Frustration

So the Chinese gave a paltry $1 million to Haiti. So what do we Americans do? Well, we borrow $100+ mill from the Chinese (with interest) and "donate" it to the Haitians. I don't want my tax dollars going to Haiti, much less empowering our landlords aka the Chinese. I'd rather write a check to the red cross than have Uncle Sam decide what's best. Look how wasteful we are in Iraq. What about the Cartels in the middle east who rake in billions each year in oil revenues? They're quick to label us as the Great Satan, but where's their generosity?

hah. our government = fail.

I always make the recommendation to give to Salvation Army. This came about from being deployed for Hurricane Rita when it struck Texas. We tried in vain to get some supplies through the Red Cross for local families in need. Red Cross was worthless and from everybody that had been dealing with the red Cross their opinion was the same. We asked the Salvation Army when we were tired of dealing with the Red Cross(day and a half) and before the end of the day the items we requested were brought to us via a food truck. I wish I knew how many people the Salvation Army fed during that event, they setup routes and delivered hot food to I would guess thousands of people two and three times daily. The Salvation Army was awesome, their people and their attitude was truly about helping and making the situation better.

Since that Deployment I've never passed a red Kettle without donating money. Most people do not have a clue how good of an organization the Salvation Army is. I salute their efforts and everything they have done, the Red Cross not so much too bureaucratic.

The American public not the Government have given more then many governments and to be honest in my opinion this is what it is about. This isn't a Government thing it is a one person to another helping each other for a better tomorrow.

These are my thoughts and opinions.

ps. Italy can take a hike too.

I don't see what's wrong with our government donating money and assistance to Haiti. They are neighbors of ours and a very poor nation that just went through a horrible tragedy. I think we should be looking out for our neighbors in their time of need.

The government should stay out of the donations and leave it to individual citizens to donate. We have provided most of the relief effort so far.

If I may, we must look beyond politics and look at the human suffering and help the people and children that are in need. There are always those looking for pats on the back, let’s get beyond that.

js4253 said:

The government should stay out of the donations and leave it to individual citizens to donate. We have provided most of the relief effort so far.

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Absolutely!

C_Cabra said:

I don't see what's wrong with our government donating money and assistance to Haiti. They are neighbors of ours and a very poor nation that just went through a horrible tragedy. I think we should be looking out for our neighbors in their time of need.

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i guess my concern is under what authority did we do this? what right does our government have to donate my money to someone else?

All of our donations are strategic. The US has always used money to bend the will of nearby nations. Cuba and Haiti have something we don't want flooding our shores. People. We made the Wet Feet, Dry Feet policy for Cubans where we said if we see you at sea, we turn you around or detain you and ship you back, but if you make it to land - welcome aboard. For Haitians, until last week, there was a special policy crafted in 2001 to detain every Haitian arriving, regardless of asylum status or claim. The INS actually held one child after being ordered to release him because there was no adoption or child welfare agency to send him to in Haiti. They preferred disobeying court orders to having the Haitian child in our system here.

This money and our efforts is aimed at keeping Haitians in Haiti.

Instability on our borders means it spills over our borders. We save money by helping (or forcing stability) in other countries.

I don't know if it helps ease minds that the donation isn't necessarily altruistic.