FabSwingers.com forum: Foreign aid

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Just read news article the coalition are pressing ahead to make it legally binding that 0.7% of uk gdp this equated to billions.

If they saying we have that money then why not make the same law applicable for the poor and needy in uk.

I am in favour of proving aid to countries that genuinely need it but the amounts should not be set because in these hard times wht be so reckless.

If based on reports by the i fs and o p b r which are independent of the government are saying there is lot more cutbacks on public spending after next election how the hell can this be acceptable.

Either we have more money in the pot than told or it is just taking piss at expense of the uk folk in need of help.

Fact food banks are on the increase only shows the tip of the iceberg re poverty some people have to endure.

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By *oo hotCouple
over a year ago

North West

"Just read news article the coalition are pressing ahead to make it legally binding that 0.7% of uk gdp this equated to billions.

If they saying we have that money then why not make the same law applicable for the poor and needy in uk.

I am in favour of proving aid to countries that genuinely need it but the amounts should not be set because in these hard times wht be so reckless.

If based on reports by the i fs and o p b r which are independent of the government are saying there is lot more cutbacks on public spending after next election how the hell can this be acceptable.

Either we have more money in the pot than told or it is just taking piss at expense of the uk folk in need of help.

Fact food banks are on the increase only shows the tip of the iceberg re poverty some people have to endure.

By comparison to much of the developing world, poverty according to UK standards would be regarded as the height of luxury. Using a tiny proportion of this country's great wealth to help those whose lives depend on it is not a big ask.

Does 100% of it go where it should? Probably not. But is that a reason to condemn those dying through a lack of clean water to most certainly die?

I am a very selfish person but I have no issues with this because I accept that it is is nothing more of an accident of birth that it is not me in their position. I was lucky to be born in a wealthy country. Millions upon millions were not and if a tiny bit of what I contribute in taxes keeps someone, somewhere alive as opposed to paying a benefit to someone here who will never know the meaning of true poverty then I can live with that.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

So are you saying just because someone in uk who is suffering as some are should get less help than someone in another country.

Charity must begin at home theb if we have funds to hekp others then so be it.

To be clear I am not against foreign aid as such but to set a legal minimum when folk here are and will continue to live in poverty here are doing is an insult.

Think about this there are more folk relying on charities and foid banks just to survive and eat.

How on earth are they different to people abroad simple answer is there are no differences.

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By *dam_TinaCouple
over a year ago

Hampshire

Charity must begin at home

Why must it ?

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By *ngel n tedCouple
over a year ago

maidstone

Everyone's shit is relative, regardless of the harshness, it's still shit. don't go sending money over seas, whilst doing nothing for your own, and quite clearly they're not, as it gets worse at a steady rate. no facts and figures are quoted, as i'm only on my first cup of tea of the day

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Charity must begin at home

Why must it ?"

Because folk are suffering here quite simple then if money left over then yes help other people in the world.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Everyone's shit is relative, regardless of the harshness, it's still shit. don't go sending money over seas, whilst doing nothing for your own, and quite clearly they're not, as it gets worse at a steady rate. no facts and figures are quoted, as i'm only on my first cup of tea of the day

Total agreement.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

How on earth are they different to people abroad simple answer is there are no differences.

I would say the main differences would be that in the UK the people here in poverty will still receive housing, job seekers allowance, free state pensions, free medical care, clean water, winter fuel payment and quite a lot of other things..

In Angola if you live in poverty you live in a tin shack in a slum where faeces runs past your doorstep as people shit in the local river and you walk 3 miles to get water that may or may not kill you...

Pretty trivial differences I realise..???

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By *callycatMan
over a year ago

Mid Wales

Providing foreign aid in times of need has always been a measure of our civilised values....but we need to ensure we target the aid to the people who need it and avoid the rampant corruption endemic in some parts of the world. Otherwise the development budget becomes a means of taking money from poor people through their taxes in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries.

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By *ngel n tedCouple
over a year ago

maidstone

If you give to a charity, at least you can see what they do with it. The government foreign aid business seems only to make mr rpg and mr ak47 rich, although it does assist people to mount 50 calibre machine guns on the back of their cars and i don't think little tin pot dictators would have quite so many shiny medals without it

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By *oo hotCouple
over a year ago

North West

How on earth are they different to people abroad simple answer is there are no differences.

Pretty trivial differences I realise..???"

Unfortunately, far too many in the western world have never seen true poverty. Our eldest went to do humanitarian work in Tanzania after her A levels and came back a different person. People die from infected water, from Aids and from Malaria in numbers that are simply mind boggling - all are preventable and that is just a part of what UK Aid is used for.

Personally I find it quite sickening that anyone in this country would rather see more paid out in benefits here rather than stopping other people (mainly children) from dying elsewhere from entirely preventable causes.

The argument of corruption reminds me of an analogy about a pair of kids who are always dirty and dishevelled and whose parents are always down the pub. Do we refuse to help the kids because the parents are wasters?

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By *oo hotCouple
over a year ago

North West

"So are you saying just because someone in uk who is suffering as some are should get less help than someone in another country.

Charity must begin at home theb if we have funds to hekp others then so be it.

To be clear I am not against foreign aid as such but to set a legal minimum when folk here are and will continue to live in poverty here are doing is an insult.

Think about this there are more folk relying on charities and foid banks just to survive and eat.

How on earth are they different to people abroad simple answer is there are no differences.

No-one really suffers in this country and if you think they do, then you should take a trip into central Africa sometime. For the odd person that slips through the net here - tens of thousands die every week in the worlds poorest countries just from a lack of clean water.

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