Should American taxes go towards "economic development" for people in other parts of the world?

[Boojatta]

[TheDebbieDee]

1. No, American taxes should go to rebuilding

the raggedy-a$$ed bridges, dams and roads here in the good ole US of A.

How many more bridge collapses must we witness before people get the point that these structures are NOT self-maintenancing.

[walldude]

2. Clean up our own backyard first.. Set an example

and then lead and help from that example...

[ellenfl]

3. sure, but not before america and americans get all the economic

development we need. in which case, we won't have to worry about other parts of the world getting our tax dollars any time soon.

(btw, i am not that lone "yes, for the following reason not listed above: ..." vote. i voted 'no'.)

ellen fl

[Truth2Tell]

4. Yes, for two reasons

1) Moral: We are all human beings together on this Earth as one. The suffering of others is the suffering of us all. All human beings are our brothers and sisters and to sit idly by while our brothers and sisters suffer and die - when it's in our power to help - is immoral. Nations are just constructs - groups of "us and them" humans hemmed in by imaginary lines we have drawn on the surface of our one Earth.

2) Self-interest: U.S. foreign policy has been - and continues to be - one of the primary causes of human suffering in many countries (predatory "trade" policies, military interventions, etc.). Most of our fellow humans understand this and view us accordingly. If we ever want to actually live in peace we will need to make amends in many ways (and stop causing harm). Charity builds friendships and engenders reciprocation. It's in the interest of our children to be friends with our fellow man.

[tomg]

8. I'm with you on this. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Absolutely. We've been exploiting (taxing) them for decades. It's payback time.

Not to mention it's the decent thing to do.

[bryant69]

6. I think money should be invested in places that favor America's interests

In some cases that's within the united states, and in other cases it might well be in our best interests to support other nations and help them progress. Cheaper to help them now rather than bomb them later.

Bryant
Check it out -> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[slackmaster]

7. No, we have plenty of people in need of help right here

Like New Orleans.

[rucky]

9. Help poorer nations by giving them the tools they need to

a) become less dependent on other countries for their basic needs (food, water, building materials).

b) create a surplus of goods to trade with other countries.

I don't think that's what you meant by economic development, but that's what the right kind of aid is.

[Hydra]

10. I wouldn't mind helping other countries

If it were recognized that we have SERIOUS PROBLEMS at home that need tending to first. And if the megacorps that own Bushco didn't just funnel it onto their pockets. And if we weren't trying to foist disaster capitalism on them. And weren't raping their resources. And if we weren't dumping our pollutants in their countries. S***, nevermind :evilgrin:

[RB TexLa]

11. Yes. As much as some don't like it we are part of the world community

[Boojatta]

12. As members of the world community, same-sex couples can travel to Morocco...

... specifically to prisons in Morocco. If they stay away from Morocco then they can stay out of prison, keep working, and know that some of the taxes they pay will go to Morocco. Hurrah!

[SunDrop23]

13. Since chucklenuts has broken so much in this country, I think...

the money should stay here to repair all they have destroyed or otherwise made useless.

[Lilith Velkor]

14. How else can they afford to buy weapons from us?

[Selatius]

15. That depends on how much money you're talking about each year.

How much we looking at? 30 billion? 300 billion?