifies a heavily indebted country spending millions on overseas aid is the question.

Pixel Pusher

10,188 posts

158 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
I think maybe the statements are a little dressed up to promote a reaction such as this. It is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch and I suspect that these sums are probably sweetners for lucrative trade deals and permissions to trade within these nations. I do wonder how much of those totals are actually ultimately spent on combating poverty there. I would wager substantially less than quoted.

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/media/pressRelease...

s1962a

5,263 posts

161 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
UK: Hello
Pakistan: Hello
UK: We need your help to bomb the insurgents
Pakistan: No
UK: Please. We'll ask you nicely.
Pakistan: No
UK: We'll give you £400mil in aid and you can pocket most of it
Pakistan: I'll think about it

rb5230

Original Poster:

11,657 posts

171 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
SplatSpeed said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
don't know why the aid is sent, but this...
rb5230 said:
most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.
is bks
care to explain your thoughts?
Yes i would like to hear that too. I know lots of people struggling a lot at the moment and people who have had to default on their mortgages and sell all their possesions.

Every month i am spending more than I am bringing in and that is without going out anywhere or buying anything. And i know there are even less well paid jobs than my pathetic one.

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
rb5230 said:
Yes i would like to hear that too. I know lots of people struggling a lot at the moment and people who have had to default on their mortgages and sell all their possesions.

Every month i am spending more than I am bringing in and that is without going out anywhere or buying anything. And i know there are even less well paid jobs than my pathetic one.
To balance that out, I don't know anyone who has defaulted on their rent/mortgage or sold all their stuff. Does that make it 1:1 (that's how anecdotal evidence works, yes)?

I know plenty of people (us included) who are cutting back on luxuries and saving money where we can.

JonnyFive

29,387 posts

188 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
I thought it was more of a trade deal?

We'll give you money if you buy our stuff?

AJI

5,180 posts

216 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Its always nice of the UK to help out with funding other countries to develop and build nuclear weapons.

s1962a

5,263 posts

161 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
AJI said:
Its always nice of the UK to help out with funding other countries to develop and build nuclear weapons.
As long as it serves our purpose

.:ian:.

1,921 posts

202 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
There cant be any poverty in India, they are spunking $1.45Bn on their space program this year.

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110301-indian-space...


SplatSpeed

7,490 posts

250 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
you want to give money to foreigners Fine.

however raise money through charity not Taxes!

Hugo a Gogo

23,378 posts

232 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
rb5230 said:
SplatSpeed said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
don't know why the aid is sent, but this...
rb5230 said:
most people in this country are struggling just to fill the car with petrol, pay rent/mortgage and buy food etc.
is bks
care to explain your thoughts?
Yes i would like to hear that too. I know lots of people struggling a lot at the moment and people who have had to default on their mortgages and sell all their possesions.

Every month i am spending more than I am bringing in and that is without going out anywhere or buying anything. And i know there are even less well paid jobs than my pathetic one.
cars and fuel are still being sold, obesity is still an epidemic, house prices are still going up

there is no way that MOST people in the UK cannot afford the basics - not luxuries, but food, rent and transport to and from work

perhaps some people have overreached themselves, can't afford their big mortgages, but that isn't quite the same thing

JB!

5,254 posts

179 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
.:ian:. said:
There cant be any poverty in India, they are spunking $1.45Bn on their space program this year.

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110301-indian-space...
Sickening waste of money.

s1962a

5,263 posts

161 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
India is a different case. It's blatantly a bribe so they buy our stuff and do business with us over others.

Did India actually ask for this money or was it offered to them?

rb5230

Original Poster:

11,657 posts

171 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Hugo a Gogo said:
cars and fuel are still being sold, obesity is still an epidemic, house prices are still going up

there is no way that MOST people in the UK cannot afford the basics - not luxuries, but food, rent and transport to and from work

perhaps some people have overreached themselves, can't afford their big mortgages, but that isn't quite the same thing
Ok perhaps not most people, although it would seem most people i speak to even well to do people say they are struggling.

But then perhaps there is struggling and then there is really struggling, and i bet some of those billions would be very much appreciated by the at least hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in our own country that really are struggling or the millions that cannot get a job or training to get on with their lives howeve much they try.

As another poster said, I am happy to give money when I can afford through charity but not be forced to send it through taxes, and if i am to be forced through taxes i would much rather the money went to help those in my own country 1st.

Do other countries send so much "aid money"?